Knitting, Fiber Art, and Lofty Thoughts
1. Happy Election Day, Canada!
2. I have eaten more potato chips in the last two weeks than I would normally eat in two months.
3. There is a sheiling in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. It was built in 1942 as a monument. It’s still pretty cool.
4. We hiked 6 miles today in beautiful and varied terrain.
5. If you look carefully at the next photograph, you will see the moon.
Yesterday didn’t work out as planned. The sailing tours stopped mid-October, and only go out when they have a group booked (like tour buses and cruise ships).
We hiked the Uisge Ban Falls Trail instead, which was wonderful, after lunch at The Freight Shed in Baddeck.
This is my first lobster roll, which they graciously served to me on a gluten free bun. We haven’t had any trouble at restaurants finding accommodations for allergies, and there’s always a vegetarian option for Bob in addition to salad. Saturday I had gluten free fish cakes and sweet beans (baked beans) which is another traditional meal.
We are cooking most of our own meals at the Airbnb to save on cost and for convenience, but our few meals out have been very good. This will explain any pounds I’ve put on during my vacation, although we have also been hiking frequently.
Today our plan is to hike Skyline Trail, which is part of the Cabot Trail. I should have some lovely photos to share tomorrow.
Our last concert yesterday was called Friends and Family, and it took place at a beautiful old church where Bob’s paternal grandparents were members, down by the harbor. We decided to walk down from our Airbnb (in the rain) and take in whatever sights we could on the way.
I love the colorful fishing boats.
Something took a bite out of this fisherman, whose eyes followed you when walked by. I was charmed and creeped out at the same time.
This event was my favorite, I think. I enjoyed every act and the venue as well. I bought another cd, this time for a band called Farsan.
The show finished with a band from Orkney called Saltfishforty. I would have purchased their cd as well, but by that time I had blown all our cash.
Even Bob is starting to enjoy a little bit of Celtic music. Here he is with his Mom at Friends and Family, being ornery.
Today we’ll be ON A BOAT!
I decided not to purchase any more Celtic Colours bulky yarn. I’m going to make some thrummed mittens out of the hank that I have.
Last night we went to the Coal Town Celidh and I learned there are different styles of traditional music even in Cape Breton. The first act was a trio of two fiddlers and a keyboard player. The fiddlers were local to Sydney Mines, but they learned to play in the Chéticamp (French Acadian) Style. You can hear the influence it had on Cajun Zydeco. Here’s the only video I could find of our fiddlers, and I’m sorry the French Acadian keyboardist is not included here.
Today is our last concert. I’m a little sad. I’ve learned so much about Celtic music.
I finished “A Dark and Stormy Knit” by Anne Canadeo. Mildlygranola asked me for a book review, so here goes.
Maggie owns a yarn shop in a small seaport Massachusetts town, where, as it turns out, all kinds of mysterious and untoward things happen: knit graffiti, university art department politics, and murder!
While Maggie and her group of knitting friends – which includes a young student who works at the yarn shop – try to suss out who is responsible for what, they knit fun projects and eat delicious food. Props to the author for including links to knitting patterns and recipes at the end of the book.
This was a light and fun read for a holiday. The mystery was enough to keep me interested but it was also easy to put down. I give it a 3 out of 5.
Now I am reading “The Mermaid and the Bear” by Ailish Sinclair, which I preordered on Amazon. It just came out. I started reading it and it is quite good, so I made myself finish the knitting mystery first. Now I can freely enjoy my historical fiction selection.
We’re going to walk down to the harbor this morning to see the Newfoundland Ferry before our concert at 2 PM. We wanted to take the ferry but it’s 9 hours to Newfoundland so it would have to be an overnight stay. Maybe next time.
On the knitting front, I’ve decided I want to make a Halvis. I called Baadeck Yarns to see if they had anymore Celtic Colours specialty dyed in fingering, because I thought that would be amazing with the charcoal fingering Forbidden Fibers I received in the last Fibre Share. No luck, though. They are sold out, of course. I still want to make it. I need to find a substitute for the Celtic Colours yarn. It’s more difficult than it sounds. Here is the photo they shared on their Facebook page of the Celtic Colours yarn.
