Wait Till You See What My Mum's Given Me!

You all know that I've just been over to Scotland to drop Flicky off at the University of St Andrews, crikey this is my third blog post today so I'm thinking you might all be very well aware of that by now!  What I haven't shared with you yet is that while we were there Simon and I drove down to St Helens, England to spend 5 days with my Mum.

please excuse phone camera/instagram quality but I so love this pic of us both :)

We laughed and cried, ate and drank far too much and slept too little while we were together but we just had the best time.

It's strange to visit and Dad's not home, I think because I live so far away it's easy to imagine he is still there and visiting makes the truth all too real.

Just look at this next photo, Mum wearing the birthday apron I made for her and holding Dad's Memory Quilt made from his shirts which I sent to her last Christmas.  It was wonderful to finally see her with them, I know she loves her apron and wears it every day (she'd want me to be sure and tell you that it washes beautifully) but I hadn't like to ask her about the quilt, I wondered if maybe it upset her to use it as it had never been mentioned since she unwrapped it last Christmas.

Turns out I couldn't be more wrong.  Mum keeps the quilt on the back of Dad's chair, which she has taken to sitting in to watch television and when she's chilly she wraps herself in it.  When I say Dad's chair - I mean Dad's chair - that chair was bought when they got married 56 years ago, it's been reupholstered several times but through all the years no-one but Dad sat in it.

Mum also tells me that in the last couple of weeks her brother has also been wrapped in the quilt while watching football in Dad's chair.  I love that not only is the chair being well used but, through the quilt, Dad's shirts are still sitting in the chair - probably sounds very strange but there's something very comforting for me in that!  The quilt has had a couple of trips out to be shown to friends and has even been to the hairdressers - now it wouldn't be wrong to say that that quilt's getting out and socialising more than Dad did but maybe it's not keen to go either and Mum's just making it ;)

Now on to my best news - just look what my Mum gave me

This is Mum's sewing machine - bought for her by her Mum when she was just 19.  Grandma, a trained confectioner, hoped that Mum would develop a creative flair but she was to be disappointed, the machine wasn't used until I started to 'play' with it when I was young and then made clothes and bedding on it as a teenager.

It's a 1954 Singer 99K

I particularly love that it says 'made in Great Britain' around the base

It needs some loving care - Mum has had it in her garage for so many years now and wasn't actually sure if it was still there or had previously been disposed of.  It was there though and it is just how I remember it.  There's some rust - but I think it's pretty superficial and the veneer on the back of the wooden base is peeling away but amazingly it still works - so fingers crossed I just need to sort myself out with a US power cable and a new bulb and I'm away.  I'm so excited I just can't tell you.

Bringing the machine back to the US with us was lots of fun too - we put the wooden case in our suitcases to go in the plane hold and carried the metal machine section in our hand luggage.  After scanning the bag with the machine in, as expected the bag warranted a physical search and we engaged in some very pleasant conversation with the security staff about the origins of the sewing machine and how wonderful it is that it is being passed down through the generations.  That was well and good until our BA flight from Edinburgh to Heathrow was delayed so we would miss our connecting flight back to Newark so we were moved on to Virgin flights instead (I have to say here that the BA and Virgin staff were simply excellent throughout).  Unfortunately this meant we had to leave the departure lounge and collect our cases (already in the BA plane hold) which were returned to us at the arrivals' luggage carousels.  Then we had to start from scratch at the Virgin departures desk and go through security again.  So at security for a second time the sewing machine was pulled again for a physical search - this time the conversation was along the lines of how can something so small be so heavy - a point really worthy of note as you wouldn't want to drop this little beauty on your foot!

That all said she's safely home with us now and I couldn't be happier - thanks Mum, I love you xxx

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In Memory of Dad

Last night my Mum and I were chatting on Skype and she asked me if I'd mind very much if she opened her Christmas present from me early.  I understood immediately why she'd want to do this - you see she knows that her present, which arrived safely and has been sitting under her Christmas tree now for last the last two weeks, is a Memory Quilt that I have made for her using my Dad's shirts.

 Mum knew that seeing the quilt would be quite emotional for her (and for me too) and so we decided that she'd open her present right then, just the two of us together over Skype.

It was a very special time for both of us and I can tell you that Mum loves the quilt and we had a lovely two hours chatting with her wrapped in her Memory Quilt in England and me wrapped in my Juicebox Sofa Quilt in America.

