So, here we
are. The start of November. And very little in the way of quilting achieved
this year… All, well mostly all, due to
our sailing plans that seem to have taken on a life of their own. So, what happened?
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| Supermarket run in our 'other' car |
- Our intent for an early start (Feb) this year to
get from Trinidad to the US before hurricane season, (June to November) fell
apart, waiting on visas. So, the plan was re-written.
- We added a bit more work to our list for completion
in Trinidad, as you do, while we were hauled out. So, very slow off the starting block and
yet another plan was made.
- Hurricane Beryl (1 July 2024). We were not affected, thankfully. Our revised plan had been to do a a few
months of cruising with a visiting friend, then return to Trinidad in
September, haul out and fly home. Not
long after arriving In Carriacou (Grenada) and then a few days later in
Bequia (SVG), we watched closely, a developing weather system, working its
way toward the southern Caribbean islands.
We moved further north to St Lucia avoiding catastrophe unleashed
by quickly strengthing Beryl, with, for us, only storm-force winds to contend with.
Tucked well into the lagoon here,
we also avoided tidal surge that caused enormous coastal damage. Given decimation of the islands to our
south, the flight of many cruisers to safety in Trinidad and lack of
available space to haul in the Chaguaramas boatyards, it made sense to stay
in St Lucia. So, we did!
By then, Hurricane
season was well underway, islands to our south seriously damaged and Trinidad
facilities stretched to the limit. Leaving
our boat for the season in St Lucia was not an option either, though
surprisingly, many do. We slipped sideways,
into our next plan. As going home was
now out of the question, we decided to stay with the boat in St Lucia, then
when the coast was clear, in November hopefully, make a dash for Chesapeake
Bay, in the US, parking our boat and heading home, we’re hoping, by March 2025. Phew!
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| Scrappy & colourful hexies (last of the snowflakes!) |
During our
stay in St Lucia, I’ve managed to stitch the last of my Kingfisher hexies (aka St Lucia snowflakes) on to
pre-cut backgrounds. I’d started stitching
them the previous year when we stopped in St Lucia - time flies! In the hope of getting some stitching time
this year, they were part of a little pack of handwork I had prepped to take away with me. Having finished all the applique, I decided not to stitch the blocks together
(given bold background colours) until I get home and can arrange them on my
design wall. Sewing on a boat is do-able,
I’ve decided, as long as it’s handwork, easy to pick up and put down, and compact
– storage space is limited.
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| Scrappy Hourglass Variation |
I had also
packaged up with my supplies, a bag of scraps to make some small bags. My plan was to stitch them by hand, boro style,
then assemble them at home. However,
with time on my hands, and a recently serviced, teeny-tiny sewing machine (not
to mention oodles of electricity at the dock!!) I changed my mind, deciding I could manage a few quilt blocks for a scrappy quilt.
All I had was
a selection of lights and darks; no background fabric. Quilts and quilt making is not a “thing” here
in St Lucia. Tropical weather will do
that for you! So, with no chance of
finding something for a background (we’d also had a recent wardrobe cleanout,
so nothing there either!!), the hunt was on for a suitable block. Funnily enough though, I ended back at BethShibley’s Hour Glass Variation. Big,
bold and easy to cut shapes, HST’s that I could manage in my tiny space with
only a few tools, and enough scraps to assemble 30 11 inch blocks, with little
waste! Best of all, this pattern works very
nicely with a light/medium and a dark contrast, then a cross of either in a colour match.
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| Quilter at work - keeping it tiny is not easy! |
Let me just say,
that a $70 Walmart Brother sewing machine is not quite my ageing Bertie Bernina, but once
I’d discovered its foibles (with quite a bit of unpicking), I had 30 colourful
blocks to play with. A sheet became my temporary
design wall, however I packed the blocks away to assemble at home. Availability of fabric for sashing was the hold-up… My hope is that we can stop in St
Martin briefly so that I can visit Lyseth’s “A Stitch at a Time” in Cole Bay. That’s where I found those beautiful blues
for my first Hourglass Variation – also waiting at home for me to sew
together. Next year, I suspect my quilting
time at home will go rather too quickly…Oh, and just to be sure you know, even though I sneakily reduced my mission to complete 9 items in 2024 down to 4, not one thing, on either list, was finished! Ha ha! Sometimes, you've really just got to laugh at yourself... Still, I love a good list and I'm sure next year will be filled with them!
