I know I have written before about quilting and cruising with the Quilt Seminars at Sea www.quiltcruises.com girls but here we go again because these cruises are awesome. You MUST try it some time. On this adventure we went to the Southern Caribbean. I had the chance to visit several islands that I have never traveled to before. We started our cruise in Fort Lauderdale. Here we are right before boarding the ship. You might notice that we were supporting our Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. Boy, were we in for a surprise. When we boarded the ship we found 400 Packer fans on a tour sponsored by a Milwaukee radio station! We were clearly outnumbered! I think there were only 14 Steelers fans on board and I knew 4 of them! Even though the Steelers lost it was a great game to watch. We had our terrible towels flying.
The four other quilting teachers on this cruise were Charlotte Warr Anderson, Laura Wasilowski, Kimbery Einmo and Kathy McNeil. I have crossed paths with Charlotte many times over the past many years and I love her work. You can find out more about Charlotte at www.charlottewarrandersen.com I knew of Laura Wasilowski and I have always enjoyed her quilt designs using her brightly colored hand dyed fabrics and threads. But, we had never really met. I liked her right away. Charming personality. Relaxed. Comfortable to be around. Laura’s quilts are just like her, bright and cheery. About 4 or 5 years ago I attended a seminar and Laura was one of the evening lecturers. She was very entertaining with her singing and Power Point presentation. Yes, I said singing. Laura has a great voice. If you get a chance be sure to attend one of her lectures or workshops. artfabrik.blogspot.com Kimberly Einmo www.kimberlyeinmo.com was also teaching on this cruise. This was my first time to meet Kimberly. She always had a smile on her face and her students were very productive in their machine piecing classes. Some of them even had a quilt top finished by the end of the cruise. Way to go. And last but not least was Kathy McNeil. I had never met Kathy either but I sure knew her quilts. I have admired her quilts for many years. You really need to check out Kathy’s website to view her stunning landscape quilts and more at www.kathymcneilquilts.com It really was an honor for me to be part of this incredible teaching staff.
(Laura, Charlotte, me and Kimberly. Kathy not pictured.)
Below are our fearless leaders, Amy and Kim. They are responsible for organizing this amazing event. They start about 3 years prior to the cruise organizing the teachers, the on-board quilt shop, signing up the participants and so much more. They do a fantastic job so when we get on the cruise everything runs smoothly.
The first stop the day after setting sail on the sea was Half Moon Cay which is a private island owned by Holland American. It was a great day to relax and meet some of our group at the evening meal. The food on the cruise ship is excellent by the way. Then we proceeded to Grand Tuck which is part of the Turks and Caicos. Joe decided to go on a dive trip for the afternoon so I vegged by the pool and walked around the small town where we docked. So far this is one relaxing cruise. On the third day this is what we saw from the ship as we entered the port.
And in a short time we saw this. I have never seen a double rainbow before. Awesome! I knew it was going to be a great day. I kept looking for my pot or pots of gold but, no luck.
We stopped at Samana in the Dominican Republic. Joe and I immediately hired a taxi for the day and were driven thorough-out the region and into the country side. We hiked to a beautiful waterfall.
Here is a shot along the coast.
Isn’t this an interesting plant?
Our taxi driver took us to their local market. From the outside I did not expect much. But when we entered here are some of the things we saw.
Is there a vegetable quilt in my future?
Another view along the coast.
Here is a view of the town of Samana.
And another view along the coast.
In the next blog I’ll show you more incredible views from Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba. I’ll also talk about the quilting classes on the cruise ship. The classes are held only on the days the ship is “at sea”. That means the ship is moving from one port to the next which can take a day or two depending on how far apart the islands are. These are great days to have quilting classes. It really is the perfect combination.