Again I have another incredible student project to share with you. Lynn Frostman completed Magical Medallions-Block One after taking a workshop with me. She said it is the most challenging project she has made thus far. And after all of her incredible work she gave it to a friend as a wedding gift. I think you’ll all agree…I wish I was Lynn’s friend!
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I am very fortunate to have been able to take some incredible trips to teach quilting. I do not take my good fortune for granted but instead I try to embrace it. This cruise to the Panama Canal was one of those incredible trips. It started on February 6th when we sailed on the ms Zuiderdam from the port in Fort Lauderdale. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day to sail the seas. This cruise was organized by Kim and Amy from www.quiltcruises.com. Since Kim and Amy have done this many times before they are wonderfully organized and a pleasure to work with.
Our first stop on the cruise was at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. This area is owned by the cruise lines, Holland America. It’s truly a day of R &R. There is nothing to do but sit on the beach or under an umbrella and relax. Or you could stay on the ship and sit by the pool. Ahhhhhh! Great way to start the cruise.
The second say is what is referred to as an “at sea” day. That means the ship is moving, nice and slow, to our next port. The “at sea” days are the days when the quilt classes are scheduled. My first class was “Ocean Sunrise”. It seemed very appropriate for the cruise. Here are some of my students enjoying the class and the ocean view outside our windows. The sewing machines were provided by our on board quilt shop http://www.quiltworksnw.com/. Every time I have cruised with Kim and Amy there is a quilt shop on board with a minimum amount of goodies for the students. I think it is really wonderful that Pam and Chardel from the shop come and bring the machines and have them all set-up for the students. Pam even offered to do a demo on the machines the day before class for anyone unfamiliar with Bernina machines. Everyone associated with the quilt group does everything they can to make your time enjoyable. Having the machines brought on board so each student does not have to bring a machine is greatly appreciated.
The three other quilt teachers on the ship were Christine Porter http://www.christineporterquilts.com/. Chris and I had cruised together once before from Montreal, Canada to Boston. Chris is from the United Kingdom and has a lovely accent which I could listen to all day. Mary Lou Weidman, who I also cruised with once before in the Caribbean, was also teaching on this trip http://www.marylouquiltdesigns.com/. Mary Lou is also a pleasure to be around. Her bright cheerie smile and great stories will keep you intrigued. The other teacher on this cruise was Kathy Kansier. You can find out more about Kathy at http://kathykansier.com/. It was a pleasure spending time with all of the other teachers and the comments I heard from the students about each teacher was excellent. Here we are on our final evening with our fearless leader, Kim on the far right.
Our next stop was Oranjestad, Aruba. We had stopped there last year on our quilting cruise so I decided to hit the jewelry shops downtown since Joe and I had toured the island just last year. There are lots and lots of jewelry stores in Aruba to keep you occupied for an afternoon. Aruba is a beautiful island with excellent beaches and offers a lot to tourists.
And then the next day we were in Bonaire. This is Joe’s favorite island because of the diving. Joe has been lucky enough to scuba dive in many places and still says that Bonaire is one of the very best because of the reefs and the visibility. From my perspective….if you are not a diver there is not much on Bonaire which is OK with me. It gave me a day to sit by the pool and read. They have a little area of locally made crafts right off the ship so I checked those out and purchased a beautiful necklace from a local glass artist.
And then we were off to Willemstad, Curacao. I love this island. We spent a day here last year. I think this is the best of the “ABC” islands. The island is simply beautiful. The homes are nicely maintained and painted in the just the perfect colors for the island. And the people are very kind and helpful. I may have said this last year when I blogged about Curacao, but it’s worth saying again, I could take a weeks vacation on this island without any trouble.
There is artwork painted on the outside of buildings all around town. I love it. It brings a smile to my face. The first is by Andre Nagtegaal. You may find out more at his website http://andrenagtegaal.exto.org
Can you guess who’s butts these belong too? Our outfits were nicely coordinated with the painting! We could not resist.
Here is another piece of art painted on the outside of a building. I just love it. It was painted by one of the island’s best known artists “Nena Sanchez” www.nenasanchez.com It makes the whole area like walking through an art gallery.
Here are some other colorful sites from Curacao. Road side vendors…
This is what they call the “floating market”. There are boats with fresh fruits and vegetables along one of the streets in town.
Even may of the trucks around town were beautifully painted on the exterior.
Here is a view from the place where we stopped for lunch. If you are in Curacao you should definitely stop at Zest to dine. The food was excellent and the waiters weren’t bad to look at either! You are never too old to look!
This dimensional artwork is in one of the alleyways. Really fascinating.
The colors in the local art, the vendors, the houses and the views on this island are inspiring. A great place to visit.
I have lots more to share with you from the cruise in the next blog. I had never been to the Panama Canal before and I was amazed at how it works. And our final stop in Costa Rica was very enlightening also.
If you have ever thought about taking a quilting cruise stop thinking about it and book it. You will not regret it. It is a great time to bond with old friends and to make a lot of new friends as well. Until next week….