There is something about old wooden shutters. Real shutters. Shutters still in every day use to block out the August heat of the day. I’ve got “faux” shutters on my house. They are there just for decoration, but THESE shutters I love!
It became a theme – at every port we visited, to look at the shutters. Some open all the way, some partially closed, some shut tightly.
We even made it home 6 hours early because of availability on an earlier flight that took us from Barcelona to Atlanta, bypassing JFK all together ---thank GOODNESS!
It was 3:30pm in Atlanta, and my body was saying it was time for bed – 9:30pm Barcelona time, and there was still one flight left to go.
By the time we arrived in Greensboro, got the luggage, retrieved Moby and headed on home….it was all I could do to love on the critters, hug my son and toddle off to sleep in my own bed beneath my own quilt.
This is the longest cruise I have ever been on, and when you have a 2 hour dinner affair every night with everyone in your group, you really do get to know people!
I first visited France about 6 years ago on a trip to Paris and the surrounding areas, but to find myself in the famous south of France, the area that inspired artists like Cezanne was a dream come true.
It was also a “short” tour day, meaning we had to be back on ship by 3:30pm so that we could reach Barcelona this morning meant that we chose an easy walking tour around the charming town of Aix-en-Provence to soak up a bit of the flavor of this area of Provence.
This is also just a teaser post as we are in port in Barcelona and getting ready to disembark! More when I return home.
I was just here – May of 2015! The trip that inspired all of Allietare!
Yesterday was a bus, boat, train, bus day as we drove through Tuscany, boarded a boat and approached the Cinque Terre by sea.
We stopped in some towns I didn’t get a chance to see on the last trip, and got to spend more time in Monterossa than we did the LAST time.
In May, the town can be crowded…but in AUGUST….it is packed with tourists!
Many of these places do not have beaches, and what beaches you will find are quite rocky. Instead, tourists and locals alike will pick a big flat rock slab, lay out a towel, and sun themselves on the rocks “much like lizards…..” in the words of our guide, Andrea!
Yes, I did stitch hexies on the way to Rome! It was a lovely drive with beautiful country side – the sea to my right, and farm land and vineyards to my left….So great to be back in Italy again as I have very fond memories of the land that inspired Allietare!
This is going to be a very short post…our days are running together. The last 4 days of this cruise have long excursions that start at 7am, get us back to the ship at 5:30pm, dinner starts at 6:30pm and lasts two hours – yes, we dress for dinner in the dining room and I love relaxing and chatting with everyone in my group on what they did this day.
By the time dinner is done it is 8:30 and I can barely keep my eyes open. I am asleep by 9pm.
The alarm goes off at 6am to start all over….today we are headed on a boat ride to the Cinque Terre, a spot I want to visit again since the last time was just not enough.
I have one hour between wake up and meeting in our assigned area before starting our journey.
Where is blog posting fitting in? In 15 minutes before heading to breakfast where I will let it upload while I eat something quickly, come down and hit post – slow internet!
All talking about our port day the day before – Croatia!
One thing I love about cruising is that we are free to choose ANY of the ship’s excursions and see what we want to see.
Or choose NONE of the above and either stay aboard ship to get a massage and relax and stitch blissfully away, or curl up with a good book, take a nap – or just wander into town for a bit of sight seeing and try a local eatery.
I think that amongst us – we did ALL of the above! And there was a lot of chatter about what we had done and seen the day before.
This was our last full workshop day at sea, but there were still 4 more port days ahead of us.
Croatia is a country that has been through so much during my life time.
On Oct. 29, 1918, Croatia proclaimed its independence and joined in union with Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
The name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. When Germany invaded Yugoslavia in 1941, Croatia became a Nazi puppet state.
Growing up I just remember hearing vague things about wars and rumors of wars yet I really had no idea where this area of the world was, and why all of this was going on. It was beyond me. I vaguely remember the following, again, placing it so far away from home:
If I had a month of Sundays – it wouldn’t be enough to explore all that there is to see in Venice.
Oh, sure – there is the usual “Very High End” shopping districts down quite a few of the narrow alleys in the main areas around St Mark’s square –and we would shake our heads as we walked past mostly empty store fronts with 1,500.00 euro Gucci bags in the windows…evidently the finer folks that can afford these things were not in Venice the two days that we were in port. But the street vendor kiosks were busy!
Getting up on the top deck bright and early and watching the sun rise over sleepy Venice was a magical moment. I love my early mornings. And this one was glorious!
Oh, no – we are not having a good time at all, can’t you tell? HA!
Venice is amazing.
