teaching sewing confidence, tip by tip
Showing posts with label funeral. Show all posts
Showing posts with label funeral. Show all posts

Thursday, 24 May 2012

Back To Some Much Needed Quilting

Me and My Babes
I've spent the last 5 days back in England for my Dad's funeral.  If these events can be beautiful then this one certainly was.  From the service to the weather, everything was perfect; a very appropriate and fitting goodbye to the wonderful and absolute gentleman that my Dad was.

It's strange but these last 2 weeks have also given me what is now a rare opportunity - the chance to be with all 3 of my children at the same time (can you still refer to them as your children once they're adult and towering over you?!).  With each of us scattered in constantly changing places around the globe it takes some arranging to even Skype each other across the many time zones.  These last few days have given us some sad but very special memories to carry with us always.





Dad's Shirts


I've brought Dad's shirts back to the US with me, I'm going to make a quilt for Mum to keep.  The pastel colours look great together and I'm looking forward to making it up for her.

I'll leave you with this link to a song that my Dad used to sing to my Mum when I was growing up, John Rowles 'If I Only Had Time'.  I've never been able to listen to it without thinking of him and crying so it was very fitting that we played it as we entered the church at his funeral.





Updated at 20 May 2014

You can read about the finished Memory Quilt here in



Wednesday, 16 May 2012

A Very Wet Tuesday

Coming from England a girl is quite used to a fair bit of rain but I have to say that this American wet stuff is something else, when it decides to rain boy does it rain and boy do you get wet.

It's rained off and on all day even so, I've had a really good day, managing finally to find a coat suitable for my Dad's funeral (do you have any idea how difficult it is to get hold of a coat at this time of year in Manhattan?  Quite incredible really, lots of suit jackets and North Face coats but nothing that bit longer, suitably smart and dressy! My husband, S, suggested that I wait till we get to England and buy one there - you can buy a coat all year round in England, maybe it's down to the constantly changeable weather?  Anyway, I didn't fancy doing that, I want to travel with everything already sorted and ready and now it is so that's a huge relief.

This evening S and I went to our monthly Film Club meetup, a year looking at some of Stanley Kubrick's movies - so far we've watched and discussed Paths of Glory (1957) and tonight we looked at Lolita (1962).  
"She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks.  She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always - Lolita." - Vladimir Nabokov
We've pretty much all heard of the movie and at least know something of the term 'Lolita' but I'd never seen it or read the book.  Well now I've read the book written by Vladimir Nabokov in 1955, (previously I'd only heard of him in the line from The Police song 'Don't Stand So Close To Me'), I've seen Kubrick's 1962 film version starring James Mason, Shelley Winters and Peter Sellers and also Adrian Lyne's 1997 film version starring Jeremy Irons and Melanie Griffith.  Have to say I'm crazy about the book, I thought it was amazingly well written, I loved the character and story development and constantly struggled with just how much I was enjoying a book about what is still a taboo subject.  For me the Kubrick movie was incredibly disappointing, probably down to constraints due to the period when it was made, but it failed to deliver on many levels.  However, the more recent Lyne's movie was, in my opinion, a joy.  It stayed faithful to the book and managed to take every image I'd conjured in my head while reading the book and reproduce them accurately on screen - quite a rare feat.  So tonight's discussion was, as always, very lively with varied opinions, much chat and even more laughter.

I did manage to get in a bit of sewing today.  I'm a bit further on with the 'Children of Israel' block and here's the proof.

'Children of Israel' block - progress on the sewing front!
If tomorrow's visit to the dentist to have a crown fitted isn't too traumatic I may try to get it completed, but don't hold your breath!

Other related posts about my 'Children of Israel' block:
My First Quilting Bee
Children of Israel 12" Quilting Block
Creating and Adding Applique to the Children of Israel Block


Sunday, 13 May 2012

There's Still Time To Say "Happy Mother's Day"

Wow, what a wonderful day!

Back in March we celebrated our English 'Mother's Day' and my children told me that there was no way we'd be celebrating the American 'Mother's Day' as well, even though I live here now.  So I was really surprised and delighted this morning when I received more gifts and Skype messages to celebrate today also.  Also got to have dinner out this evening at Azucar - our local Cuban restaurant - lovely.  I guess that makes me a doubly special Mum ;)

Didn't have a chance to sew my 'Children of Israel' block, spent the day shopping for clothes for my Father's funeral and the only action my sewing machine saw today was altering everything to fit correctly when we got back home.

A very busy week in store - starting with green card biometrics (fingerprinting) tomorrow morning but then a night in alone and the opportunity to crack on with the quilt block as S and F are off to 'The Birth and Death of Stars' ' at the Natural History Museum, NYC.

Thursday, 10 May 2012

A Terrible Week

Me and my Daddy


It's been a difficult week and not the one I'd planned. 

I flew back to England last Thursday night as I got the news on Thursday afternoon that my Dad was dying.  I made it in time to speak with him and he finally passed away at 10.10 pm on Saturday night.  

He was 86 and very ill having had bladder cancer 12 years ago he now had COPD, lung cancer and cerebral vascular dementia and he was weary with it all.  Still he was my Daddy and I love him and I’ll miss him terribly.




Related Posts:
A Terrible Week
Back To Some Much Needed Quilting
Will Blogging Help Me Sleep?
Posting A Very Special Package
In Memory of Dad