Half day in Split, Croatia

We once again had the privilege of sailing into port in the daylight as we arrived in Split at noon on August 24th. We had just a half a day in Split so once again, we decided to just wander on our own to see what we could find.

But first we decided to have breakfast in the diningroom when we heard they serve Eggs Benny!

Unremarkable but I loved the grilled tomatoes every morning!

I had heard that Split was quite beautiful and while I agree that there was some natural beauty, in my opinion, Montenegro was much more beautiful.

Covered market

Bougainvillea - my favourite Mediterranean flower

Intrigued by their long, flat brickwork

Scored my son a shirt from the Game of Thrones shop

Promenade back to the ship

Tired roommate.  It was over 30 C

and this guy greeted us on our return.

Now we have another full day at sea ahead of us as we head south towards Naples, Italy.

Back to Italy we go!

Mavis

Overnight sail into Venice, Italy

We left Montenegro at 5:00 p.m. and woke up at sea.  We had the morning to ourselves to sew, explore the ship (Brilliance of the Seas), read, or just relax and breathe in the Mediterranean air. I decided to sew on my hexie project from home.

Sewing at Sea

We arrived in Venice at 3:00 p.m. and we made sure to be up on the deck to watch the view of the City while we made our way to port.  It was surreal.

View coming in to port from inside the Solarium

We had to take a shuttle boat from the ship to the cityfront.  This whole waterfront of Venice is dotted with water taxis, shuttle boats and yes gondolas.  The one question I am asked by everyone who knows I went to Venice is, "did you take a gondola ride".  The short answer is 'no'.  It wasn't particularly appealing to me and at 100 Euros, the temptation to say "oh what the heck, let's do it!" wasn't there. I'd rather save my money for leather in Florence!

We booked an extensive walking tour with the lovely Monica for our second day in port.  Monica had a lovely Italian lilt to her voice and an equally excellent command of English.  We followed her through the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark) neighbourhood featuring Doge's Palace which was magnificent, over many bridges,  St. Mark's Cathedral, also magnificent, and finally the Murano Glass Showroom.

Doge's Palace

The Marzipan was incredible but we were forbidden from bringing food on the ship. :(

Small shops abound.  Waiting for Florence for leather shopping!

Bridge of Sighs is the solid higher bridge

After the walking tour, we had time on our own to wander and explore and eat before we had to take the shuttle boat back to the ship.

Spaghetti and Meatballs (quintessential Italian food).  Just had to!

New friend Suzy from Florida

Best creme brulee I've ever had! Period!

And that was Venice!  Unfortunately, we were so exhausted that we were in our cabin resting when we sailed out in the evening so we missed the city at night, fully lighted.  From our friends' photos, we realized we were sorry to miss this.

Next stop is Split, Croatia!

Until then,

Mavis

Inspiration from Kotor, Montenegro

We had two days at sea and finally arrived at Kotor, Montenegro, our first port.  This morning we were up early for our first excursion off the ship.

We chose not to purchase one of the excursions but to walk around and explore on our own.  Kotor is located where the Balkan Mountains meet the Adriatic Sea.  The city sits on a deep majestic bay surrounded by steep cliffs. There is almost a 360 degree view of the city as it spreads around the base of the mountains and up the hills.

We had to be transported by small boat in groups of 40 (tethered is the correct term) to the Kotor dock where we were met by a multitude of small tour operators ready to relieve us of our Euros to show us the sites. We had already decided to explore on our own so we just started walking. The heat was extreme and we were thankful that we got an early start before the midday sun appeared. We meandered through the old city and captured some great photos of the cobblestone streets, doorways and shuttered windows.  This window box added a bright bit of colour to the street.

When we found a coffee shop with free wifi I took the opportunity to reconnect with family and to check my email. An Americano is 1.60€ here which wasn't bad at all. I've heard that in Italy a good coffee can cost 5€.  I was happy to get the free wifi and sit for a bit. 

We then decided to try the hop on hop off bus. They have generally been good in my experience and not badly priced. This one cost 20€ and was about an hour round trip. We ambled along the shore until our ship was out of sight, meandering our way past ancient buildings and hotels, apartments, churches and houses and more modern buildings.  At the far end of the city there was a 15 minute stop at the Roman tiles site and this was worth the stop. 

These small tiles are about 1/2" each and the designs are not unlike quilt designs. I took plenty of photos and plan on designing some quilts based on the colours and shapes I've seen in Kotor and in general from this trip.   

Kotor had a severe earthquake in 1979 and this city is now a world Unesco site. It looks to be a very poor region and from what we heard on the audio tour, fishing and tourism are their main industries. 

They have beautiful scenery in this seaside city and I was glad that Kotor was one of our ports of call on this trip.  

