Day 4, At Sea, Saturday, Aug. 20th

To go back and touch on Barcelona, I was amazed at the many types of architecture we saw there.  I found myself thinking it would be fun to go back sometime and hire a guide who specializes in architectural tours.

The day we arrived we got there at 5:30 am and our rooms weren't available until about 3 pm. So the tour company arranged a bus tour of Barcelona.  One of the places that we got out and walked around was this cathedral, The Sacred Family, designed by Gaudi.  It was begun in 1882 and is really different from any other type of building in Barcelona.  It takes up a fairly large area of the city, maybe a six block area.  So we walked around the entire structure.  Barcelona was in the 90 degree temperature range so it was pretty warm.

But now back to shipboard.  Classes were held in a conference room and since they couldn't get machines so the first day was a hand piecing hexies day.  Day 2 covered back stitch applique.

Claire Vlasin Quilts - Off to the Smithsonian

I will get back to my trip shortly but wanted to pass this on.  Claire Vlasin was a member of the Capitol City Quilt Guild.  She was a collector of quilts and beaded evening purses; Ray was a collector of Czech glass.

Part of Claire's collection is going to the Smithsonian, 43 quilts and later some will be going to the University of Nebraska.  Last winter I spent quite a bit of time appraising Claire's quilts for Ray.  In April I got a call from Ray that the Smithsonian shipping people would be there to box and move the quilts to Washington DC.

He thought I might like to come and watch how such a move is done and be sure they got the right quilts.  So April 18 I was there when 2 guys from a  moving company out of Chicago arrived to pack the quilts.

 I can't say they represented the company they worked for very well.  Holey paint spattered sweat pants and I think the other guy needed a size larger pants  as by the end of the day I was well aware he had black underwear on.  But I guess that is neither here or there.

With the list they has I started to pull the quilts in order.  They used large acid free boxes that held 3 quilts each.  I think after we started they realized that they didn't have enough boxes and we would need to put 3 in each box.  We also decided to label the boxes with the numbers of the quilts inside.

 Ray wanted his picture taken with this crazy quilt as it was a 40th anniversary gift for Claire.  I think this one was hard to part with.

I believe it took 4 hours to get them all packed.  Ray and the crew standing in front of the pile of boxes that held 43 of Claire's precious quilts.

Quilting Post - for a change

Back in May 2 of my uncles, Mitchell {Butch} Bennett and Leo Waterman, passed away within about a week of each other.  In a note to my Aunts I let them know that I would be happy to help them make a quilt of their husband's shirts if they wanted. 

I realize now I should have sent a note as well to oldest of each of their children, as they were too overwhelmed at the time.

In November one of my cousin, Carollee Bennett, contacted me to say she would like to give her mom a quilt out of her dad's shirts.  She had seen my note and had contacted her Dad's sister who had taken some of his shirts.  She had 5 or 6 shirts to work with..  I wasn't sure how big a quilt I could make with just 6 shirts but I gave it a go. 

At a retreat I stated making 9 patch blocks, that seemed a good start.  But when I started laying them out the same colors ended up next to each other too much for my liking.  I had cut around the pockets and saved them.  A little more thought and I decided to do a barn raising with a neutral back ground I had used in the 9 patches.  I put the pockets in the center, but up closer to the top, maybe just under the pillow tuck.  Then I put the 9 patch blocks in rows of the same colors. I did use a non-woven iron on interfacing on the one flannel shirt in the batch.

 

Here it is on the quilting frame in my mother's dining room. My mother told some of her friends and some of my aunt's friends that she would have it up to quilt on it.

And so they came, including my Aunt Gert...

 

 

It starts pretty bit, but as everyone reaches the end of the comfortable stretch, it's time to roll.

 



 

 

And then after 4 hours one day and maybe 2 the next, Presto, it's quilted.

 

And that's how it's done in Portland, Michigan.  Quilting: the heritage that keep on giving.

Will pick up again on the trip post again shortly.
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Day 3 - At Sea, Friday, August 19th

Just to back up a bit about Barcelona.  When we visited the church down from the hotel, I noticed a sign that said "lift to roof".  Deb was game so for 3 euro we took the tiny lift up to the top of the church.  Here were some of the views.

Today is our first full day at sea.  Our first port of call will be Kotor, Montenegro but  that is .  So for now we are getting to explore the ship and starting our classes with Bonnie.  We were supposed to be sewing her Razzle Dazzle quilt, but sewing machines couldn't be secured for the trip.  So instead Bonnie gave a lesson on paper piecing and then a lesson on back basting applique with her Spanish Rose pattern.

