Apparrotly It’s A Party on the Sea

Over a year ago I was invited to teach a quilting class while on a cruise to the Caribbean by Michelle of Quilting Adventures. I’ve never been on a cruise, but I absolutely love teaching quilting classes, so I said yes. For the class I needed to design a new pattern to teach. Of course I love teaching quilters how to sew curves, so I knew the pattern would include at least one curve. Since we were going to the Caribbean I looked for inspiration in images of the islands we would be visiting.

Immediately I fell in love with the colorful building on the coast of Curacao and selected my Art Gallery Pure Solids based on these colors. There is so much beautiful nature and wildlife in the Caribbean that I don’t get to see in my everyday life here in Virginia. I love birds and grew up with parakeets in my house. So it felt like an obvious choice to make a quilt with parrots in the design. After playing with different curves, colors and shapes the Apparrotly It’s A Party quilt pattern was created.

The Apparrotly It’s A Party quilt at the port in Curacao.

Thirty-one quilters filled the ballroom with me on the cruise and we were provided with lovely Janome sewing machines. The best part was that no one had to wind any bobbins. We just called out for a new one and they were quickly replaced for us. I guess that’s the next best thing to an endless bobbin.

During the first day of class we learned my three different methods for piecing curves. To tackle this we all started making the flower blocks from the pattern. I loved seeing everyone come together at the end of the day to show off our finished blocks, making a beautiful garden of quilt blocks.

Our first stop was in Aruba, where I got to explore a butterfly farm, the natural bridge and go swimming in the stunning ocean at Eagle Beach. I wish I had more time to explore these locations because they were so beautiful. I might have been crazy, but I rolled my Apparrotly It’s A Party quilt up and took it with me around Aruba. I tried getting a picture of it at the Natural Bridge, but it was extremely windy. I had some amazing quilters with me on this adventure who ran to my rescue and helped me hold the quilt down long enough to get a quick picture. You know you will always have a helping hand when there are quilters around.

Our next port was the island of Curacao where I went on a bus tour of the island. We traveled all the way to the most western point of the island and visited the Shete Boka National Park. I’ve never seen stronger waters before. The waves crashed hard against the rocks, rising many feet into the air. It was a remarkable sight to see. Then we visited two local beaches where I got to see a turtle swim past me on the pier. I learned that Aruba and Curacao are desert islands with fields of aloe and cacti. It wasn’t something I expected before my visit. Before heading back to the boat we stopped by the salt lakes and watched some flamingos fishing for their lunch. I loved my day in Aruba, but honestly felt like Curacao was a more beautiful island. Maybe it was just my love for the beautiful colored buildings that had be falling in love with it.

Our last adventure was in Labadee, which was a private island beach resort owned by Royal Caribbean in Haiti. I took this day as a day of rest. I spent hours swimming in the refreshing beaches and relaxing under the shade of a tree inside a hammock. All of the previous excursions were amazing, but my body thanked me for taking a day to do nothing.

As our eight day sea adventure came to a close many quilters finished their Apparrotly It’s A Party quilt tops. It was such a pleasure watching others finish their quilts and take pride in mastering piecing curves. I loved that one of my students brought some of their own jungle print background fabric to incorporate into her quilt top. It looked so fun and really expressed the island vibes.

The cruise might be over, but you can still join me on this island adventure. Grab your copy of the Apparrotly It’s A Party quilt pattern and start piecing your own curves. I look forward to seeing your take on these lively parrots.