http://youtu.be/WQtZC9pPKuw
Today I am going to the Royal Geographical Society to hear Tommy give a presentation with two other friends of his. Tommy has been made a Fellow of the RGS! Congratulations Tommy!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Presentation Day...
Pentecost - 27 May 2012 10am Service with the Holy Eucharist and Healing. St John the Baptist Church, Kirdford.
The presentation of £750 and the 'Waves for Tommy' Quilt to Tommy and his family, in aid of 'Mind'... The funds are for 'Mind' and the quilt is for the Tippetts family...
The Family Heirloom Quilt - Waves for Tommy - Ocean Waves design...
Tommy and his father, holding up the quilt...
The presentation of £750 and the 'Waves for Tommy' Quilt to Tommy and his family, in aid of 'Mind'... The funds are for 'Mind' and the quilt is for the Tippetts family...
The Family Heirloom Quilt - Waves for Tommy - Ocean Waves design...
Tommy and his father, holding up the quilt...
From The Ocean Rower and The Quilt Lady:
'See you on our next epic adventure! Farewell!'
*******************************************************************************
Saturday, May 26, 2012
And now for the little miracle given by God to the world of quilting... Watch her pucker up!
Some batting is designed to shrink after you have sewn the quilt together and then wash it - this is done to give the quilt an antique effect/finish. The quilted fabric puckers when the batting shrinks in the wash... yes, this is a desired effect for quilters who love the whole 'antique quilt' look - like me!
In this quilt the colours I chose mimic the colours of the 1800's, known in the quilting world as 'Civil War' colours/fabrics - of which there are a few 'Civil War Reproduction Fabrics' within my selection. This is my favourite era in quilting history. The 'Civil War' refers to the American Civil War. I love this era, not for the war, but for the fabrics and the era, itself. The simplicity of the time and the way of life, and on the whole, a more God-fearing time, even though it was a tough time. This is my perception of the era.
For me, Little House on the Prairie (a true story which I grew up watching on TV in South Africa as a little girl) and Quilting, go hand in hand! I now have the full collection of DVD's of 'Little House on the Prairie' and have been watching an episode every night during the making of the 'Waves for Tommy' quilt, as my way of connecting with the period (the days of the pioneers) and relaxing from the sewing.
In this quilt the colours I chose mimic the colours of the 1800's, known in the quilting world as 'Civil War' colours/fabrics - of which there are a few 'Civil War Reproduction Fabrics' within my selection. This is my favourite era in quilting history. The 'Civil War' refers to the American Civil War. I love this era, not for the war, but for the fabrics and the era, itself. The simplicity of the time and the way of life, and on the whole, a more God-fearing time, even though it was a tough time. This is my perception of the era.
For me, Little House on the Prairie (a true story which I grew up watching on TV in South Africa as a little girl) and Quilting, go hand in hand! I now have the full collection of DVD's of 'Little House on the Prairie' and have been watching an episode every night during the making of the 'Waves for Tommy' quilt, as my way of connecting with the period (the days of the pioneers) and relaxing from the sewing.
Alleluiah!
At precisely 5pm today, Saturday 26 May 2012, the final thread end was tucked away into the quilt batting! Having been washed in the washing machine on a delicate cycle with delicates washing liquid and then spun at 400 then 800 then 1000 - I would definitely from this moment on only spin it at 200 or 400 not more - I then placed it in the dryer on low cotton - then read the batting label which said DO NOT TUMBLE DRY - so ran to dryer and rescued it! Then lay it flat on my banquet style sewing and cutting tables and am praying it will be dry by the morning!
Care Label: wash on a short 'delicate' or 'hand wash' cycle at 30 degrees no more, spin on lowest spin, DO NOT TUMBLE DRY but dry quilts flat. When the quilt is barely damp, it can be placed in a dryer on 'air' or 'refresh' or similar for a few minutes to fluff and soften the batting and fabrics - like fluffing up a cushion, no more.
That's that!
