This post comes courtesy of dedicated stitcher Beth Hartmann from Chico, California:
“The girl in this photo was a stranger to me, as was her whole family. They were sitting at the table next to ours looking out as our small ship approached Bora Bora. I had brought my embroidery bag to the pool deck, and in it was a second panel, just in case I found someone who'd like to stitch a while on the ship (or during the following weeks when I'd be taking a French immersion course in Quebec). Turns out, this 10-year-old girl was the first Abby who worked on the panel, even patiently removing her stitches when she mistakenly stitched it to her dress. I heard reports that she had been sighted stitching all over the ship! Abby returned it to me on the very last morning of the cruise, and I took the panel onward to Canada.
“The second Abby was a quilter who was also taking the French immersion program in Canada. That second Abby told me, 'I wish I had this to embroider yesterday, when I needed to center myself. I'm in the beginner French group, and it's overwhelming. This work is just what I need.' I had to leave Canada suddenly because of a health emergency at home, but Abby #2 kept stitching, and my sister, who was also in the language program, brought it back home after it ended. I assumed I'd need to find another person to work on the panel, but my sister hung with it, and is now almost finished!”