Bermuda Quilt Guild

On Thursday evening I was able to visit the Bermuda Quilt Guild. I had searched on the web to see what sorts of quilt related things might be in Bermuda. I found that there was a guild, and emailed the president and learned their last meeting for the summer would be on the Thursday evening that I would be in port. We made arrangements that I would be able to attend. Nancy Frith is the president. I had a taxi take me to their meeting place. (Nancy is the lady in the black and white top.) I took a 2 gallon zip lock bag full of magazine, patterns, and fabric to share. What a great time I had.

The quilters are making pennants to be sent to the UK for participants of the Olympic Games in 2012. These four have gotten them done. The guild has 35 members. Some meet one morning during the month the rest meet the 3rd Thursday. They are currently planning a quilt show in October.
This evening they were showing some of the quilts, and table runners they will be displaying. They are also working on quiltie items to sell in a boutique, and a raffle quilt is in the making.

This is the banner for their quilt guild. Their logo is a lovely pink house that you see all over the island.

We had a lovely time chatting, and show and tell. They don't have any quilt shops, so rely on mail order, and anyone coming to the USA to pick up fabric and supplies. Any time someone comes, they leave Bermuda with lists of things someone needs. They share magazine, and patterns.

This is Diane with a quilt she has made. She is leaving the island soon and wanted to be sure her quilts are going to be displayed in the quilt show.

Brenda is showing off her "Garden Twist"

At their meetings they have a raffle. You can buy one ticket for $1.00 or 6 for $5.00. I figured I would put my $5.00 in the pot. Little did I know I would pull my own number out. Here is what I won. A charm pack that had 42 batiks, a button mail file, pattern and tape measure and of course Chocolate in the shape of scissors, thread and thimble. I had taken muslin squares to have members sign. I have already surrounded the squares with the batiks. I am planning on making a small friendship quilt to remember my trip by. I have a few other things I will add to the quilt.

Last but not least they presented me with a piece of fabric they had printed with their logo on it and a guild pin.

This was one of the neatest things I did on my trip. I so enjoyed meeting other quilters. We all have a wonderful common interest. It is one great enjoyable passion.

Pieceful Quilting.

Bermuda

We arrived in St. George, Bermuda on 14th of June. We did take a Island Tour, to see what Bermuda had to offer. It is always fun to see the highlights of the area. This first picture is of a graveyard at St. Peter's Church in St. George. This church was founded in 1612. The graveyard has gravestones dating back to then. It almost appears that the graves are on top of each other, the stones are so close together. There is a separate graveyard for slaves and free blacks. The graveyard is described as the last resting place for generations of gentry and commoners, governors and slaves, privateers and statesmen.

This is the front of St Peter's. It is the oldest Anglican Church outside the British Isles, and the oldest Protestant church in continuous use in the New World. It is so beautiful.

This is the front of the Royal Naval Dockyard. Cruise ships can dock here.It has been made into a shopping mall. We only had about half an hour to check it out. It looked like it would have been a fun place to go back to and wander around.

One of the most interesting things to see were the houses. They are painted in a rainbow of colors. All of the roofs are white. The roof is built in tiers and painted in limestone. When it rains the water is collected in the groves, and routed to a downspout that flows to a holding basin. The rainwater is then used in their houses. The white roofs also help keep the houses cool. I loved looking at the colors of the houses. They were beautiful.

This is the worlds smallest drawbridge. It is the Somerset Bridge, and only opens 18 inches. It open just enough for a mast on a sailboat to get through.

This the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse. This is looking out from the lighthouse. Bermuda is actually 6 small island connected by causeways. The island is made up of parish's. The view from the lighthouse overlooks the Great Sound and Western Parishes.

The view was spectacular. There are a lot of wonderful beaches, and golf courses. Michael Douglas has a house somewhere on the island. The waters around the island were some of the prettiest shades of blue.

It is expensive to live there. Their dollar was the same value as ours. No surprises there. The cost of gas is $8.50 a gallon. Housing rents around $2400.00 a month for a studio or 1 bedroom. There were apartments built by the government to help. The driver of our bus said a lot of the Bermudians have more then one job.

Here is my sister Linda and I enjoying a "Rum Swizzle" at the "Bermuda Bistro on the Beach" on Front Street, Hamilton. Later in the afternoon on Tuesday, we pulled up anchor in St George and sailed around to Hamilton. We were docked in Hamilton until sailing on Friday afternoon.We did a lot of walking while in Hamilton. One day we did take the bus back to St George to wander around there some more. It was $4.50 one way. We visited the Perfumery. The company is called Lili Bermuda. The perfume is made from special recipes, bottled and packaged there. Some of the scents were wonderful. Linda and I each just had to purchase one. Linda got one called "Petals" and I bought, "Fresh Water."

I will have more to tell. I did get to meet the Bermuda Quilt Guild on Thursday evening.
Until tomorrow!