My New Traveling Companion

This is Bitty Baby. She belongs to my niece, Caroline. My parents were going to join me on the Stitch n Beach cruise coming up at the end of February but cannot make it. So rather than sending me off alone, Caroline packed up Bitty with several changes of clothes, including a bathing suit, and has sent her off with me.

I'm fairly certain Bitty won't be knitting but I plan on doing a "roaming Gnome"-like travelogue, photographing Bitty and myself on the cruise and sightseeing. I have signed "us" up for excursions at each port--snorkeling near a coral reef and swimming with stingrays in Turks and Caicos, visiting the Baths in Virgin Gorda on Tortola; seeing both the French and Dutch parts of St. Maarten (trying to fit in two tours--one to a butterfly farm); visiting the historic sites, including a pirates' stronghold, and the beach on St. Thomas and a drive to the rain forest in San Juan. We're going to be very busy girls, Bitty and I.

I'm also signed up for many knitting classes on the tour--provisional cast on, slip stitches, double knitting, felting, learn to crochet, making a capelet, sea socks and basic sweater design as well as a stashbusting sweater class.

There is also a culinary center sponsored by Food and Wine magazine on the ship and I will want to take some classes there too, I'm sure.

Well, Bitty is all packed. I better get started too.