I am thrilled to now be able to share photos of the quilt with you here on my blog.

For My Dad

18 August 1925 - 5 May 2012

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Disclaimer:

This post is for informational purposes only, no payment or commission is received on click-throughs and opinions are my own.

 

Project Update And Shout Out For The Agitprop Quilter

At my LQS with my Double Irish Chain quilt top

 Quick update on my two ongoing projects:

Here's a photo taken at my Manhattan LQS of me and my Double Irish Chain quilt.  Need to order some white batting before I can sandwich the quilt though - I think the white blocks are sooo very white that the natural cream coloured batting that I usually use may dirty its appearance.

Making good progress with my Dad's Memory Quilt - I've finished half of the top sheet and 3/4 of the backing sheet.  Regular followers will know the drill by now 

"I can't post any photos of my Dad's Memory Quilt on my blog as it's a present for my Mum and she wants it to be a surprise so again I've posted some photos to my facebook page as my Mum doesn't have facebook and can't see it there."  

If you want to see how it's looking, just click this link :D







I also want to give a special shout out to my good friend Maren (previously referred to as 'M' as part of that mysterious and unspoken blogging etiquette) who has this week decided to take the plunge and go 'live' with her quilting blog.  Be sure to take a look as she has such a witty and wry writing style which is incredibly refreshing! 

The Agitprop Quilter

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Two Quilts and Making Progress

This last week I've made great progress with my Double Irish Chain quilt and also my Dad's Memory Quilt.

The Double Irish Chain quilt top is now finished and I've also pieced the back using some left over strips from the quilt top.  The rest of the quilt back will be more of the Oval Elements fabric in Petal Pink by Pat Bravo but, as I want to keep the ovals all running in the same direction, I need to buy more so I'll pick this up when I go to the final class at my LQS in Manhattan this Thursday.  Now I've added the borders the quilt is much larger than I'd realised.  The book said I'd be making a 50" x 70" quilt but this turns out to be the size of the Irish Chain section without borders (if I'd put my thinking cap on I'd have realised this - 5 x 10" blocks = 50" but I didn't) so the finished size is actually going to be about 66" x 87".

As regular followers will know, I can't post any photos of my Dad's Memory Quilt on my blog as it's a present for my Mum and she wants it to be a surprise so again I've posted some photos to my facebook page as my Mum doesn't have facebook and can't see it there.  If you want to see how it's looking, just click this link :D

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Will Blogging Help Me Sleep?

I'm pretty sure the answer is "no" but here goes!

I'm currently working on 2 quilts - one is my Dad's Memory Quilt made using his shirts.  I can't post any photos as it's a present for my Mum and she wants it to be a surprise but, having spent many hours cutting the shirts into usable fabric (I really can't believe just how long that took!), I've now started the piecing and I'm making quite good headway with the top. I think it could take a while as I have lots of other projects I'll have to crack on with alongside it but I'm pleased with progress so far :)   Update: I've popped a photo of my sample block on my facebook page as my Mum doesn't have facebook and can't see it there, so you can just click this link and take a look if you're interested :D

The second quilt is a 50" x 70" Double Irish Chain quilt as part of a class at my LQS in Manhattan. I've chosen a new fabric called Oval Elements in Petal Pink by Pat Bravo as the main focus and the 2 chain lines are Kona Solid White.  If you're interested in doing an Irish Chain quilt, single, double or triple then the book I'm using is called TIME for a Chain II by Lynda Milligan & Nancy Smith

Here's a couple of pictures of the strips that I've made up ready for cutting and sewing into 9 (unequal) and 20 (equal) patch 10 inch blocks.

Some of the strips look a bit strange - sewing the same fabric back to itself but it looks right in the finished quilt as each seam creates part of the pattern and it doesn't have the same effect if you use a whole piece of fabric rather than a seamed piece.  I'll post more photos as I get to that stage so you'll see better what I mean.

When I've made a bit more headway with both of these quilts I really want to get going on some whole cloth baby quilts using the fabrics I bought at Liberty on my recent trip to London. I've just had delivery of my chosen Kona Solids for each quilt back and my bolts of batting have also arrived so really now I've no excuse. Here's a few photos of the fabrics I'll be putting together.

Oh, and before I go, I can confirm that an hour into writing this post I was able to go back to sleep and then finished it off this morning.  So I was proved wrong - blogging does help you sleep!

