There is more to explore than beaches…

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A late evening text surprised me with an impromptu invitation to join three creative women (two from Parrsboro, one from Grand Manan, NB) on a fibre expedition early the next morning. First stop, Deanne Fitzpatrick in Amherst! A place I had wanted to visit for some time and I can honestly say it is a place I will return to soon. Amherst is only about 45 minutes from Parrsboro and this shop is like candy for the knitter, crocheter and rug hooker. I found some Hundertwasser inspired, as well as alpaca- blend, sock yarns that are a dream to knit with.

Our next stop was GJDE Enterprise in Oxford, NS. Oxford is the town and central distribution centre for Wild Blueberries and other frozen foods. GJDE Enterprises is a fantastic store with a traditional, old fashioned Five-and-Dime vibe that made us all a little nostalgic. Claudia found a traditional Marble set, there were old-fashioned glass Christmas tree ornaments and board games, contemporary home decor items and so much more! I focused on the largest selection of Briggs & Little Wool I had seen since we closed our store in Calgary 20 years ago. I was so distracted that I missed taking some photos. Sorry, everyone… next time!

We continued our trip to Tatamagouche on the north shore of Cumberland County. By this time everyone was hungry and we stopped into the Chowder House on the Main Street. It was a busy place, service was a little hit and miss but the food was excellent. After this brief rest and nourished by good food some of us stopped at the hand-crafted ice cream store for dessert before we climbed back into the hot car. Here are a few images I made back in April when another friend and I went to Tatamagouche on a Farmer’s Market Saturday.

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Our next stop was Lismore Sheep Farm. We made it just in time before their end of day. It’s an impressive destination, a working sheep farm with a huge barn designated to fibre enthusiasts and so many options for knitters, rug hookers, crocheters and those who are looking for fleece related products. They have wool-filled duvets, pillows, blankets, socks… so many things to choose from and reasonably priced. I focused on the yarns and was a little disappointed with the selection, but then again this may be due to our timing. Perhaps, with the restrictions relaxing slowly, they had more demand with walk in customers and were finding it difficult to keep up with supplies. I will return in the not too distant future. I did find a beautiful, hand-dyed skein in lace weight. It has already been dispatched to our daughter as a special birthday present, and I neglected to take a picture.

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Soon it was time to get back into the car and try to reach our final designation on Coline’s list in Truro before closing time. Our driver did well and shaved off several minutes to get us to “Gwen’s Handmade Creations.” What a delightful place and we soon agreed that this was our favourite stop for the day! The owner, Gwen Mader, was so welcoming and as we navigated her tiny domain situated in the back of her property near the chicken run many “ooohhhs” and “aaahhhs” escaped our lips. It was hard to resist Gwen’s selections and excellent prices. I settled on some luscious spinning fibres for the colder seasons. Perhaps I will be giving it a whirl sooner than planned. We have heavy rains and a possibility of strong winds in the forecast for early next week. Tropical storm Henri is expected to make his way right up the Bay of Fundy… Here are some images from our stop at Gwen’s Handmade Creations.

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And here are pictures of my personal haul (sans the skein that has been dispatched to BC already). It took little time to break into the Hunderwasser inspired sock yarn… I am working on a Fisherman’s rib cuff. That type of cuff is very stretchy and I love the ribbed texture I am able to achieve with just knit and purl stitches.

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From left to right (first image): Spinning fibres from Gwen’s, a Fleece Artist lace-weight skein I plan to over-dye (from Lismore Sheep Farm) and assorted sock yarns from Deanne Fitzpatrick’s. I also picked up a set of Knitter’s Pride double pointed metal square needles (at Gwen’s) which caused me to set aside the set of ebony needles I have loved and used for 25 years… the metal needles are a dream! I highly recommend them. I did mention, Gwen’s was everyone’s favourite place. 😉

Our drive home was filled with chatter and excitement full of anticipation for new projects.

Thanks for traveling along today. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! Best wishes, Anna