Stitch and Sail News

Canada and New England Quilt Retreat at Sea

2011-11-18T05:07:00.000-08:00

Fall came and went in the New England states in a flurry of a hurry. Our trip was great but the fall colors weren't as plentiful as some would have liked. I am from the deserts of the southwest, and therefore there are not 4 seasons, so to me it was glorious and beautiful. I couldn't stop raving about the deepness of the red leaves.

Patrick Lose- our artist/instructor was a smashing hit. The projects that he had planned for us to do were of the fall colors and the celebration of Halloween.

This was one of the projects.

Cocktail hour was a hit, as we were all able to get to know each other a little better. Our Non-quilters joined us as well.

Our classtimes were busy with anxious and happy quilters.

When we were in port we were able to explore the sights-sounds-flavors of the areas we had sailed to: museums, shopping, art work, music, historical buildings, and history of the towns.

This trip took us from New Jersey, to Portland Maine, Bar Harbor Maine, Halifax Nova Scotia, St. Johns New Brunswick and Boston Massachutes.

Hope you will join us on a cruise soon. We have a lot of fun planned for one and all.

Until then - We Are Sew Cruising- Jacquelyn and Michelle

Cruise Night with the Lizzie B Girls

2011-09-22T07:03:00.000-07:00

Each of these fun and exciting quilt designers and artists live in very different areas of the U.S.

Beth Hawkins lives and works out of her home studio in Tucson, AZ. Liz Hawkins does the same in Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania.
Recently we had an open studio party and cruise night at Beth's place and met many new and excited friends that love The Lizzie B Cre8ive designs/fabrics and cruising. We are looking forward to planning and preparing for their cruise in Sept 2012 to the Eastern Caribbean. Rooms are still available for this trip.
Next week, actually on Sept. 28th Michelle and I will be in PA to meet Liz. She has introduced us to a wonderful shop 'The Quilt Block' http://www.thequiltblockinc.com/ in Exton PA - owners are Cynthia and Pam. and Michelle and I will be there to be part of a Cruise Night Party.
If you live in the area, please stop in at The Quilt Block between 4-8pm. The address is 95 E. Welsh Pool Rd. Exton PA phone: 610-363-0404

New England -Nova Scotia here we come

2011-08-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

Hi, Good Morning and Aloha,

WE are packing our bags and gearing up for the Party w/ Patrick on the beautiful Explorer of the Seas - a Royal Caribbean ship. We set sail next month Sept 29th.

Patrick has some fabulous plans for us to sew, learn and develop new techniques and it is sure to be a P-A-R-T-Y!
You can look in your favorite magazine stand or quilt shop for his latest magazine issue of 'Quilting Celebrations'. I really enjoy his patterns and always learn a new way of doing some things I thought were hard.
Here is a copy of the front page of the magazine-

Another group to look up in your spare time on the internet is The Yankee Quilter in Connecticut http://www.yankeequilter.com/ Barbara and Cheryl are the owners of this great shop and our shop sponsors for this cruise. They have lots of surprises in store for all of you quilters and have also generously dontated a sewing machine as the Grand Prize. I can't wait to see who wins it.

If you didn't book a cabin on this cruise, then please check out our website at http://www.quiltretreatatsea.com/ for more cruises that offer other fabulous artists and destinations. Michelle and I escort each cruise, and hope to help our quilters and non-quilters all feel relaxed and pampered.

We are 'Sew Cruisin'- Jacquelyn and Michelle

Amazing Alaska

2011-08-05T05:59:00.000-07:00

4th of July we show our American Spirit

As I cruise to Alaska every year, one might think- enough is enough. Not so in Alaska, the scenery is so amazingly beautiful, and the ports we go to never get boring. I seem to always learn or see something I missed in earlier visits.

This year we had a bit of a rough start to our cruise, with the sea being a bit rough, it certainly didn't dampen the spirits of our quilters though. Everyone got up, dressed and out to exercise in the nice cool air before class started.

Quilt artist J. Michelle Watts started our trip off with her wonderful new design. She wanted the quilters to learn to stitch applique designs that had points and curves. Her method gives the appearance that the edges are turned and not left raw. Each student was busily engaged and most of them completed the block before the cruise ended.

Also joining us was David Taylor who taught his method of hand applique. I was thrilled to learn that with his method I don't have to struggle or stitch the inside curves and how to avoid points as well.

Post Card Exchange

These wonderful artists shared several of their award winning quilts with us during the trunk show. It was amazing to see the beautiful work and the intricate stitching. We had many folks who are curious about us when we are onboard and we love to invite them to join us for the trunk show.