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Graduation Times Ahead - So Excited!!!

Tomorrow we fly back to England again, this time it's definitely a trip of celebrations as my two sons, JA & JT are both graduating from university.  JT graduates from the University of Kent at Canterbury Cathedral on Thursday morning with an MDrama (Hons) in Theatre and Drama Studies and then on Friday afternoon, JA graduates from Aston University at Birmingham Town Hall with a BSc (Hons) in French.  

We're really looking forward to it although, daughter F & I are starting to get a bit worried that our NYC summer outfits might not be quite so appropriate for the current English weather! 

After the graduations we're travelling to the north of England to my home town, St Helens, to bury my Dad's ashes and celebrate his life. Our final week is in London, catching up with special friends.

I might have difficulty sleeping tonight, I'm so excited!

A Weekend Update

To round up my week, in one of my last posts I told you I was going to spend the day sewing - and I did. I made a baby quilt but, having machine sewn the binding to the front I've decided not to hand bind the back until I've got myself some labels professionally made - I've been meaning to do this for so long and it's time to get myself sorted.  Set about it on Friday but it turned out to be a much bigger task than I'd anticipated so this quilt may not be bound for a while yet!

So here's a quick peek at where I'm up to

I'm also trialling a larger font for my posts.  I was reading a post by Julie of Jolie Maxtin and she asked for feedback on her blog - everyone was incredibly positive about her great blog but one comment was that the text was a bit small, and I did rather agree.  Quickly checked my own blog and realised my text is the same size, hence my experiment in larger text. Let me know what you think: should I keep it this size or go back to my original format; does it make my posts seem way too long; and any other comments please?


I'm still trying to catch up with Plum & June's Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop - having joined late I've still got 6 blogs left to visit to get me on track.

This week I've visited the following blogs and can recommend you take a look at them too:

Book Cover tutorial by Taryn of From Pixels to Patchwork

Novelty print charm square patchwork ruffle skirt by Em from Sewing by Moonlight

Little Artist Backpack by Svetlana of Sotak Handmade

School Rules Mini Quilt Tutorial by Beth of Plum and June (and our fab host on this blog hop :) )

A Quick and Easy Placemat by Julie from Jolie Maxtin

Pot Holder and Oven Mitt Tutorial by Lori from Adventures in Fabric

Yesterday my daughter, F, and I spent the afternoon over at Toni & Guy in Hoboken.  When we moved over to the States we were worried about who we'd get to do our hair having had the same fab hairdresser back in England for many years and realising that it just wasn't practical to contemplate flying him over every six weeks, even if he had become my best friend (I'm sure all you ladies know just what we must have been feeling).  Anyway, we needn't have worried - we headed up to Toni & Guy (as it's such a known English brand we hoped we couldn't go too wrong) and it's the best thing we did since we arrived in the US (alongside from me learning to quilt and getting Tatty, our dog) .  F's hair is coloured by Jess then Peter cuts it and my hair is cut by Whitney.  The salon is fabulous, ultra modern and spotlessly clean and the staff are amazing and friendly and look after you brilliantly - on top of which the haircuts are fantastic.

F modelled for them at their recent Freedom collection promotion - and we had a great night out at the event.

F, centre stage with Zak Mascolo, Creative Director, T&G USA who cut her hair

F, looking fab :)

In the audience, two proud parents :)

So this time, F, decided to go for a really short cut, I've wanted her to do it for a few years now - she had her hair in a pixie cut when she was very small and looked great so I thought it would really suit her.  Jess put some great platinium blonde through her hair and Peter gave her the most WOW haircut, what do you think?!

I know she's my daughter but I think she's stunning x

I keep going back to my Dad's shirts - it's taking me so long to cut them back to flat, usable fabric - I think this bit will take longer than actually making the quilt, anyway it makes sure I'm never idle!

 

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

In Memory Of Dad

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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:
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Children of Israel 12" Quilting Block
Creating and Adding Applique to the Children of Israel Block

Wonderful Friends

Just took a call from my apartment doorman - a flower delivery for me.  And here it is, the most beautiful flower arrangement, stunning colours and I'm only sorry I can't share their fragrance with you as it's fabulous.

Thank you very, very much to my wonderful friends W and K for your help, for caring and for making life so much more bearable right now.  I send you both a very big tearful hug x

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.

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.




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