I’m still pinching myself that we were able to spend nearly 2 days in this jewel of a city with so much history and culture. Actually, two days is NOT enough – not by a long shot.
But we crammed in as much of Venice as we could into our two days knowing that no matter what we saw, it would be wonderful. And no matter what we saw, there would be things we wanted to see that we would have to save for another time down the line. This was a TASTE of Venice, and there was so much more.
Before I post ANYTHING, I want to let you know that I have another blog post up on the C&T Blog!
It’s a simple little post on pressing – and you might learn some things you didn’t know before. So after you are done reading my little travelogue here, head over there for my article entitled Adventures in Chain Pressing and read up on something quilty, because there only a little sewing happening in this post!
I have snuck in small moments of hexie time here and there. This photo was taken at the END of our Montenegro day, before we left port. I was sitting on the balcony of our cabin just watching boats go by.
I’ve got quilter’s cabins on either side of mine, and it is fun to catch just a bit of conversation as they are out on their balconies enjoying the day also.
**Side Note** And to those who exclaim "Don't you EVER just relax??" This IS the ultimate in relaxation for me. I do what I want to do when I want to do it. It doesn't get better than this! :)
While we were in Kotor, Mary Ellen and I visited another couple of ancient churches, the Church of St Mary Collegiata, and the Cathedral of St Trphyon.
Montenegro is a country I didn’t know ANYTHING about.
And when I say nothing….I really mean NOTHING.
It was never on my bucket list. I never gave this area of the world a second thought.
And when it showed up on our ports of call list for this Mediterranean cruise, part of me just wanted to skip it, and Croatia, and get straight to Venice and Rome where all of the “Good stuff” is.
I was wrong. I was oh so wrong! Kotor Montenegro is a beautiful place centered around a quaint medieval village with a rich heritage and the history loving person within me sang out as soon as we passed this little onion-domed church sitting alone on its little islet as we made our way in to the bay.
Our cruisers were busy stitching away on Spanish Rose yesterday!
They all brought battery powered lights because the light is different depending on where you are sitting, and we all know we NEED to be able to see!
Jan in the center has control of everything with her head light!
In fact there are several in class, and these are really good for doing handwork where good lighting is not always available.
These ladies are troopers! Those who have done applique before and love it are having a ball. We have several who are accomplished Baltimore Album finishers, and they have been really helpful to others while I make my way around the room.
49 quilters including a hubby and wife team that are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with us!
Yesterday was our A Little Bit Hexie workshop and everyone did SO well. What a fun group we have – for 12 days at sea! You can really get to know a group when you have this much time to spend together and this is absolutely the best ---Hexie Sewing at Sea!
Before we left for the pier yesterday morning we had a chance to do some exploring INSIDE the Cathedral of Barcelona, more officially known as Catedral de la Santa Cruz y Santa Eulalia in Spanish. But since many in Spain speak Catalan, you may hear it referred to as Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia.
Whatever you call it, you will find the Cathedral full of religious art and amazing architecture. These are the things I love to explore in Europe. There is so much to discover!
The cathedral was constructed from the 13th to 15th centuries, with the principal work done in the 14th century.
The cloister, which encloses the Well of the Geese (Font de les Oques) was completed in 1448. In the late 19th century, the neo-Gothic façade was constructed over the nondescript exterior that was common to Catalan churches. The roof is notable for its gargoyles, featuring a wide range of animals, both domestic and mythical. [source]
When we had wanted to enter the church the previous afternoon, we found that it cost 7 euros a piece during the afternoon hours. But the next morning you could come after mass, and there was no charge. Perfect for an after-breakfast wander before our bus picked us up to deliver us to the pier at 11am.
Overnight flights are NEVER a joy – sleeping on planes just never happens for me, and for some reason, definitely not on this one….but when we landed, I was SO excited!
There were a few of us from our group on my flight, but the bulk of everyone else came via JFK to Madrid to Barcelona, so we had an hour to wait for them in the baggage claim area.
Happy reunions with some of the folks I’ve traveled with before, and resounding hellos and nice to meet yous from those who are with me for the first time!
Oh, what a great group this is!
We gathered our luggage and headed out to the bus for a panoramic city tour of Barcelona with some fascinating stops along the way!
Bags are packed…..oh how I love space bags and their ability to squoosh and smoosh until things are vacuum sealed into submission!
Then they double as laundry bags, keeping clean stuff from dirty stuff until we get home.
8:47 am and I’m sitting here thinking there MUST be something else that needs to be done before we head to the airport around noon…Nope! There isn’t? Does that mean I might be able to squeeze in some machine time before we go?
