Embarking on a Quilting Cruise with Stitchin’ Heaven: March 2024
Last month, I was lucky to set sail on a quilting cruise with my sister Liz. I had never sailed on a cruise organized by Stitchin’ Heaven before, so this was a real adventure. Let me tell you all about it!
We sailed from Cape Canaveral (near Orlando) on the Royal Caribbean Wonder of the Seas, a huge and relatively new ship. Our balcony room was relaxing and enjoyable, the food was delicious, and there was way too much on-board entertainment for what we had in mind. Why?
We came to sew! Here’s a photo of the ship’s conference center transformed into a quilt retreat sewing room. Stitchin’ Heaven provided beautiful Bernina Q425 sewing machines and a shared work table for each quilter.
Everything was meticulously organized from the start to the end of our quilting adventure at sea. We arrived to machines all set up and ready to go, and optional quilt kits for those who didn’t want to cut their own fabric. The instructors (Becky Jorgensen and Carolina Moore) were excellent teachers and fun to learn from.
Since we were traveling together, they gave my sister the sewing spot across from me at the same table. We had the most fabulous time sewing and chatting with nobody to bother us.
Can you feel the excitement?
The ports of call on this cruise were Roatan, Honduras; Cozumel, Mexico; Costa Maya, Mexico; and Coco Cay, Bahamas, Royal Caribbean’s private island. We disembarked at Coco Cay and went swimming in the beautiful Bahamian water.
In Roatan, we went on a semi-sub tour. We boarded a half-submerged submarine vehicle with windows near the bottom to view the coral reef. The coral reef was less colorful than we expected due to a recent mudslide (or so they told us), but we saw lots of colorful fish and a couple of sea turtles.
We chose not to leave the ship in Cozumel or Costa Maya, Mexico. The sewing room was calling us! Don’t worry; we were only saving those adventures for later.
Royal Caribbean filled the Wonder of the Seas with beautiful artwork that inspired us to keep working on our quilts. This watercolor painting was my favorite, hanging on a wall in one of the stairwells.
There were two quilt projects on the cruise. Liz and I picked our own fabrics for the May Meadows quilt (a free quilt pattern from Art Gallery Fabrics) and purchased the pre-cut kits for our Topiary quilts (also a free pattern from AGF). Here’s a picture of my fur baby Lola helping me cut batting for my May Meadows quilt made with Liberty fabrics (after I got home).
I can definitely forsee more Stitchin‘ Heaven cruises in my future. This was the best-organized sewing or craft-related cruise that I’ve taken, and there are many more tempting cruises listed on their website. Let me know if you want to come with us next time!
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