There were 50 quilters along for classes, some husbands and some children.  Our conference room had 3 large windows looking out on Deck 5 so we often had many people curiously looking on.
We had quilters from allover the US, New Zealand, Germany and I think maybe Australia.

Day 4 would be much the same as this.  Realized that I forgot to mentioned some of the Gaudi architecture we saw in Barcelona.  Maybe some pics of that next.

Day 2 - Barcelona

Today is the day we board the Brilliance of the Seas for our 12 day cruise.  Very anxious.  The bus would not be picking our group up until 11 am so we had some time to kill.  We had been told that in order to visit many of the churches we will see you can not have on shorts that come above the knee and shoulders cannot be bare.  Deb had on a sleeveless top so we went looking for somewhere she could buy a pashmina or shawl.  We hadn't seen anything in the shopping area we visited last night so we headed out from the hotel going in the other direction.

This building had been pointed out the day before as a farmer's market.  We quilters were attracted to it for it's hexagon patterned roof.  So we headed there. Great market with fresh fruit, fish, meat and a couple of souvenir shops.  So Deb found her shawl and we were off to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.  The evening before there had been live music outside the cathedral.

There was a courtyard in this cathedral where there were fountains and, surprisingly, a flock of white geese.

A view of one of the towers from the courtyard in the cathedral.

Brilliance of the Seas, Royal Caribbean, not the largest of cruise ships, about 2,500 passengers, but plenty big enough for me.

This was our room, cozy huh!  Fortunately, for me anyway we had a large window, I don't think Deb enjoyed such a wide open view.

Before I go much further I guess I should introduce my roommate/fellow quilter, Deborah Mandrell.
Here with Bonnie Hunter. I think we got along very well.  We didn't do many excursions together so we always had lots to talk about at the end of the day.

This was outside of the spa.  Peacocks hold a special meaning for Deb.

This was the center of the ship. Deck 5 was the main floor.  Casino, shopping, our conference room for our class, the theatre.  This center area had a stage and every night before dinner there would be violin music.  After dinner pop music, sometimes big band and we had a Beattle's reunion band as well.

The 2 pools, top was where the most people hung out.  The 2nd was the salt water pool and was a much more tranquil place. There also a kids pool, basketball court, minature golf, gym, running track, pub and 3 additional restaurants that were seperate from the formal dining room and the windjammer buffet.

Well, that's enough for now.  The first two days are days at sea, sailing from Barcelona, Spain to Kotor, Montenegro.  These two days are when our classes are with Bonnie Hunter.

See if this helps

Sorry for the big gap but my old laptop was giving up the ghost.  It lasted 10 years so I guess that was pretty good.  Should get back to posting pictures from my mediterranean trip soon.

Day 1 - Barcelona

So this is the trip I gave myself as a retirement gift.  A 12 day cruise of the Mediterranean.  We arrived in Barcelona the day before the cruise left.  I flew from Detroit to JFK and then 2 hours later flew from JFK to Barcelona.  We arrived at 5:30 am on 8/17 in Barcelona.

Part of the pre-cruise package was transportation from the airport to the hotel and then in the morning from the hotel to the ship.  Craftours threw in a bus excursion of Barcelona to help us get over our jet lag. And because our rooms wouldn't be ready until 3 pm.

Barcelona would well be worth another visit some time.  Lots of interesting architecture.  All the wrought iron balconies reminded me a lot of Paris.

We drove through lots of the city, but a lot didn't soak in because by then I had been up 20+ hours.  We went up to an old fortified part of the city that gave us a great view. I liked some of the items they added to decorate the paving in this area.  Here are some photos.

The views of Barcelona.  A bit hazy, probably because it was almost 100 degrees.

View toward the port.

 

 

 

After my roommate for the cruise arrived from Germany we went out and walked around a bit. Deborah and I were matched up through the tour company.  Months ago we began exchanging emails to see if we would be compatible.  She was an absolute delight to have as a companion on this trip.

The Barcelonans do a lot of strolling, especially after it cools off.  I realized that my fitbit couldn't be changed to European time and my phone couldn't be changed either, so I needed a watch in order to be sure I would be back to the ship on time from any excursions I went on.  So Deb and I took a stroll, past the Bassilica a block from the hotel and around to the next street where we found lots of shopping opportunities.

 

                                                     Tile floor in a dress shop.

 

                                           Where have these been all my working life!

More to follow about our morning before we left to board the ship.