Autumn beauty

I love Autumn days like this. . 

and this.

 It would have taken me all day to travel home from St Charles, IL and SOAR if I had stopped for every photo opp.  Instead I chose to click as I drove and hope for some decent shots

 The hills heading into Galena were roller coaster-esque.

 By the time I hit Dubuque the sun was beginning to set which left me an hour of driving with the sun in my eyes.  It led to some beautiful photographs though.

 Moving forward to 30 October 2013.  I awoke this morning to overcast skies but by the time I left my friends house the fog had truly settled in.  How I love a cold, foggy, rainy Fall day.

 And finally. . . the last rose of Autumn.  Gertrude Jekyll challenging the frost.

SOARing

This last weekend the rabbit tracks led to St. Charles, Illinois for the Spin Off Autumn Retreat 2013.

It has been 13 years since I was able to go.  Much has changed since then; kids have grown up, I hope I have gained some expertise in spinning and I now have the shop.
I was in a surly mood as I drove across Iowa and Illinois, second guessing my decision to go to SOAR.  Life has been so busy and I feel as though I am running through it too fast to appreciate it.

Making a fulled yarn in "Creative Chaos" class with Kate Larson.

Finished fulled yarn - fun and colorful

Idea pages and color swatches

Spinning cotton on a Tahkli spindle with Andrea Mielke Schroer

Electronic carder from Clemes and Clemes - looking forward to this one coming into the shop.

Proof that I can spin a thick yarn - with Cindy Howard-Gibbon and Elizabeth Ashford.

Richard Ashford creating on the blending board with Cindy and Elizabeth.

At breakfast the last day with new friends, Louise, Anne and Kim.

Encouraged by my classes, I've set a challenge to work with these great fibers from Bonkers.
Chris, JoAnne and I will use the same colors and each make our own creation.

My Little Cotton Rabbit Emma wants to learn how to spin cotton on a Tahkli spindle
 just like I did at SOAR with Andrea Mielke Schroer.