When we return to the ship our next scheduled class with Bonnie Hunter is Razzle Dazzle cutting techniques. This was supposed to be our project for the at sea days but due to lack of a machine supplier Bonnie had to come up with an entirely new project for us. We still get the cutting instruction and got to see her Razzle Dazzle finished quilt. 

It was a great day on land and back at sea. Tomorrow morning we have video instruction in the morning and then we arrive in Florence at 3:00 and will be in that port overnight. A group of us will be exploring together and we will stop for dinner in Venice before making our way back to the ship. The captain said tonight that a storm is on the horizon and should start sometime after 10 pm. As I write this post it is nearly 2:00 a.m. and I don't sense any rough waters from the centre of the third deck.  Those on the outside decks may have a different report in the morning. 

Until then it is time for this girl to try and get some more winks. Sleep has been a big struggle. Jet lag is real my friends.  

Mavis

Days at Sea

We set sail without the fanfare that I've seen on TV programs. In our state room you'd never know you were sailing except for the gentle rumble of the engines.  Not so much as a ripple in the seas and smooth sailing all the way. Look at the gorgeous teal water colour!!

Our first workshop with Bonnie was the Little Bit Hexie quilt block. The hexie bug had already bitten me so I've brought my La Passion hexagon quilt with me on the trip for hand sewing time. Up until now I've  used glue to fold down my hexies. I will stock pile about twenty or so, then sew them on to the "mother ship". Bonnie doesn't use glue and the method she taught is better than glue and doesn't leave you with sticky fingers.  You baste one in the corners and then with the same continuous thread attach that one. She told the story of a lady who had basted 900 hexies and was systematically adding them on to her quilt when one day the whole stockpile was lost she had to start over. Besides the price of glue this was a great reason for using Bonnie's method. I will try that on my 1/2" hexies. This may mean I can't use my accuquilt die for cutting  the hexies though as there isn't much seam allowance on those precut shapes. Bonnie's method uses squares with ample seam allowance and also leaves the basting thread in which keeps the wrong side flat. The glue method means when you lift the back sides of the hexie to remove the paper they no longer stay flat and will require pressing. If you saw the size of my hexies you'd understand that pressing wouldn't be fun. 

Anyway, here is a photo of my little hexie flower, all finished including the appliqué to the block background. 

The second day was the Spanish Rose quilt which was a class in back basted appliqué. Bonnie supplied all the fabric, needles and even the thread. Our homework from the first class was to find a window and trace the appliqué pattern on the wrong side of the square.

Here are Jan and I preparing for class:

This is a few hours into class. Bonnie is very patient and gives excellent instruction. She is giving our new friend Nancy some one on one help with her project.

I finally got my rhythm and did okay on my leaves but the flower bumps were not easy. I'm quite sleep deprived so the brain isn't firing on all cylinders.  With a lot of practice I expect my technique would improve but I'm not sure this is worth the time investment for me.  The jury is still out on that verdict.  Piecing is more my thing.  I've also dabbled in various forms of machine appliqué, so I'm still deciding. It was great to learn this back basting technique though and have it in my toolkit. As for hand work, I know I love hexies. I'm not sure I love appliqué.  Here's my effort so far:

Tomorrow we will wake up in Kotor, Montenegro and explore dry land. We'll see if I can upload the blog posts. I chose not to get wifi on the ship as it is slow at best and very expensive. 

Off I go for now!  There's a cool lemonade with my name on it!

Until next time!

Mavis

Quiltville Mediterranean Quilt cruise

After getting acclimatized in Barcelona for a few days with my travel partner, we met up with our group last night for a welcome dinner at our hotel. Today we met Bonnie and her hubby Dave as we were waiting for our bus to take us to the port. She is warm and friendly as she appears and I'm so very blessed to be on this Quiltville cruise. 

We arrived at the port early. We are all checked in and managed to get our shore excursions booked for Rome and Florence. That was our first stop on board after embarking. The remaining ports will be available on foot mostly.  We had lunch while we waited for our state room to be ready. We still haven't got our luggage but hopefully we will soon so we can empty those suitcases and settle in. 

Two twin beds mushed together European style. Hard mattresses but they will do!  Our porter Reuben said he will separate the beds into two twins while we are at dinner. We tried for a siesta but didn't fall asleep.  

Here is the rest of our room. Quite cozy with nooks and crannies for everything. 

We have dinner at 6:30 one floor up and after that Bonnie Hunter and Mary Ellen, our cruise director, will be hosting a welcome meeting. There are three Canadians on the trip, the two of us and one lady from Calgary. 

Tomorrow is our first class with Bonnie!!  Team Canada is ready to party!!

With love from Barcelona,

Mavis

And we're off!!

I am currently in the SeaTac airport awaiting boarding time for a flight to Barcelona. About a year and a half ago I called my dear friend Jan and asked her if she might be interested in a quilting cruise to the Mediterranean.  She took a look at the website and said "let's do it!!"