(Sigh) They do have three more skeins left of the bulky. Hmm… what could I do with four skeins of bulky merino in this colorway?
We went back to Louisbourg today to hike the Lighthouse Trail. I wore my wool so I was plenty warm, although the sun was out.
We hiked the trail to Gun Landing Cove and then headed back.
I especially enjoyed the ruins of the old battery and original lighthouse.
I have been knitting in the car, and was surprised by how much gold is in my green Weekender sweater.
I still like it.
We went to a wonderful concert at the Highland Arts Theater in Sydney on Wednesday night. I fell in love with another band, Beolach, and bought another cd. I found a video to share with you, although it’s from 2014.
We had an interesting conversation with Bob’s Uncle Basil about the difference between traditional Scottish music in Scotland versus Nova Scotia, and how Scottish music has evolved in Scotland but in Nova Scotia it is still in the old style. When Scottish students want to learn the old style, they come to Cape Breton.
I did notice a marked difference between the Scottish bands and the Nova Scotian bands. I love the blending of different influences in Kinnaris Quintet, and I love the traditional fiddle and pipes in Beolach. They even danced during their set. I love it all!
Another concert tonight, and a matinee tomorrow afternoon. Our time here is really flying!
A storm is rolling in, and Bob’s Mom says to get our “storm chips.” We got two bags of All Dressed Chips, which you can only get in Canada. They are amazing and since I can’t find any online retailers willing to ship to the US, I’m going to try to take a bag home with me.
Chips are such a big deal in Canada, they sell cases of the small bags to give out for Halloween.
I admit, I think this is such a good idea, I may start doing it.
We went for a hike today, but since the storm was rolling in, it was too cold as we weren’t properly dressed. We went to the Lighthouse Trail at Louisburg.
It was beautiful, but as I said, cold. Bob managed to find a treacherous path to explore, which was not a surprise.
Still knitting away on my Weekender. I should be finished with the body by the time we get back home.
Don’t worry, I have another cake of yarn with me.
Today we went to Highland Village in Iona, a living history museum about the Scottish settlers in Nova Scotia. Everywhere we went we were greeted in Gaelic, and told stories about the way of life on the island, starting with life in Scotland before the emigration.
As you can see I paid a lot of attention to the fiber arts. Every home had a spinning wheel and loom in the loft.
Bob’s Uncle Basil introduced us to Ruby the pig, the little flock of Suffolk sheep, and Myra the Clydesdale.
They even have Highland Coos, which we saw from a distance. Then he showed us some woodworking!
We had a great day on “the hill” and the weather was beautiful!
Yesterday I needed a day off from the go go go and we stayed in and watched horror movies.
Look at these cute earrings I purchased at the Iona Port Farmers’ Market on Saturday. A young woman was selling them. She makes them out of Fimo. I’m wearing the leaves today! You can see more of her work at catsandcrafts.shop. I kind of wish I had gotten a pair of yellow leaves, too.
Yesterday was Canadian Thanksgiving and also our 7th wedding anniversary! We hiked Middle Head, a bit of the Cabot Trail near Ingonish, then had a lovely dinner with Bob’s folks.
After that we went to another Celtic Colours concert and I found a new to me band that I really like, Kinnaris Quintet. I bought the CD. That’s how much I liked them.
The drive to the trail was an hour and a half there and then back again, so I knit several rounds on my Weekender.
Today we’re taking it easy. No hikes today, just a few errands and knitting and movies and leftovers.
Today we hiked Coxheath Mountain. It was a steep hike but we were rewarded with a breathtaking view when we got to the top.
Tonight we also attended our first Celtic Colours concert. As I mentioned before, they don’t allow photography at the events. But if you are interested, you can view some of the concerts on their Facebook page.