Mystery Quilt

2011-06-20T07:46:00.003-07:00

What is a Mystery Quilt you ask? I did too. I never understood how the term Mystery could be related to a quilt, but I found out. I took a class at the Quilter's Market quilt shop in Tucson last month. They were held on 2 consecutive Friday nights.

close up view of one block

So when I signed up for the quilt class, I asked for the supply list. The 1st clue was the only thing listed, I was direceted to chose yardage for the dark, medium and light fabrics. Ok, so 3 fabrics are chosen out of my stash. Luckily I had enough yardage of a dark purple tone on tone print, orange/yellow batik print for medium, and an offwhite tone on tone fabric. I think this was the hardest part of the task, as I had no final product to look at and was unsure how the pieces would be put together, so as the clues progressed during the class time, we could see the progress. A lot of piecing and strip sewing. A lot, and I mean a lot of ripping out seams, since I managed to sew a whole section of the quilt the wrong direction. Well yesterday, I finally got the top pieced completely together, I am thinking of adding the 'optional' border so that it will be a larger quilt.

By the way, if you want to make a Mystery Quilt join me next May for an Alaskan cruise with the Mystery Quilt teachers Jean Biddick and Jo Cady-Bull on our Quilt Retreat at Sea Mystery Cruise Pass the link on http://www.quiltretreatatsea.com/ and come on aboard.

She's a Quilter

2011-04-28T06:24:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know Michelle, she has always proclaimed to be a 'Non-Quilter' according to her- " Mom is the quilter, I just do make the cruise arrangements"... Well, she can no longer make that statement. Last Christmas she was at the shop where I work- Hearts and Hands Quilts in Green Valley, AZ. She spent the day with me as we were getting ready for a Chamber of Commerce meeting, well anyway.... so she found fabric she wanted and then she wanted me to make her the quilt. I told her I would buy the fabric for her as her christmas present and teach her to make the quilt. Voila.... here is the result...

Pattern from "City Lights" made by Michelle Jackson, on Bernina 150 sewing machine. Quilt will be longarm quilted by Nina Keck of Hearts and Hands Quilts http://www.heartsandhandsquilts.com/

New cruises- new instructors-new quilters

2011-01-23T06:34:00.000-08:00

Hi to all,
Michelle and I have been busy at the Tucson Quilt Show. We have had a great time meeting and welcoming aboard new Quilt Retreat at Sea cruisers for our 2011 and 2012 quilt cruises. We are happy to have met some of you that had previously registered for a cruise, and now we will be able to have a face with the name.

Here's a peek at our booth. We got a lot of nice comments. The stringer was loaned to us by Nina at Hearts and Hands Quilts Shop. She took a long string of white lights and wrapped miles of small strips of scraps around the wiring. They shine nicely and attract a good bit of attention.
The 'Sandal' quilt was a hit and prompted many to stop and ask questions about it. Here is the story behind the quilt. In 2008 I asked the quilters who were taking our inaguaraul cruise to please make a sandal block ( I provided a pattern). They were asked to applique the sandal to a 10" block of white cotton. Once I received the blocks, I had the challenge of putting them all together and completing the quilt. Nina Keck- professional long arm quilter and owner of Hearts and Hands Quilts did the quilting.
Michelle and I look forward to sailing with you in 2011 and 2012, we are also now beginning to plan for the last half of 2012 and 2013 so that there will be many more cruises for you to enjoy and many more techniques for you to learn.

Finished Quilt

2010-12-16T04:19:00.000-08:00

In July of this year, we had an awesome time cruising in Alaska's inside passage. During the cruise, we had many lessons from quilt artist Carol Morrisey you can find her website at http://www.ocaroldesigns.com/
This week we received a picture from one of our quilters, Susan Botther. She lives in South Africa and does beautiful handwork. She has finished her masterpiece from the cruise and sent us the photo.

Great work Susan, you are SEW CRUISING.

Cozumel

2010-10-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

What happens in Cozumel, stays in Cozumel... a Quilt Retreat at Sea motto..... LOL

As last mentioned, Michelle went cruising for her birthday last week. So instead of sending me photos she made me wait until today. Here she is at the Ocean: nice photo, Michelle.

And this is her NEW best friend- Senor Iguana.

But from the looks of these pictures, she had a GREAT time

Where in the World is Michelle Now?

2010-10-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

Did she go to Victoria Buchart Gardens?

St. Lucia ?

Hoonah Alaska?

Santo Domingo?

Mendenhall Glacier?

Could she have gone to the Mediterranean? Bahamas? Mexican Riveria? Hawaii? The choices are endless....

