There's Nothing Like a Retreat!

That's my friend and retreat roommate on the right. Lynda and I are taking a break from quilting to enjoy a prickly pear cactus margarita at the Tanque Verde Guest Ranch. If you click on the link you'll see photos of the ranch and, much to my surprise, the room we had! I also went on a Sunday morning breakfast ride into the beautiful Rincon Mountains. What a great time! I hadn't been on a horse for almost 15 years but quickly remembered how to ride.

Later this week I'll be posting photos from the retreat to a Webshots album. For the time being I'm focused on finishing my projects for the Fast Friday Challenge. The link has a photo and the story of the challenge.

At the retreat I regained the creative spark that has been missing for more than a month.

The company where I have worked for the past 5 1/2 years has experienced a reduction in force of 7%. I am one of the hundreds of employees impacted. I turn in my badge on Friday. So this week contains both sadness and joy.

-- Joanna

Preparing for the Retreat

One more day of work and then a day of vacation to prepare for Camp Wanamakaquilta, the annual retreat held by The Quilters Market at the Tanque Verde Guest Ranch.

The Ranch is a true Tucson treasure. It is one of the few remaining dude ranches where one there were hundreds. It has had many accolades and is considered a top vacation destination.

One of the many blessings of living in Tucson is that we do have some wonderful resorts. During the summer, when temperatures remain firmly in the low 100s and the monsoon rains bring welcome respite, the resorts are a bargain. It's hard to understand why most people don't take advantage of the ridiculously low (comparatively speaking) rates. But "shhhhh!" that means we can enjoy the good life without being overrun by too many tourists.

The Ranch is known for fun and food. Last year I gained five pounds! This year, well, let's just say I'm prepared to start dieting on Monday!

For the retreat we have the huge ballroom all to ourselves to set up machines and all equipment needed to quilt, quilt, quilt! It's a grand time to share with old friends and to make new friends. This is the second year and almost everyone who was at the Retreat last year is here again this year. Indeed, the Retreat proved so popular a second section was added and held last year. At least one of my friends made plans to attend both sessions!

Last year I barely knew my roommate. We made a quick decision to room together while talking at a Girls Night Out. We discovered we have much in common and have become fast friends since then. I'm going to write a blog entry just about here as she's also become a teacher at Quilters Market.

I'll be taking many more photos this year. In the meantime, enjoy some of the Ranch photos I took last year.



Tanque Verde Resort

Teacher's Reward

There's a reward in teaching that I didn't fully realize until my students started coming back to show me how they'd applied their learnings.

Pictured above is Michelle, one of the students in my fabric bowl class two weeks ago. Michelle expresses her creativity in a number of ways. I've admired her crocheting. She is not a quilter. She's not even much of a sewer. Her machine is an older Pfaff that her mother gave her. For making fabric bowls it is more than sufficient.

This week, Michelle walked into my office holding the bowl you see above. The blue isn't the traditional quilter's cotton fabric most students use. Instead it is a scrub suit top given to her by my boss. It looks great and is a superb way to "repurpose" fabric.

Michelle asked for a critical review of the project. I went ahead and nitpicked it. All in all, she did a fabulous job with this, her second bowl.

I am thrilled with her. I love it when my students take what I've taught them and then go out and experiment and grow on their own. It's a wonderful reward for me. Thanks to Michelle for giving me permission to include this photo on my blog.

-- Joanna