Since then there has been much anticipation of this day. And here we are!

We flew out of Victoria this afternoon at 12:47 and have about a four hour layover at SeaTac. It is a confusing airport but we have managed to find our gate and will be boarding in just over half an hour and on the way to Barcelona.  And I found some time to sew my hexie a as a true Bonnie disciple (or Bonniac as we call it).

My dear friend Jan and I have known each other for over 30 years. We have travelled together before, a bus trip to Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, to be specific. We get along great and walk about the same speed. This is good 

We don't know quite what to expect on this trip. We meet up with Bonnie Hunter and the rest of our group on Wednesday evening before we board the ship on Thursday.  There will be lots of beautiful scenery as we make our way through the Mediterranean to ports in Montenegro, Croatia, Italy and France.   We're ready for the adventure. There will be some quilting workshops while at sea and for me this is a huge bucket list adventure. A trip to the Mediterranean AND classes with Bonnie Hunter. Pinch me !!!

Our flight will be long and we won't arrive in Barcelona until tomorrow. We expect to be tired and are glad that we have a few days to get rested up before the cruise. 

So here we go! The adventures of Winetta and Ethel chapter one. We nicknamed each other about 25 years ago and have never stopped using them. Back in the 80s we both lived in Israel at different times and wrote many, many letters back and forth.   That was before email and Facebook. Lol. Working in the envelope factory there wasn't much excitement for me so I started writing under alter ego names and embellishing my letters home for humour's sake.  And we still laugh about it.  And we still call each other Winetta and Ethel.  That's just how we roll. 

Time to pack the electronics away and stretch the legs before a long sitting stretch. 

Next post will come from Barcelona. 

Until next time,

Mavis aka Ethel

Where did July go!!??

I'm now counting down the days until I fly with one of my besties all to the way to Barcelona to meet up with Bonnie Hunter and 48 other cruisers as we embark on the Brilliance of the Seas and make our way through the beautiful Mediterranean.  Gasp!!  This has been a long time coming and I'm beyond excited.  We had a change in projects a few weeks ago due to the supplier of machines for the cruise going belly up and shutting their doors.  In true Bonnie fashion, she took that curve ball and hit it out of the park as she quickly planned and then created a new project for us.

This will be my first ever workshop with Bonnie Hunter.  I've followed her online since 2009 when I did my first mystery quilt "Double Delight".  I'm now following her blog, facebook and instagram pages, and watching her on Quiltcam from her basement studio.  Suffice it to say I'm a fan. Just a little bit.  ;)

Anyhow, I was more surprised than anyone to log on to write a blog post today and note that my last post was from June.  I'm not sure where the heck July went except for the fact that there was lots of overtime work in July due to the crazy real estate market.  This can make for long days for conveyancers.  That must be where the time went.

There were a few quilty things in July that kept me sane through the real estate crazy town days of July.  Here are a few things I've been working on:

There was a two fabric bargello

There was binding and finishing off my Blooming Nine Patch.

Punctuated by walks in the neighbourhood with my doggies, Cooper & Sophie.  We realized today that we got them three years ago today (thanks Facebook reminders!)

There was FINALLY some quilting on the borders of my Memorial Quilt in memory of my friend Janet who passed away a few years back.  This was a UFO from her husband's garage sale of her quilting things.

There was some progress on my Florabunda quilt (free pattern from Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville page).  Some of the progress was made outside on my deck with my featherweight, Ferdinand.

There was some quilting in protest.  This was supposed to be our cruise project (Razzle Dazzle).  When we got word that there wouldn't be machines on the boat after all, I decided...what the heck...I'm starting this quilt now...almost as a way of expressing my disappointment and trying to turn lemons into lemonade.  We will still be learning some cutting techniques for this quilt, even if we aren't doing the actual sewing on the cruise, so I've put it away for now.

And there was a new quilt started.  One of my colleagues requested that I make her a quilt for her granddaughter for Christmas.  The only proviso was that it had to have monkeys.  If you zoom the photo you will indeed find monkeys.  The pattern is Warm Wishes from Quiltmaker Magazine which was a Linus quilt pattern.

and LASTLY...there was some cutting on my Accuquilt GO cutter for Bonnie Hunter's Leaders and Enders 2016 challenge which is hourglass units.  These bright little triangles are now a bin waiting to be assembled with absolutely no deadline attached to them.  I dug into my Kaffe Fassett scrap and FQ bins to find these gorgeous fabrics and have paired them with a buttercup yellow plain fabric as the neutral.

So I guess I have been busy.  It has been a great summer and I'm delighted that I've had some time to sew outside on my deck too.

I probably won't be blogging before we fly to Barcelona and set sail for the cruise, but there will be plenty of photos when we return.

Until then, keep stitchin!

Mavis