Dad's day and family ties

Today should have been the day I made a cup of tea in bed for JB, as it is Father's day and with no junior members residing with us any longer there was no one else who could spoil him on his day. However I awoke to a cup of freshly brewed elixir on my bedside cabinet and the man himself nose deep in the end of his latest read. What a star he is. Best make sure I reciprocate over the next couple of weeks by setting the alarm early.

The rest of our morning was spent catching up with all the family young and old, after the usual opening of cards and gifts . Prize for the card of the year goes to number 2 son, with his sneaky nod to our ever growing guitar collection - well done Colin and mention in dispatches goes to Emily  for the witty idea of writing the whole card in French in anticipation of next week's holiday but most of which we are still haven't been able to translate. Not sure who has the poorer O level french, her or us?

I phoned my own darling little bear of a Dad to say have a happy day and to make sure he had received his little gift only to have one of our usual slightly surreal conversations which always leave me with a little chuckle.  Dad is pretty well advanced in years now but despite everything he tries so very very hard to hold his own in any conversation but is usually foiled with his hearing letting him down. Today was no exception and after me repeating the phrase " what news " five times , the poor old sausage  gave in and Mum and I had a chat instead with her relaying the conversation one sentence at a time . The funniest part though today was when I found out, twenty minutes in and having had a long conversation about his gift, that he actually still hadn't unwrapped it an neither of them had any idea what I had bought him.... Ho hum. As long as they are safe and happy, what's the worry over a  bit of nutty weirdness every now and again, eh. 

Dad in another time and smiling as always with me and big brother ( at the cricket as usual too)

My Dad is a wonderful chap, who I adore. He has always been the best Dad he could ever be and has never failed to make me feel deeply loved. Watching him age over the past eight years or so has been so hard. He is a proud and intelligent man who had not looked or acted his 80 years when he suffered a stroke and watching his frustration at his subsequent  limitations has sometimes made me feel my heart will break. But with Mum by his side now for over 62 years they battle through and I feel it such a privilege to have had such a loving and kind Dad. One of my special loves of my Dad is how dapper he always is, always neat and tidy and never to be seen without either a tie or a cravat and his ties have always been a special thing with me. This became even more apparent to me when he took his stroke at our home back in 2005. Two days later, whilst he was in the hospital recovering I found his tie neatly rolled and sitting on the sideboard where Mum had placed it in the furor of him being attended by the paramedics. This discovery made me dissolve into tears and the tie was carefully removed and hidden away for safe keeping awaiting Dad's return.  In his funny superstitious way he never wanted it back but I still have it, kept carefully and neatly with my most treasured keepsakes. I little heartfelt reminder of a very scary day and how wonderful it is to have him around. 

Somehow this mornings Father's day catch up and my need for a Sunday Stitchin' led my brain to the want to draw inspiration from Dad and in particular his stylish ties. 

I need to find suitable fabrics in my stash which reminded me of him and his jolliness but he would never wear anything this bright and garish. He is more an RAF tie man if truth be told. However my choice seems to have followed on from the Jubilee , with a red white and blue theme quite well and I hope you like the result. It was foundation pieced and then has a matched 3 inch striped border to set it all off.

I think the finished wall hanging lends itself to hand quilting, rather than machining so it will take a little time to finish the piece off but I will post a picture when  it is complete. In the meantime, I hope you like the result.

I have called the piece Family Ties...