When I had tucked in the last thread end, I threw my hands to Heaven and said 'Thank you, Jesus!' as my thank offering, then I shouted down to Paul who was leaving for Evening Prayer: 'It's finished!' - 'Good!', he replied. Then I phoned my mom and told her the news then I phoned and texted Roz, then I phoned Sally (a dear friend) and said please pray for the quilt - it's in the washing machine - she prayed there and then for it and asked God to protect it. Then I phoned my mom again to chat a little, and then finally, I celebrated the triumph with a slice of toast with butter and marmite followed by a glace cherry - in honour of my family! Our favourite snack at home was toast, butter, bovril (I now prefer marmite) and my gran always kept glace cherries in the fridge for baking, but every now and then we could eat one for a treat!
Here's to all mothers! And women who bake and sew! Cheers! I'm clincking my tea-cup against the saucer! Honest!
PS: The dates on the quilt indicate when the fabric was bought and ready for cutting and then when the quilting process was completed. (I felt that tucking in the thread ends didn't really count and besides I needed to sew in the dates first, and then get round to tucking in the thread ends. Make sense?)
Care Label: wash on a short 'delicate' or 'hand wash' cycle at 30 degrees no more, spin on lowest spin, DO NOT TUMBLE DRY but dry quilts flat. When the quilt is barely damp, it can be placed in a dryer on 'air' or 'refresh' or similar for a few minutes to fluff and soften the batting and fabrics - like fluffing up a cushion, no more.
That's that!
When I had tucked in the last thread end, I threw my hands to Heaven and said 'Thank you, Jesus!' as my thank offering, then I shouted down to Paul who was leaving for Evening Prayer: 'It's finished!' - 'Good!', he replied. Then I phoned my mom and told her the news then I phoned and texted Roz, then I phoned Sally (a dear friend) and said please pray for the quilt - it's in the washing machine - she prayed there and then for it and asked God to protect it. Then I phoned my mom again to chat a little, and then finally, I celebrated the triumph with a slice of toast with butter and marmite followed by a glace cherry - in honour of my family! Our favourite snack at home was toast, butter, bovril (I now prefer marmite) and my gran always kept glace cherries in the fridge for baking, but every now and then we could eat one for a treat!
Here's to all mothers! And women who bake and sew! Cheers! I'm clincking my tea-cup against the saucer! Honest!
PS: The dates on the quilt indicate when the fabric was bought and ready for cutting and then when the quilting process was completed. (I felt that tucking in the thread ends didn't really count and besides I needed to sew in the dates first, and then get round to tucking in the thread ends. Make sense?)
Presentation Day!
The 'Waves for Tommy' Quilt and the funds raised from the quilt project will be presented to Tommy Tippetts and his family on Sunday, 27 May 2012 at the 10am service in St John the Baptist Church, Kirdford.
See you there!
Catherine*
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Your Mail...
Roz came for coffee this morning, found an envelope wedged in our letter box addressed 'QUILT DONATION', took it out and handed it to me... Made me laugh!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Lunch Club...
Paul and I are so blessed in that we meet with the Kirdford, Ifold and Plaistow lunch club to share lunch with them as and when the diary permits us. Today, I was asked to bring the quilt with to show and tell the club about it and on doing so was blessed with a generous donation for which I am most grateful. Thank you very much! PS: Lunch was scrumptious as usual - no cooking tonight!
Thank you x
Thank you x
Friday, May 04, 2012
Tea Time!
Today, I had a cup of tea at The Vicarage, with Lizzie, Tommy's sister. We had a good old chat about quilting, history, literature and poetry. I so enjoyed her company!
Thanks Lizzie for a lovely time! Catherine x
Thanks Lizzie for a lovely time! Catherine x
And the quilting is now complete.
All that remains for me to do - tuck away hundreds of little thread ends - by hand!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Out and about with the quilt...
This morning the quilt will be going with me to the coffee morning for showing... Exciting stuff!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
It has turned into what it was intended to be - - - - - - - - - A Story Quilt! Having fun!
This quilt has a life of it's own... it is telling a story!
Without me realising it - once I had completed these two designs, I lay the quilt out and looked at it... and then saw something that was totally unplanned... so there was only one thing to do... put two names on either side... this is the honest truth... had to be done!
Friday, April 20, 2012
Binding Times!
