Goin' to the Country: On My Way to Fibre Week 2013

I leave tomorrow for Fibre Week 2013 at Olds College, in Olds, Alberta.  It's an action-packed week for spinning nerds, I mean, er, um, aficionados.  We spin, we knit, we play with string and fibre for a full week.  We trade our stuff and buy more stuff. It's great fun. If you are a spinner, make an effort to attend one year.  It's a smaller conference than many of the better known events, more intimate, which allows everyone to interact with other students and instructors.  There's a slight chance that I will come home with more of these:

A few of the Tabachek spindles from my collection.

I've attended for a number of years, as a student, instructor, volunteer and general hanger-on.  I always learn so much from fellow participants.  I travel with good buddies, visit with long-lost friends, many of whom I see only at Fibre Week.  We work hard; tears are sometimes shed, but most of the time, the sound ringing through the campus is that of laughter.

I'm teaching my yoga and meditation classes and a Beginners' Spinning class.  Earlier this year, Olds College re-organized the Master Spinners' Programme and opened the hiring process for instructors to those whose training came from outside the programme.  I had the honour and great good fortune of becoming one of those instructors, so this will be my first year teaching in that capacity.  The beginners' class is outside the actual Master's programme, so it's a good way to get my feet wet and transition into teaching Levels.

Olds College campus is beautiful, a peaceful setting in what's become a bustling town. (This year is Olds College's Centennial, so the place will be very busy.)  We wake to the sounds of cattle lowing--sometimes, we stay awake because of that!  If we need a break from the day, we can wander over to visit the horses or visit with the dogs who are cared for at the on-campus vet clinic.  I love staying on campus; it adds so much to the Fibre Week experience.

The poppy beds on campus are stunning.

My trusty laptop stays home, replaced by a spinning wheel.  My camera comes along; although I'll be "off grid" for my time there, I'll have lots of photos and things to post about when I get back next week.  I'm packed, prepared and ready to head to the airport tomorrow morning.  Wish me luck!

We stay in these student housing townhouses.

You'll see plenty of this during Fibre Week!

Namaste.