I have asked this question before with some great help from you all a few years ago.
I have been working on a patchwork quilt of autographs for many years,I stopped for several years but have time again now.
I research addies, send two pieces of fabric,enclose a letter explaining what I am doing and why I would like that person to autograph my quilt, I request the person sign it and where I can I enclose a stamped addressed envelope.
When the fabric is returned I embroider over the signature under a magnifier lamp in black.The stitches are so tiny it is hard to see it is stitched.
I choose folks from all walks of life, usually people that have impressed me one way or another.
Now and again I get a refusal usually from someone who works for the person..eg.. a sorry refusal from the Queen Mothers lady in waiting which I expected but tried anyway.
Sometimes the letters come back not known at this address.
Sometimes I don't hear anything.
But more often than you might think I do get the patch back, signed and often with a letter or photo.
I am just starting to work on this again , hopefully I should finish it before I croak,and wondered if anyone had any ideas about who they would ask to sign their quilt.
It gets very interesting, eg I wrote to Victor Mature in 1992 telling him he was my teenage crush, I got the patch back signed but with a heart and and arrow through it, he had put his name at one end and mine at the other..silly I know but it really made me go all daft.
I have some very interesting ones and want to boost them, not so much with singers or actors although I do have quite a few of them and I am always happy to receive ideas for more but I need ideas to enlarge the other categories more,perhaps folks who have contributed to science or medicine or perhaps explorers , sport figures,etc .
Just glancing at my journal and picking a few well known names out , from all categories I have:
Roger Bannister,Peter Ustinov,Edmund Hilary,Harry Secombe,Bette Midler,Peter Cushing,Sophia Loren,Bob Hope,Norman Jewison,Neil Armstrong,Dr Christian Bernard,Dr Jonas Salk,Herman Wouk, Leon Uris, Prince Rainer,Sean Connery.........I won't bore you all with a long list, but am happy to give tell other names if asked.
I think I have just close to 200, but the pieces are small about 3"x4" so it needs a great many more to be able to finish it.
One more thing, I always enclose 2 pieces of fabric as it not always easy to write on fabric so one is a practise piece. I often get both pieces back signed so what to do with the extras..I have even had two pieces come back with two different signatures if for example I have sent it to someone who has a famouse spouse..Eydie Gorme, sent her husbands Stevie Lawrence back on the second piece.
I would really appreciate any help you can give me as I feel I am getting out of touch.All the patches I have are signed prior to 1992. I have been working on a new list for about 5 years.
Some I have been refused are Oprah Winfey, Greer Garson,Billy Graham.
Many are older celebs as some were very old when I started and several have now gone.
Hoping you can give me some up to date ideas or oldies I have not thought of, even film stars or singers that I may have overlooked if they are fairly recent.
Thank you XX Jeannine
Professor Stephen W Hawking.
http://www.hawking.org.uk/ (http://www.hawking.org.uk/)
Bang on Bokkie, I did think of him and didn't put him on the list,, thank you so much for the reminder XX Jeannine
Tim Berners-Lee and Steve Jobs. How about some gardeners?
Thanks Anne I di have Steve Jobs on nthe new list but I must have the Web manTim Berner -Lee.
Yes gardeners would be great
XX Jeannine
Davina McCall, she's a lovely person.
She does a heart on her autograph too.
James Martin just because he is so yummy!
Alan Titchmarsh would beone of my choices and Virginia McKenna
What a great idea!
I'd ask Sarah Ferguson as I think she is great, much maligned in the media and possibly the only royal who you would get a personal reply from.
Favourite Musicians? Bands? Composers? Radio presenters?
Something like, 'I listen to your music or News broadcast etc whilst making this quilt. Would you consider giving me an autograph?'
You include folks from all walks of life - what about asking diligent and caring doctors, nurses and other hospital staff you meet?
The weatherman or weatherlady on the box? After all weather is important for gardening :)
How about the entrepreneur/dare devil Richard Branson?
Tricia
what an amazing tale - I love it.
How about someone like Desmond Tutu?
QuoteProfessor Stephen W Hawking
I thought he was unable to write.
I would ask Bono lead singer of U2, a man who has acheived many things
How about that lovely man " Terry Waite" or " SIR Bob Geldoff,
I met him on holiday in Positano Italy, what a lovely man so friendly.
Stephen Sondheim.
Nelson Mandela & Tim please.
Sadly three letters have been unanswered to Mandela.
I realise Hawking cannot write in the trues sense but it is normal to him and I can put the autograph from paper to fabric in his case..there is a log that would go with the quilt with various notes, photos cards etc so it would be OK in his case.
Galina, it is for known folks so sadly the super nice other people cannot go on this one.
Thank you for your ideas , they are great. I need a few more sports folks.
I also need some more "firsts" I have Dr Christian Bernhard, first surgeon who did a heart transplant, that kind of thing.
Inventors?
Sometimes I have to think further back to find those.
I would like some peacemakers too.
I have just received a newer copy of the book with addies in it..there are so many people I don't know on it.
Thank you again
XX Jeannine
Quote from: Lottiman on August 28, 2010, 20:45:46
I would ask Bono lead singer of U2, a man who has acheived many things
Yeah, not everyone gets a dog biscuit named after them.
How about Andrew Wiles, or Aung San Suu Kyi, or Dennis Ritchie and Brian Kernighan (he's even a Canook), or Ellen MacArthur.
David Bellamy for all his work re conservation and Michael Palin because he has grown into such a lovely mature man and still makes me laugh.
I'd also give Al Pacino and Robert De Niro a try because I loved them both in The Godfather.
