TANQUE VERDE RANCH

 Tanque Verde Ranch, outside of Tucson, is a beautiful, wonderful place.  I was sharing a room that had two double beds and a nice shared bathroom.  My roommate Michelle and I got a long remarkably well (I was worried about that).  She was in a different workshop than me, about watercolor.  The weather was perfect during my stay, in the low 70's as a high.  A few mornings were a bit chilly, but it warmed up fast.

There are over a 100 horses here.  You can go on guided trail rides, take basic riding lessons and even groom a horse, all for extra charges.  There are also lots of other paid activities: yoga, meditation, axe throwing, fishing, pickleball, hiking and swimming, or relaxing in the jacuzzi.

The central area, between some of the rooms has a lot of trees that provide cooling shade.

This was our room, number 12

Here's what I did on this first day:

Enjoyed the sunrise

Enjoyed a breakfast

Got busy setting up in the classroom

I enjoyed learning the proper way to do some beading

At the end of the day I enjoyed going for a walk:

PUYALLUP FAIR 2024

 Darrell and I went to Puyallup to the Washington State Fair.  We haven't attended in years, so it was about time.  And, I had entered three quilts into the show and I had to go see them.

"Cincinnati"

"Amity: Baroque" I stood behind a lady and listedned to her talk about what she liked about this quilt.  That was fun.  D and I voted for this one for People's Choice.  Good luck #93!

"Tractor Beam" .  My Voltron type quilt.

Then we went walking about for a few hours.  We had scones right away.  They are smaller and sweeter than I remember from when I was much younger.

We saw the baby piglets, only a few days old.

And we had to see the Draft Horses.

We also walked through the grange to see the Giant Pumpkins and the displays.  We hurried through the retail vendors building and were accosted by several of them.  And we perused the goats.

It was something different and great fun.  But, since it was going to be a very hot day and we left at noon.  

HORSE!

 I'm making a Horse Pillow from a pattern by Jo Avery.

She is also having a Sew-A-Long this month which I'm sort of following.

I ran across these Tumbler block pieces I'd cut out years ago from a William Morris fabric collection.  I'm using them.  Black, taupe and gold - lovely.

This week we are just to make the two sides of the horse.

FINALLY FINISHED H PAINTING

 Wow, I think it's been a while since I painted outside.  The air quality has been so bad from the smoke from fires, here and in California and Oregon.  We've been advised to stay inside.  The few times I spent a little time outdoors I'd end up with a sore throat and lungs and a headache.  I've missed painting.

So, here is the H painting I started way back on last Friday, the 11th. I'm not very happy with it.  I just wanted to get it done and move on.

VIRTUAL SEWING

 I joined a few members of the Seattle MQG and attended a virtual sew-in this morning from 10am til about 12:30pm.  That was fun.  It's nice to be with people who share a common interest and speak the same quilt language.  There was probably more talking than sewing going on, but I did manage to sew together my other project from Joe Cunningham's last Quilt Freedom Workshop.

This is another two fabric project.  Anna Maria Horton's Pegasus and Celestial Blue from Kona.  I never thought I'd find a project for this Pegasus fabric.  I love it, but it's some difficult colors.  And it doesn't photograph well.

It's small.  I'm thinking about adding some kind of border.  Hmmm.

CARRIAGE RIDE

We went on a horse drawn carriage tour of downtown Charleston this morning.

Our horse's name was Rowdy, a Belgian gelding.  He was a very mellow and handsome gentleman.

Inside the stables, it looks like the horses are well cared for.

We loaded up in the building, Rowdy was ready to go.

I really enjoyed the ride.  Thank you, Rowdy.