We discovered some midnight shenanigans on our trail cam that records activity at the deer feeder.
Raccoons!
A whole HOARD of them!
At one time we counted FIVE…all seen in the shadows of night by the reflection in their beady little eyes.
Our feeder is automated and is set to go at 8pm and 6am and while we have seen fox, loads of squirrels, birds and plenty of deer, this is the first time we’ve caught so many raccoons scrounging for food.
One little guy was pretty determined! After a while on the ground, he decided it was time to CLIMB!
Some days are just meant for friend stitching time!
This weekend I am so happy to be stitching again with Mona, I’m about to burst my buttons.
It’s just been months and months, and while the guys were busy doing guy stuff, we sat, we talked, we laughed, we sewed, and we laughed some more.
Yes, we laughed about the stupid Buck Heads on the mountain. We commiserated over the board meeting that happened yesterday – still waiting to hear if they have passed or declined the crazy notion to go yet another $600,000.00 in debt to pave dirt roads that don’t need paving.
I swear, they are going to run us into the ground here.
There are so many things wrong with this board, something needs to be done….but we dropped that subject and instead turned back to our projects.
Beanie brought Mona and Rick over to visit last night and Sadie couldn’t be happier!
Who cares if Uncle Rick is giving her bunny ears?! LOL!
It was so good to see them, they arrived home on the mountain on Thursday having spent much of the past few months in Ohio caring for Mona’s mom. Our schedules have been so opposite that she’s been home when I’ve been gone, and I’ve been here when she isn’t and we were so happy just to sit and visit and catch up with our goings on.
The plan for this weekend…any guesses?
We are going to SEW! In fact she brought 3 youth sized quilt tops over to show me that she had been busy while away, all three from my crayon box pattern from the free patterns tab!
This is the iconic “Welcome to Golden” sign, pretty as a picture, and featured on postcards since the
welcome arch was first installed.
On March 24, 1949, it was dedicated with a parade and much fanfare.
I have been to Golden many times and each time I pass near the sign, I just HAVE to take another photo of it. It is so perfect with the rise of the mountains behind it, the wonderful old buildings framing it on either side, and statues and other artwork make Golden a very fun place to slow down, take your time, and explore.
I love this post card from “back in the day” also showing the welcome arch:
Another day in the studio at the Quiltmaker offices in Golden, Colorado!
We had just a few segments to record, a bunch of promos and teasers to shoot – and that was really fun! They had me laughing so hard!
I really love this crew, they are so great to work with!
It is always amazing how “seamless” it looks once all of the editing has happened and all of the bloopers are trimmed out, but during the video shooting itself?
I can’t tell you the number of times I tripped over my own tongue and had to start over again. And again! And….yes….again!
We had to switch out backdrop quilts at one point so here you see studio crew taking care of business while I watched from the bullpen area.
I was greeted by this wonderful welcome sign as I went through the front doors into the Quiltmaker Magazine offices at 7am yesterday morning, before the office even got busy.
You would never had known what the previous day and thrown me through just to get here.
I was up and eager and ready to roll.
Thank heavens my body remains on East Coast time, not having had enough days to adjust to the 2 hours earlier here. I awoke with my 5am alarm feeling completely refreshed and excited about everything the day had in store for us.
It’s been just about exactly a year since I was here last, so it was like old home week seeing everyone again and catching up with how things have been going around here. Exciting things are happening for F+W Media and Craft University is stepping up its game and I’m thrilled with what the future holds.
But before we can do anything, we’ve got to get camera ready!
With all of the global tangle that went down with Delta Airlines yesterday.
In fact, I feel very much like I skated through this with nothing more than a 4 hour delay which was minimal compared to those who still are dealing with cancelled flights, sleeping on airport floors, trying to get to their destinations on day 2 of the “Delta Debacle.”
When things are beyond my control, I stitch. I listen to audio books. I take a break, and talk to the person next to me. Stitching in public always brings around loads of interest.
I am using a Bionic Bag that was made especially for me by a reader, because it is smaller than the usual bag I carry.
I’m having to adjust what I bring this trip because I am also carrying a machine, so everything that wasn’t machine had to fit in my shoulder strap computer bag, and I was minimizing weight and bulk for this short 4 day trip.
How did flying with Black Beauty in a cooler work? If you missed yesterday’s photos click HERE.
We hope. I’m writing this from the airport gate area.
This morning as we were just about to leave for the airport, the news reported that passengers were stranded in airports all over due to a computer issue.
