High seas handiwork

I mentioned a while back that Mr. Gadget and I were planning another cruise. Well, it's here! Tomorrow afternoon we'll be meeting our regular taxi guy for the short trip to the pier, and then you won't be hearing from me for a while. I'll be taking a blog break and hope to return relaxed and replenished with refreshing new blog fodder. I will then be ready with regained momentum for resuming work on the ABC project. Did I mention we'll be stopping in Guatemala?

I'll be taking along a bagful of busy work. While Big City Girl was here, she sketched up a design for some embroidery on my jeans jacket.

This is the design she drew on paper which I then cut out and placed on the jacket. I will try to copy it onto the jeans fabric with a white pencil I got for that purpose. The great thing about this kind of embroidery is that precision is not important. It looks better if it's a little rough around the edges.

Here are a few of the colors I'll use. I did pick up a lavender metallic thread today for the dragonfly. I'm also thinking of doing some beading when the stitching is done. It's an older jacket and shows signs of wear, but it's a favorite of mine. I love to embroider. I've been known to just draw flowers on, embroider them, and build a garden as I go.

There will also be a sock-knitting project in my bag. I'm just about finished with the first Regia Crazy Color sock. It will be interesting to watch my two addictions fight it out.

And just in case I find myself in a mood to read, I have a few books to take along. One of the benefits of cruising: no luggage weight restrictions. Good thing too, since there's always more weight returning that departing...what with all those great souvenirs and tasty desserts...heh...heh....

Some of these are books I've wanted to read for a while. Others were mentioned on blogs as good reads. If I like a blog, I usually like the books that blogger recommends. I have no idea how far I'll get with this stack o' books, since reading for me is a pleasant pastime rather than another addiction. I often see people reading in those nice deck chairs along the Promenade deck, but mostly I see people snoozing with their books. I'll let you know how many I snooze through.

This cruise will take us down the coast of Baja California, and along the coast of Mexico and Central America. We'll have several stops along the way, finally ending up in the Panama Canal for a half-transit. We'll turn around in Gatun Lake and return, making stops in Nicaragua and Guatemala, and again in Mexico.

I'll be back on October 9th, with pictures and stories and plenty of laundry, and, no doubt, a little more padding in places that have plenty of padding already......