We've seen quite a few whales and dolphins whilst on passage, but when we were in Puerto Lopez we took a whale-watching tour.  It was wonderful watching Humbolt Whales rising lazily above the surface and then dipping under the water again.  This Journal Quilt is based on the photo I took of one of the whales broaching - leaping out of the water and falling back in great fountains of spray.

June Journal Quilt Sunset in Pierowall

This is the first of the Journal Quilts I hope to produce to record my voyage.  It is based on a photograph I took sitting on the harbour wall in Westray with Andy, sipping a not-so-wee dram and watching the sun go down.

I've used tonal prints and batiks for the background, which was machine pieced using a battery-operated mini sewing machine.  The sun and the boats are appliquéd, and quilting done by hand using gold thread for the sun and cotton for the sea, sky and harbour wall.  Beads were used to enhance the sparkle of the the sun on the water.

In July we cross the Irish Sea from Arran to Bangor, County Down, then cruised down the east coast of Ireland.  In the Crinan Canal we had been to see the cup and rings marked stones at Cairnbaan, then the Celtic crosses and spirals at Glendalough.  So here I have the purple of the Scottish hills, the Green of the fields of Ulster and Eire and the blue of the Irish Sea between them.

This depicts Coromandel Quest in the Bay of Biscay, during the thunderstorm when a bolt of lightning appeared to hit the sea no more than a couple of hundred yards from the boat.  It is quilted in billows in the sky and echo quilting along the waves.  Sparkle is added to represent the wave-crests, using beads and sequins, whilst the lightning bolt is stitched in silver thread.

September Journal Quilt  Matoshinos

This Journal Quilt is based on a photograph of a tile I took whilst walking through the town of Matishinos, near Oporto.  The blue fabric is left over from my sampler quilt, whilst the yellow fabric was purchased in Viana do Castelo.  The embroidery is based on the typical embroideries of that town.   The white embroidery is done with coton perlé, the dark red in stranded cotton.  The central flowers are worked in whipped running stitch.  It is quilted in-the-ditch. 

In October we left mainland Europe and set off for our first islands; Porto Santo, Madeira, Tenerife and La Gomera followed.  All of these are volcanic islands, although different in character.  Madeira and La Gomera are verdant, while Tenerife and Porto Santo are barren and arid.  This Journal Quilt is based on a sketch of the strata exposed near the marina at Quinta do Lorde in Madeira, but is reminiscent of those in the other islands.  The quilting reflects the jagged peaks of Madeira, and the leaf templates are based on a leaf-rubbing I did of a leaf from one of the trees in the Parque de Garajonay in La Gomera.

This is based on some sketches I did of the trunk of a coconut palm.  It was interesting to look at the scars left as the palm leaves fell, leaving different colours in the bark.  Linking the different colours were vertical marks caused as the tree grew.  It is strip pieced.  The vertical lines on the bark are whipped running stitch, whilst the quilted leaves in the margins are based on the shape of a palm frond.

We arrived in Barbados on 16 December after our Atlantic crossing, anchoring in Carlisle Bay.  Near the Barbados Yacht Club the beach was fringed with palm trees.  This Journal Quilt reflects this scene, the palm fronds waving in the trade winds, the sea beyond, with the surf crashing on the beach and all under a cloudless blue sky.

In the early evenings, sitting in Coromandel's cockpit, I could watch the endless play of sunlight and shadow on the mast reflections in the water.  This quilt is based on one of those evenings.  It was strip pieced, using the American technique and the quilting pattern is based on the curving water ripples on the surface of the lagoon.

Whilst we were in Porlamar we watched a total lunar eclipse.  The Moon slowly turn a pinkish red as the shadow of the Earth passed across its face.  Whilst in the Venezuelan islands, from Los Testigos to Las Aves,  I was taken with the quantity of cacti which I saw.  The two on this piece epitomise those that I saw on Testigo Grande - the tall, spiky ones and the smaller lobed ones.

The piece is embellished with whipped running stitch in the clouds and the spikes on the cacti are rice stitch.  The quilting pattern on the sand is taken from a photo of the beach on Testigo Grande.

This quilt recalls the few days we spent anchored off Las Palmeras, a small coral island in the Las Aves group off the coast of Venezuela.  The coral and fish are caught under a layer of sparkly blue gauze, purchased in Curaçao, whilst the fishing boat was fussy-cut from a fat quarter with a nautical theme which I bought at the Quilters' Guild AGM in Scarborough.

On 26-27 May we transited the Panama Canal in Coromandel Quest, an exciting time for us, as it marked the end of one stage of our journey - the Atlantic Ocean - and the start of the second; the Pacific.  The locks at Gatun were built in 1913, and as the bottom gate closed behind us I noticed the pattern made by the locking mechanism - Flying Geese! 

This quilt, pieced using the American technique, is based on a window I saw in Guayaquil, which immediately made me think, "Checks and balances!".  Those who know my sampler quilt will recognise the blue fabrics, but the yellow fabric was purchased in Viana do Castelo in Portugal.

July Journal Quilt  Guangala

This quilt is based on a pattern from a piece of pottery I saw in the museum in Salinas which was attributed to the Guangala Culture which lived in Ecuador from about 200 BC to 800 AD. Most Guangala pottery has but three colours; terracotta, ochre and black.  We saw these colours used still in the comminity we visited whilst in Amazonia.  Much early Ecuadorian pottery is adorned with geometric shapes, spirals appearing only occasionally.  The pinwheel patchwork pattern is also seen frequently.

The majority of houses in Ecuador have iron grilles over the windows to prevent burglaries.  Some are very basic grids, but others are of delicate wrought iron work.  In addition, some houses have wrought iron balconies.  The design is based on a balcony which we saw in Cuenca and I found it unusual because it reminded me of Celtic spirals.

The fabric is again a leftover from my sampler quilt, a cream cotton with a white flower print.  I used a terracotta quilting thread - it's the only colour proper quilting thread I have on board, but is lovely to work with.  I think my hand quilting is improving, but I still need more practice.  I may well do another one of these to make into a spongebag, but using a different pattern, more art deco, but again based on wrought iron.