Oh. Freaking. No!
Breathe, Bonnie Breathe….(Seems I’ve been doing a lot of breathing lately!)
I tried to call the hotline, no go. My Delta app? Gave a system error.
I have to get to Denver today, I am recording in the studio tomorrow!
The consensus was made to just go to the airport and see what we could find out.
We are going to give this Quilt-Cam thing another try, on a different lap top to see if the audio still has issues.
I have to tell you, I’ve been nearly sick to my stomach over things that go wrong with Quilt-Cam. You know how it goes, if things are going to screw up, it’s when you are facing an audience and have no control over it.
As always, I will give it ONE MORE TRY if something happens, and if it does, give it about 5 minutes for me to start another feed, and then refresh the page so the second feed is visible on the page. I can’t just take up where we left off, I have to start a whole NEW Quilt-Cam and embed that into the page as also.
Imagine me doing the proverbial “headless chicken” over here as I run around saying some not so nice things and trying to get it going again!
I am extremely happy to be able to be HOME on a Sunday so that we can offer Quilt-Cam to those in European time zones instead of the middle of the night their time.
In fact, emails are already coming in with some show and share photos from the UK! Take a look at this glorious Hunter’s Star and the Allietare blocks that are on the design wall!
Carroll writes:
Hi from Bristol Uk , my name is Carroll and this is the first time that I have caught quilt cam live. I have not been machine quilting for long only 3 years but love it. I have just got your book adventures with leaders and enders and am now cutting what scraps I have ready to start. Tonight I am working on my hunter star quilt, not perfect but I'm happy with it. Catching up with your YouTube videos and learning so much. Thank you for all your inspiration. Attached a pic of what is under my needle.
So glad you could join us, Carroll! I bet she never expected to see her photo front and center on her very first live Quilt-Cam!
This is what’s going under MY needle today:
It’s a messy busy sewing station!
I am stitching the triangle string units to the center units of a quilt for the next book…..It’s been put off and waylaid due to other immediate deadlines, and it is time to pull it out and get these on.
I’m stitching today on my 1950s Electro-Hygiene. LOVE green machines! Silly name, but it is reported that was also the name of a vacuum cleaner that was very popular back in the day…you know…sucking up the dirt is more hygienic than sweeping it around? Sew & Vac? Vac & Sew? Whatever the connection, this Japanese import is an uptake of the Singer class 15, and has a feed dog dropping mechanism on the bed near the pillar. Big improvement!
Quilt-Cam Support Personnel asleep on duty!
It took two tries! The first time only showed my profile photo -- but HEY! It had audio!
The second try we nailed it! You just never know with google hangouts and youtube!
Thanks for joining me today folks! Tomorrow I head to Denver!
This is a bit of the RIDICULOUSNESS that is going on with our Home Owners Association up on Buck Mountain.
It’s been a total tangle of wits and wills and personalities and stupid ideas.
When we bought there 3 years ago, the home owner’s dues were very affordable at $650 per year, with funds mostly being used to maintain the roads. Many of them are dirt, only the steep inclines have black top for safety reasons…and we were fine with it. Minimal head butting. All was good.
But the recent board has their own agenda for what Buck Mountain needs to become and has increased dues after a washed out road due to rain our first year to quite a bit more – it was supposed to be temporary just to put money back in the fund, but no…they’ve not let it go, and put dues back where they belong. And in fact they want to raise it MORE so they can do things like the horrid buck heads on the gate entry posts that you see here.
I swear, they are tarting up my mountain, and it looks worse than a 40% off sale at Hobby Lobby! Tacky Tacky Tacky!
They took our beautiful waterfall and made it into a “park” and it now has lit pathways and blooming flower pots, benches and tables, Adirondack chairs and HAMMOCKS….this is NOT the nature that I love. It’s like they are trying to turn my beautiful natural mountain into a manicured country club. This is our home owner’s dues at work, and it makes me so mad.
LEAVE nature alone! It’s perfectly beautiful just as it is!
(Yes, they have even put in a putt putt golf thing and basketball, and don’t get me started on the pavilion re-do that went from a simple and functional covered pavilion in the open air for gatherings and BBQs into a completely walled in “club house” complete with dish network so they can watch the super bowl games. Your dues at work. GAH!)
Did the population of the mountain vote on any of this? No. All the decisions were made and executed by the board with no vote ever being taken. They never asked. They just did.
HOAs are just a nightmare, and when we finally retire the plan is to sell both places and build somewhere away from HOAs and all of the headbutting and headache they bring.
