Happy New Year

Firstly, I would like to wish you all a happy and prosperous new year. Well, it has been some time since I posted, but I have been busy! My husband and I had such a good time on the canals in the UK last year that we decided to get a boat of our own and so are now the proud owners of The Great Escape, a wide-beam narrow boat, 10 ft wide and 57 ft long, quite a palace in fact! However, compared to my studio in NZ, a micro home! So I have been home and packed everything away for the time being, ready for an extended stay in the UK on the canals which will be an adventure as well as enabling us to spend some time with family in the UK. I arrived back in the UK just before Christmas so we were able to have a family Christmas with our grandson for the first time, he is 4 1/2 years old already! It is a little cooler here than back in NZ and somewhat damp, but the adventure continues regardless. I am, in fact, enjoying walking around London and learning where all sorts of places are, although to date, not so many quilting places. However, lots of other interesting things. We are in the process of setting up my sewing space in the hope that we can video some more tutorials and I can design some more quilts, probably the hardest part of all this has been "no sewing time or space"! So it has now become urgent! I have now a sewing machine in place, set nicely in its little table and just need to get a higher table sorted to cut at and stand behind for the tutorials. Storage space is at a premium on board and my delicious husband is going to have to learn to live in the studio! So far he seems willing! Apart from space, the other major thing I have to learn about is electricity. Because we are on a continuous cruising licence with the boat, we need to move every week or two and so have to be completely self sufficient, this means providing our own electricity through the batteries on the boat. We have a coupe of solar panels (that are definitely more helpful in the summer!) but mostly we can generate power through running the boat motor, even when stationary. This is great, but an iron, for instance, uses masses amounts of power, and I am used to having mine sitting there, hot, waiting for me to use it! Not so on the boat! I have a small travel iron which uses less power, but of course, has less performance too! However, it is all looking possible with a little consideration! It will indeed be an adventure and i will let you know how we are getting on. Now that I have the sewing machine set up, I just have to source some fabrics, not an easy task in London, but I always like a challenge! Here are a couple of photos of the boat! Christmas morning in Paddington, on the canal just near Paddington Station. It was such a beautiful day! On New Years Day, reduced to doing some hand stitching! Paper piecing in fact in a deliciously warm Kings Place just near Kings Cross, London. and yet another beautiful winter morning in London. We are the boat just near the bridge and are just east of the Islington tunnel. Who knew that Islington sits on a tunnel? just an easy walk to the shops and coffee!