Take a guess..... Post your guess on our facebook page

Answer in a few days when she gets home and sends me the photos.... of her 'Girlfriend Get-a-way'.... sound fun? We can all have the same fun on our Quilt Retreat at Sea- with wonderful quilt artists/friends/and exotic ports of call. Check out the website for more detailed information: http://www.quiltretreatatsea.com/

Hearts and Hands Quilts is Named

2010-09-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

2010 Small Business of the Year

Last night at the Green Valley/Sahuarita Chamber of Commerce Meeting- Nina Keck owner of Hearts and Hands Quilts was honored. She received her award in April but this was a mixer that honored all the winners.

http://www.heartsandhandsquilts.com/

We, her staff and friends, are so proud of her integrity and huge wonderful spirit. It is a pleasure to work with Nina.

Quilt Retreat at Sea was privileged to have Nina as the very first Shop Sponsor. She enjoyed the experience so much that she has chosen to sponsor our July 1-8, 2011 Alaskan cruise which will feature applique artist David Taylor and southwest designer J. Michelle Watts.

Congratulations again Nina.

Win a tote bag like this

2010-09-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

OK everyone... make a reservation to cruise on one of our upcoming Quilt Retreats at Sea by Oct. 1, 2010 and you could be the recipient of a tote bag- like this one. It is a perfect tote for a trip, can hold lots of 'whatevers'... Contact us through http://www.quiltretreatatsea.com/ and you may WIN!!!

It's Tuesday and we are excited

2010-09-14T06:06:00.000-07:00

Good morning to all you wonderful Quilt Retreat at Sea followers. We are just as excited as we can be. Our new website is almost finished and we can't wait. The web designer, Craig, has done a fabulous job and he has worked hard to be sure that all our images are clear and information is concise. The newest addition is our new logo.

Don't you JUST LOVE IT?

2010-09-05T10:09:00.000-07:00

This quilt was the product of 29 quilters that were on the Quilt Retreat at Sea Inaugural sailing to the Caribbean 2010. We all had the same pattern and made the sandals with our favorite colors. Each quilter also embellished the sandal to provide diminsion and character. The sandals were then sized up and squared to make the wall hanging.

Let's go look at the whales and icebergs together

2010-09-05T07:13:00.000-07:00

This past summer we took a group of 34 to Alaska, 28 folks in the group were quilters, but some just wanted to be with us and loved to cruise. It is always a great time on a cruise ship, but imagine the 'crazy' fun of doing quilting projects while on board.
Well believe it or not there are lots of quilters who have/had never been on a cruise ship and don't know how wonderful it is to be pampered, wined and dined in a floating 5 star hotel for 7-14 days. Well there are always requests for us to take another group to Alaska and that is exactly what we have planned for next July, 2011. Our featured artists are: David Taylor and J. Michelle Watts

David Taylor- Quilt Artist See his gallery at http://www.davidtaylorquilts.com/

J. Michelle Watts Quilt Designer- http://www.jmichellewatts.com/

Each of the artists have unique and very different interests and talents. You will be learning from both.

Our store sponsor for the Caribbean 2011 Nina Keck- http://www.heartsandhandsquilts.com/ had such a wonderful time that she decided to sponsor the Alaska cruise. She has planned an awesome Grand Prize drawing for one lucky quilter, plus numerous give-a-ways to all the quilters.

Contact Michelle or Jacquelyn at michelle@quiltretreatatsea.com or jacquelyn@quiltretreatatsea.com for more information.

Cruise to New England/Canada just got better

2010-09-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

Man oh Man are we excited...and with good reason. ONE lucky quilter will be able to win our Grand Prize. A Viking - Sapphire sewing machine valued at $1700. This is being donated by our Shop Sponsors Barb and Cheryl at The Yankee Quilter- Oxford, Conn. Here is the link to their website: http://www.yankeequilter.com/

Check out their website and learn more about the fabulous shop. Thanks to Patrick Lose at http://www.patricklose.net/ for introducing us to this sister team. Still time to register. Remember- 'WE ARE SEW CRUISIN'

Party with Patrick

2010-09-02T06:27:00.000-07:00

Michelle and I spent some time yesterday with Patrick Lose, and his business partner Gary. We have decided to 'Party with Patrick' in January 2011 on the Caribbean Sea.... Contact us my email- michelle@quiltretreatatsea.com to get your registration form and more information. Here is the link to Patrick Lose website- http://www.patricklose.net/ . We want to fill the ship with quilters, family members and friends. What could be better after a busy holiday season?

Welcome Aboard!

2010-09-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new blog. We will use this blog to share our day to day experiences as we grow our Quilt Retreat at Sea business. We will share pictures and stories of our past Quilt Retreat at Sea cruises, as well as Quilt Artists we meet along the way. We will also share any quilting related information we find, such as events and introduce you to quilt shops we discover during our travels.

Please subscribe to follow our blog and feel free to post any comments you may have. We hope to hear from you all soon.