Just read about Tim and I would add him to my list to represent all those young men who flew the Spitfires in the Battle of Britain.
Hi, some truly great ideas now, I am sooo grateful to you all.
I can't think why I didn't have Aung San Suu Kyi on there ,she certainly should be on. thank you Unwashed .Ellen is on my new list. The two computers genuises I will have to read more about, I was not aware of those and need to really understand before I write.
I do have De Niro and I have tried David Bellamy but the letter came back at the wrong addie so he will get another letter sent to him
I can't thank you enough for all the help, I really want it to be finished.I haven't even decided what to do with it. Ihave always said in my letters to people that it is not a commercial venture and promise it will n ot be sold in my lifetime.It would be worth a great deal of money however so maybe I need to be thinking about that..
Any ideas what to to do with a couple of patches I am uncomfortable with,, I have OJ Simpson, requested before he was accused of murdering his wife.I also have Mike Tyson, jailed for rape. Trying hard to be non judgemental but I wouldn't put them in the quilt and I feel odd about destroying them after asking for them,,silly really I guess.
XX Jeannine
Quote from: Jeannine on August 29, 2010, 22:23:10
I need a few more sports folks.
Paula Radcliffe and Haile Gebrselassie womens and mens marathon world record holders
Dame Tanni Grey Thompson 11 gold paralympic medals
Yelena Isinbayeva broke world record pole vault 27 times
Sir Steve Redgrave
Roger Federer
Martina Navratilova
Oscar Pistorius (bladerunner)
Sir Chis Hoy
Michael Johnson 200/400m Olympics/World Records
Usain Bolt fastest man
Michael Schumacher 7 times world champion
Quote from: Jeannine on August 30, 2010, 00:18:28Any ideas what to to do with a couple of patches I am uncomfortable with,, I have OJ Simpson, requested before he was accused of murdering his wife.I also have Mike Tyson, jailed for rape. Trying hard to be non judgemental but I wouldn't put them in the quilt and I feel odd about destroying them after asking for them,,silly really I guess.
XX Jeannine
This could happen to some of the others too. Do you have a few tiny black sheep you could add to their signature patch?
Mike Tyson has been visiting the UK in the past month or two. He did an event that a friend organised!!
It sold out in matters of minutes. He is still a legend in sport regardless of what he was charged with!!.
Lots of sportsman/woman, politicians, etc etc, have been in the papers for one thing or the other :)
Personally think he should go on it!! :) but thats just my opinion!! xx
You could put deceased historical figures using a copy of their signature. I was thinking of George Washington but being a Brit you might not care for him. If it were my quilt I'd put on Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Your idea is a more elegant rendition of what my mom did. She had a big picnic table sized cotton tablecloth and would have guests sign it in indelible ink during the picnic. Fun looking at that over the years but now I wonder what became of it when she died.... :(
Somehow George Washington signed it! ;D
They have to authentic Grannie Jannie, if I didn't do that fairly the whole quilt would be in doubt.I do have Ronald Reagen and tried for Mrs Bush senior but didn't get it.
XX Jeannine
Jeannine, please post a picture of your interesting quilt when able. Such a great idea!
Having just read the articles about our Tim that Digeroo kindly sent me, he would be an excellent signature candidate for a patch as somebody already suggested.
Grannie Annie it will be ages before it is finished probably another 4 or 5 years, it takes soemtimes 2 or 3 months to get apatch returned, and it takes me about 8 hours to embroider over the signature in minature. so lots of stuff even before I begin to fasten it all together.
I can post a picture of the quilt idea for joining them I think. had it for years and may still. and I would be happy to post soem of the patches that are already siged for you to look at, some of them have a lot more than a signature on, some of the letters are interesting too, quite happy to post any of that.
So far I have only sent greens, gold out but need to send some other colurs now as it would be too dull with just those shades.
It is a project that I really go at for a few months, then burn out and put it away again for a year or two.
Same with my dolls.I have just bought kiln so I can get unfinished ones china painted. I think as I am getting older and not so great health wise I have this need to tidy up my affairs.
Let me know if you want me to show some of the patches.
XX Jeannine
Quote from: weequinie on August 30, 2010, 00:59:49
Quote from: Jeannine on August 29, 2010, 22:23:10
I need a few more sports folks.
Paula Radcliffe and Haile Gebrselassie womens and mens marathon world record holders
Dame Tanni Grey Thompson 11 gold paralympic medals
Yelena Isinbayeva broke world record pole vault 27 times
Sir Steve Redgrave
Roger Federer
Martina Navratilova
Oscar Pistorius (bladerunner)
Sir Chis Hoy
Michael Johnson 200/400m Olympics/World Records
Usain Bolt fastest man
Michael Schumacher 7 times world champion
Youre welcome!
Jeannine, PLEASE show us some of the patches. What a unique quilt you're making. I hope you keep plowing through and finish it though I've done some in the past and know how the zeal can flag for a project. When we were first married my husband learned he'd also married a "project woman" who begins many but finishes few. Our meager storage space was over-run with them so he finally made me promise to not have more than three unfinished at a time! Might that be you? ;D
Yep. that is me, but....... I do so many crafts and writing that I have tons of unfinished things..tons.
I will get John to photograph some of the more interesting ones, some stitched and others not.
The handwriting is interesting, George Burns writing was shaky. Bette Midlers was flamboyant and Sir John Gielguid was very neat and controlled.Elizabeth Taylor wrote is silver ink which was very unstable, I was so glad to get that one stitched .
I will try for getting them in the next couple of day.
XX Jeannine
I would love to see some of those Jeannine. What an heirloom that would be.