Gosh! I had a lovely time meeting Tommy at home with Roz and Lizzie, this morning - and much to our delight we were surrounded by an electric storm!
All of them with their lovely tan's were looking so healthy, happy and relaxed. One would never believe that this chap had just got in from an epic journey, he looked so cool and together - amazing!
You know, I'm just thinking to myself... I don't half use a lot of exclamation marks! Must be due to all the excitement over the past few weeks and particularly the last few days...
Anyway, speaking of looking 'together' - the quilt has finally been bound and looks like and feels like a proper quilt now... I'm so pleased! This means that the tasks lying ahead are tucking away loose thread ends - lots and lots of those... and then quilting the setting squares and setting triangles. Having spent some time looking at the quilt - my instinct tells me, in order to keep the quilt uniform - I really need to continue with one form of quilting on this project. So, I have taken the decision to machine quilt the setting blocks.
Tommy, Lizzie, Roz and I sat at the kitchen table with cups of coffee whilst Tommy and Lizzie were having breaky (about 11.30 - catching up on much needed sleep...) and had a chat about what designs to use for the setting blocks... I think we have made a great decision and I have to say it was lovely that they all had some input - makes the quilt even more special!
And look what we were given by the Tippetts family - ever so kind! May I introduce you to my sweet new little friend Babs, who is presenting Paul with his favourite ingredients from Barbados...
Thanks to you all for your time!
Catherine x
PS: We're delighted with our gifts, thank you. Paul & Catherine
All of them with their lovely tan's were looking so healthy, happy and relaxed. One would never believe that this chap had just got in from an epic journey, he looked so cool and together - amazing!
You know, I'm just thinking to myself... I don't half use a lot of exclamation marks! Must be due to all the excitement over the past few weeks and particularly the last few days...
Anyway, speaking of looking 'together' - the quilt has finally been bound and looks like and feels like a proper quilt now... I'm so pleased! This means that the tasks lying ahead are tucking away loose thread ends - lots and lots of those... and then quilting the setting squares and setting triangles. Having spent some time looking at the quilt - my instinct tells me, in order to keep the quilt uniform - I really need to continue with one form of quilting on this project. So, I have taken the decision to machine quilt the setting blocks.
Tommy, Lizzie, Roz and I sat at the kitchen table with cups of coffee whilst Tommy and Lizzie were having breaky (about 11.30 - catching up on much needed sleep...) and had a chat about what designs to use for the setting blocks... I think we have made a great decision and I have to say it was lovely that they all had some input - makes the quilt even more special!
And look what we were given by the Tippetts family - ever so kind! May I introduce you to my sweet new little friend Babs, who is presenting Paul with his favourite ingredients from Barbados...
Catherine x
PS: We're delighted with our gifts, thank you. Paul & Catherine
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
And he swam with Dolphins on the second day starting out!
Tommy swam with Dolphins on his second day at sea!
An interesting link about Dolphins in West Africa.
From start to finish... Wow!
Leaving La Gomera 21 January 2012
Arriving in Port St Charles, Barbados 12 April 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Less haste - more speed! It's true!
I'm getting the hang of the machine quilting... biggest tip... go slow! Keep your hands steady and just ease the fabric through the machine and basically let the machine do the walking whilst you steer the fabric with your hands... so simple! But still need to practice lots more to get to the point where I can pick up speed. The quilting is much better now... you'll see the improvement as I keep working on the quilt... all part of the quilt's story!
Guinness Book of Records! Wow! The funny thing is - now that I'm quilting more slowly, I keep seeing that orange triangle followed by the dots that Tommy and his little boat were making on our computer screens on the tracker view, powered by StratumFive, courtesy of NASA, during his epic journey... can't get it out of my mind! It aint over for me yet!
Guinness Book of Records! Wow! The funny thing is - now that I'm quilting more slowly, I keep seeing that orange triangle followed by the dots that Tommy and his little boat were making on our computer screens on the tracker view, powered by StratumFive, courtesy of NASA, during his epic journey... can't get it out of my mind! It aint over for me yet!
That wind from the East hit me and sent me off course heading in a Westerly direction... had a struggle getting back on course... but I managed to do it! Phew!
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