On October 1, I travelled to Manchester NH to attend my second SOAR. Last year, I went as a scholar. This year, I was a mentor. And I only have one word for the experience: WOW.
SOAR was held in a city, in a convention-style hotel, for the first time ever...
...and it turned out to be a pretty good thing. Not only was the hotel well-located, but it was well laid out, with spacious, well-lit rooms, and easy to navigate. The only complaint I had was the coffee-like substance that they served. And if that's the worst I have to cope with, I'm good. (One of my students discovered a marvellous coffee shop just a few blocks away, and a brisk morning stroll took care of the caffeine crisis. There was also a cupcake shop on this route. WIN!)
Up and at 'em on Sunday to grab breakfast with a table full of fabulous fiberistas, followed by a wine/nibblies run and classroom set-up, and it was time for the welcomes and introductions. The day went by in a blur.
Frankly, the week went by in a blur!
Monday through Wednesday, I taught Blending and Spinning for Superior Socks to a very enthusiastic class...
...seen here deep in discussion.
On Wednesday evening, the participants display their samples in the Workshop Showcase, where my group showed off their wee sample socks...
...and an alarming number of yarn samples. I had no idea they were making so much yarn while I was jabbering on about twist and blending in the right amount of nylon!
That night, all of the mentors were gathered together, so I took advantage of their exhaustion to grab some photos to prove that I travelled into some pretty high-falutin' circles...
...a meeting of the minds with Stephenie Gaustad...
...a spinning guru sammich with Sara Lamb and Stephenie...
...cuddles with the highly cuddle-able and very wise Beth Smith...
...another sammich, this time featuring a zesty Deb Menz filling...
...playing coy with Jacey Boggs, and meeting any number of other amazing fibre folk.
I also had the very good fortune later that evening to meet up with Gord Lendrum (left) and Barry Schacht (right)...
...who were posing with Jacey Boggs at this particular moment.
I also got to meet Schacht Spindle Co.'s Production Manager Cindy Lair, with whom I did not pose for a picture, much to my disappointment. She is a lovely lady, and knows sooo much about spinning wheels that it's a little frightening. I want to be like her when I grow up!
The next day was a day off for me, so I slept in a bit, then mosied down to the Marketplace that opened that morning. I was given a spinning lesson in the Ashford booth, so now I finally know how to spin properly...
...(yes, that is Richard Ashford himself!)
I got in line for a fabulous Golding spindle that I HAD to have, then dashed off to join a small group who were headed off to the Millyard Museum in the former Amoskeag Mills site.
We had quite the adventure at the Museum. Imagine four fibre fanatics in a museum dedicated to industrial revolution spinning and weaving equipment and the people who worked it. Dianne and Sarah even got Jen, our guide and the museum's education officer, spinning cotton on a spindle...
Back to the market for the afternoon, where a wee bit of fibre was acquired (because I don't have enough at home!), a quick classroom rearrangement, dinner and we were off on the Retreat Sessions. The Retreat Sessions, for the uninitiated, are half-day workshops. Or rather, the same half-day workshop four times. I saw 70 participants in 2 days. I'm sure I said something that sounded smart at some point in those two days, but I really don't remember. It was fast-paced and busy, and by Saturday evening, I was exhausted. Happy, but exhausted.
I slept in on Sunday, so I missed saying goodbye to some people, but had the chance to hang out in the lobby waiting for my turn on the airport shuttle and see a lot of my new friends off. And SOAR was over. Just like that.
I took a couple of days to tour around the area, then headed homeward on a 2-day journey. When I got here, did I rest? No I did not.
But that's another story...
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