To calm myself down over the addition of stupid buck heads upon the gate posts (That now look like a gestapo check point) I headed to do some antique browsing.
There were two top finishes on the mountain yesterday!
After finishing all of the cruise kits (Yes, they are all done except for the printed instructions that still have to be written!) I was finally able to sit down with Spanish Rose and figure out what I want to do.
The biggest worry from folks was that the project would be LAME because it was a hand stitching project, and that it wouldn’t be a QUILTVILLE scrappy project.
And it’s so funny because I am ALWAYS asked (okay 9 times out of 10) when lecturing if I EVER make quilts that are not scrappy, that come from just a few coordinated pieces of yardage. And I laugh and I laugh and my response is always WHY? WHY would I do that to myself when that is not where my heart is? It would be torture!
Same thing here.
If you were looking at just one block, it’s hard to make THAT extra scrappy, but when you put 4 blocks together and start pulling in sashings of various fabrics and contemplate borders, it all comes together.
I have always said that kits are like a cake mix. You have to add your own eggs, oil, water, nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, whatever your heart desires- to turn that simple mix into your own creation.
I am supplying block fabrics and the center cornerstone. (center-stone? LOL!) Cruisers will supply their own sashings and borders and binding to reflect their own vision. It's a Quilt-Mix!
In the photo above you can see I am chain piecing oodles of half square triangles on Black Beauty.
I am slowly watching the piles of pieces go down as each one is picked up in order and assembled for each cruiser.
Two kits each!
And I better plan on a big kit of miscellaneous parts incase anyone loses a needle, a pin, a leaf piece or their thread!
As I’m bundling all of this stuff up I am beginning to think of the weight of my own luggage and the restrictions that go with it. I think I’ll be leaving that 3rd pair of shoes at home. And plan on wearing everything in my small packed wardrobe twice – I don’t think folks will care if I don’t have much to wear as long as the class stuff makes it intact!
Yesterday, just as I was headed up the driveway on a tear to make my lunch date with Lisa at Nawab on time, I found my way blocked by the postal van ---delivering me a package!
Oh, hallelujah! Irene’s bocks have arrived!
I couldn’t wait to open the package, but I was already nearly late for lunch so as soon as Postal Joe could get his van out of the end of my driveway I was off and running.
We had a wonderful lunch. Indian food is something that I love that no one else in the family does…so when I want it, it’s time to “phone a friend” and enjoy it with someone who also loves it. And we’ve got a great place in Winston Salem that serves a phenomenal lunch time buffet. Having lived here 8 1 /2 years now (How did that happen?!) I can say that it has never failed to satisfy!
After lunch was over, I headed over to do some dreaded wardrobe enhancement.
You know that kind of panic as in…”Shoot! My days in the video studio are nearly here and I can’t wear the same thing I wore last year!!”
Here is is nearly 10pm on the East Coast and I have been so involved with getting this Spanish Rose top together that I, once again….completely SPACED drawing or our Quiltmaker Bundle giveaway winner!
It’s still early on the West coast. It’s earlier in Alaska. So let’s just say I’m still on Alaska time, which puts me right on schedule! HA!
And my thanks go to Quiltmaker Magazine, not only for promoting me as they have over the past nearly 10 years, but for also sending me extra issues so that I can pass them on to you.
It makes sharing the quilt-love extra fun!
We had 2754 entries! TWO THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY FOUR entries.
That is more than the number of people that live in my town. Staggering. My mind is blown!
Let’s turn up the Random Number Generator and see who it chooses!
My friend Jill is an Innova Long Arm Dearler, and this past weekend she just happened to be vending at a lovely guild quilt show in Westfield, New York.
A very happy text came my way saying “I’m at the Westflied, NY guild show…3 Allietares, a Scrappy Bargello and a Star Struck! Well represented!”
I was so excited that I asked Jill if she could snap some photos for me to share.
These quilters have done such lovely work and they deserve a bit of recognition here on the blog for their efforts! This first Allietare is by Cheryl Gulvin.
Of course, the fun part for me is the placards and what they have to say about their quilts.
These are the days when it is too hot and humid to want to be outside, so we hunker in and enjoy the mountain views from behind glass in the cool of the air conditioning!
And while Mama works at making kits, Sadie the Supervisor is yet again asleep on the job!
I listen to her heavy breathing and downright snoring with a grin on my face, so happy that her surgery was successful!
Thank you so much for your cards and well wishes, and even treats and toys in the mail. The wagging tail will let you know how grateful we are for your caring friendship where my girl is concerned.
