Last thing I remember it was January… then I was busy and now it’s March already… how did that happen? Did time really pass so quickly when I was at elementary school?
So, I’ve been busy. First there was Road to California. My first visit to Road was in 2004, just after Sheila moved back to SoCal. The first time I taught there was 2016. It’s now an important part of my regular schedule. I love teaching there and catching up with friends.
Here I am with Yazzii. It took a lot of takes to get a picture we both liked
I started teaching with a couple of handwork classes.
This is my wool appliqué butterfly class. Everyone chose one of the butterflies from my book and spent a happy day stitching.
We had a full room of students for walking foot quilting in the BERNINA room on Wednesday and Thursday evening.
The Handwork Learning Lab was back for a third year, with full range of taster classes. I got there early every morning to take sign ups. My friend Robert promised me a flattering photo. What do you think?
I taught a mini workshop each day. We graduated a full class of new buttoneers on the Friday morning.
Good times, but time to go home and get ready for the next trip…
Lots of bags!
After all the planning, and all the waiting the day had finally come to fly to Florida for the start AQS SEAM retreat at sea. Julia came with me for our 12 day cruise around the Caribbean Sea. We took hundreds of pictures!! You will be glad to know that I have distilled the trip down to just a select few to share here. I did post more on Instagram if you need the whole story!
Many members of our party stayed at a convenient hotel the day before we set sail. Here are some of the ladies waiting to get on the shuttle. I wasn’t the only one with lots of luggage.
I have split my pics up into subject groupings. I was on the cruise to teach. I had three classes, all taught in the dining room during days at sea. Everyone got a close-up view on the large tv screen.
Julia caught me checking in on everyone. We had a lovely view of the ocean as we worked.
The waves mostly co-operated… it was just a little choppy one of the class days but everyone did very well.
Of course we didn’t stay on the ship for our whole time away. We had booked day trips designed to give us a taste of the countries we visited.
In Aruba we took a ‘natural wonders” tour. We visited a butterfly farm.
And we drove north to see the rocky coastline.
We took a walking tour in Cartagena, getting on and off a bus to visit different areas of the old town. It’s a bustling colorful city.
Ruby made her mom some crocheted ducks and hid them in her luggage. They came out and about with us and enjoyed the scenery!
Next up was a detour in to the Panama Canal. We arrived at the entrance to the locks very early in the morning. Julia went to the bow for a close up view. I was content to watch on the cabin tv…
I was up and about by the time we reached the lake. Here’s the view from our balcony. I wasn’t the only one watching our progress!
There was a special trip organized in Costa Rica. We went to visit a local quilt group! After a lovely breakfast the teachers were presented with commemorative pictures. If you had been wondering who else was teaching… now you know. From left to right here’s Heidi Proffetty, Cindy Seitz-Krug, Heather Kojan and yours truly.
Many people had made blocks to swap with each other. Michelle was very happy with the sloth block she received!
We went on a boat ride along the local canals before we returned to the ship.
And yes, we spied a real life sloth just hanging out in the trees.
One last stop before we returned to Florida.
It was a two hour minibus ride to the Dunn’s River Falls from the port. I decided to sit and enjoy the scenery.
Julia was more adventurous and climbed up from the bottom.
I am well aware of my limitations.
Time for some pictures around the ship. We were on Holland America’s ms Rotterdam. It was easy to find a quiet spot to hang out when we wanted some fresh air and an expansive view.
We could have eaten all day, every day… There were lots of healthy options but these cakes on Cake Me Away Day were not among them…
We took lots of sunrise and sunset pictures.
Julia took this dramatic moon light shot on the last night.
Everyone had an opportunity to share their projects at a party on the last afternoon. Some people had been very industrious. Here are some of the stitchers from my Mola inspired embroidery class. Good work everyone!
I have to admit it was lovely to be able to enjoy almost two weeks of sunshine and warm… especially when we noted the weather back home.
Here’s the view of a frozen Chicago and the ice on Lake Michigan as we came in to land back at Midway…
Happy memories of a fun trip. I’m already looking forward to cruising to Alaska in June 2026. (details coming very soon!)
In other news, Joanne’s children had a day off school so they decided to come and visit grandma. We went to the Children’s Museum for an educational afternoon. Emily is seven this week.
And then I was back on a plane headed out west to Sacramento. It was time for me to take a class! The only picture I have is this one of downtown Vacaville.
The big news is that I am now a trained Quilt Show Judge! I have a certificate and a whole head full of knowledge. The course was sponsored by the Northern California Quilt Council. I have been asked to be a judge at a major show this year and I now I feel a lot better prepared. I am well aware that I am still lacking experience but I will work on that!
Ever onward. It’s been a good first two months of the year. My bags are packed to head down to Bloomington, Indiana for the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show this week. I’ll be back from that for five days and then I’ll head to Houston for a multi-part trip to three different guilds.
Then I have two classes for Mancuso’s QuiltFest Virtual Schoolhouse. I’m teaching a full day button class on the 28th and a full day walking foot class on the 29th. I still have room in both workshops, so if you’ve always wanted to try either of those, now’s your chance. Sign up details are here. Remember, everyone gets a front row seat on Zoom!!
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