Who am I and Why am I here?

Who Am I: I’m a 30-something, married, very soon-to-be mom. Not much different than most except that I live at Sea. My husband and I moved onto a sailboat 2.5 years ago and sailed from Florida, through the Caribbean and Panama Canal, across the Pacific Ocean and are currently docked in Australia while we have returned home to the US awaiting the arrival of our son in just a few weeks.

Why Blog: Living on a boat means constantly moving. I’ve found it difficult to find the right balance (literally and figuratively) for me at sea. When you leave land for a life at sea it’s hard to understand what you will be giving up. For me it meant a career, volunteer activities, sports, relationships…and the list goes on. Slowly I’ve been trying to fill the holes that have formed. It’s hard to maintain friendships when you are half way around the world and never in the same place. I miss being able to meet up with girlfriends for a night out and playing on sports teams but there isn’t a whole lot I can do about those things. One of the big things I’ve missed is having a real creative outlet. My undergraduate emphasis was Design (Graphic and Interior) but I got very discouraged coming out into the design world post 9-11 so I quickly turned to the business world and left my creativity to be done at home. One of my requirements moving onto the boat was that my craft supplies came with. I can tell you my husband was not so thrilled about me taking up 6+ cabinets - had we already been married I’m not sure he would have agreed. I brought all my scrapbooking, cross-stitching, quilting…supplies with me but found that I rarely used them. One thing that has always been key in my design process is space. I spread everything out everywhere and then leave it to look at and think about. On a boat this just isn’t possible. Space is limited and the boat moves at least every couple of days, which means that everything needs to be stowed. So rather than pull anything out for even a short time I just didn’t do anything. Which in turn has left me a little empty. I’ve missed having a career where I feel like I’m accomplishing something (yes, I realize that crossing an ocean is an accomplishment – but for me it just isn’t the same.) I’ve gone around in circles trying to figure out what to do with myself on the boat. I’ve tried a few things that I just couldn’t really get into and think that maybe I’m finally on the right track. I love quilting. I love designing. I love touching and shopping for fabric. So why not share my experiences of what I find around the world and design some quilts to go with it. I’m not really sure where this blog will go. It may be mostly my designs, it may be quilt shops I’ve explored, or quilts I’ve seen. But I figure that this will help me fill the void that has been created at sea and force me to pull all that stuff out and use it which will actually make me a happier more fulfilled person. If people actually read this it’ll keep me accountable and not let the days slip by without spending some time working on something I love.

Why SeaSew: When I was thinking up names I was obviously thinking about being on the boat and quilting but also the balance that I feel I have lost and am trying to regain. I brainstormed a list of words for both and came up with sea and sew. My first thought when I put these words together was a seesaw, which for me is the perfect fit. The rocking of the boat and finding balance between sea life and the life I feel I’ve left behind on land.