I finally finished my cruise quilt! This has been a long, project in the making, as we started it back in March of this year but the planning for the trip started a year before that.
Several friends and I went on a Stitchin’ Heaven sponsored quilting cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas; it was the most amazing ship I have ever been on! I had been on a cruise around the Hawaiian islands before and outside of shopping, there was not much to do on days that we were at sea, so for me, having these days to have a project and sew was such a great way to spend free time and meet new, like-minded people. One of the things that surprised me was the number of quilters that had just been on one sewing cruise and were back to back on another. Apparently, this is a lifestyle I did not know about and now I have a new retirement life goal!
Each quilting cruise provides the opportunity to work on two different piecing projects or to work on both, which many of the hard core quilters did. But beings that I had never been to Mexico or the Caribbean, I really wanted to enjoy the benefits of both sewing and touring, as well as experience what this magnificent ship had to offer. As such, I was not able to complete the project on the cruise, even with the extra day that we had at sea when we could not dock due to high waves. But it was worth it to enjoy the Mayan ruins in Tulum, to swim in the crystal clear cenotes at Casa Tortuga, to kayak and enjoy an all inclusive day at the beach on the island of Roatan, Honduras and lastly, hunt for seashells in the turquoise waters of the Bahama followed by a three course gourmet meal and relaxing in the infinity pool during our Perfect Day in Coco Bay.
Not only did I get these wonderful memories, I got the best souvenir from the trip, because every time we got together to work on our cruise quilt afterwards, and now that it’s done and displayed on my bed, I am reminded of the great times, laughs and adventures we went on! I can’t wait until we plan the next one…