I’m back from the Needlework Cruise! It was an enjoyable experience, though I really missed my family at times. I met some delightful people, and did some new things.
The Voyager of the Seas docked in Sydney
Docked right near the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Me and my ship
When I boarded the ship on the Sunday, I wandered around feeling quite overwhelmed. It was opulent and absolutely huge! There was so much to see and explore. In the evening, we left Sydney in the rain, with a thunderstorm periodically lighting up the sky.
Before going through customs and boarding we had to hand over our “sharps” packages (needles, scissors, knitting needles etc) to the needlework conference organisers. They were all scanned separately by security and then returned to us the next day. The organisers had had to negotiate hard for the sharps situation to work for us. At first during the negotiations, the cruise company had demanded that they all be taken off us at the end of each day. What a ridiculous situation! If we wanted to hurt people, we’d be able to do it just as easily with a kitchen or dining room knife as with a tiny pair of embroidery scissors. Honestly, sometimes bureaucracy is just so ridiculous!
Our magnificent classroom!
The next day was a settling in day, and the only activity I was involved with was a tutor meeting. We went to our teaching space (one of the dining rooms) and divvied it up between all the tutors. There were some limitations that we had to work with, such as that most of the tables were bolted down, so we couldn’t rearrange the space to suit us. And the lighting wasn’t the best in some places, so we had to make use of the natural light coming in through the windows. Apart from that, it was a very beautiful space to have a class!
Some of the lovely ladies in my Mountmellick class
My first class was a two day Mountmellick class. I had about 13 in the class, and they did really well. Some of the ladies had not really done any embroidery since school, but this was not obvious until they told me! Our classes went from 9am until 4pm, with a break for lunch somewhere in the middle.
Blue, blue, blue and so calm!
The backdrop of the sea behind us was so lovely! I actually expected the water to be blue black, but instead it was a vibrant purple blue (about DMC 796 or 797!). I knew it wouldn’t show up that colour in my photos, but that didn’t stop me from taking photos!
Amazing sky in the very early morning
A glorious sunrise
Most days I got up quite early as I found it difficult to sleep. Maybe it was the rocking of the ship and the creaking of the room fittings that meant I didn’t sleep so well. But I usually was up on deck before dawn to do a walk of about 2km per day around the walking track while watching the sun rise. All the sunrises were my favourite part of the trip. Each morning I marvelled at the beauty that God has created.
I’ll continue my story tomorrow!
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White Threads is the blog of Yvette Stanton, the author, designer, publisher behind Vetty Creations quality needlework books and embroidery products.
Saw your pics yesterday and now interested to read your blog. I cracked up when you described the colour of the water using a DMC thread #! Glad you enjoyed your travels, even without the family and the Fiji stop.
Well, I thought that a DMC thread colour was something that most of my blog readers can relate to!
I’ve heard of golfing cruises, scrapbooking cruises, and bridge cruises, but this is the first needlework cruise I’ve heard of. Is this an annual event? Where could I learn about future needlework cruises?
Mary in MN
Love that sky: the colours and vastness are great!
Hi Mary, it was the first one that the organisers had done (and they did an excellent job!). They regularly organise needlework and stately homes tours to the UK, Ireland and France. They gave out the brochures for next year’s cruise at the end of this year’s one. It will be 14 nights to New Zealand, stopping in at about 6 ports. It would be lovely! I don’t think the details are up on their website just yet, but probably will be soon – what is currently shown is the cruise that has just been.
http://www.needleworktours.com.au
I would check there again in the next couple of weeks for the details of next year’s cruise, if I were you.