Just across the border

My friend Cathy and I have been fiber friends for... hmmm... going on 4 years now.  We sat across the hall from each other during one of my internships in undergrad. I was not yet a dedicated knitter (in fact I think I was trying my hand at tatting at the time). It was apparent she was, from tea cozies to shawls her work was 'on display', and being a crafter, I struck up conversation with her about her knitting, we've been friends ever since.

Cathy is about 15 years older than me, this is a large part why I love knitting so much (and anything fiber related) there are no barriers. They break down as soon as one see's a fellow crafter, it is the shared experience in making that is the only thing that matters. In fact it wasn't until recently we even addressed our age difference, and really it was more of a comment about how we never even notice it. All we know is that we knit and chat, and that is all that matters (and we chat about everything)!

Since getting to know each other I moved a few hours away (to attend graduate school). We were both glad that it is only a few hours, since that meant we could still meet up on occasion, go to yarn stores, grab a bite to eat, chat, and knit. A few months ago Cathy came to Ithaca to visit me and explore the finger lakes, at the end of that trip we agreed that I needed to return to Buffalo for a weekend and we could revisit some of the places we had already or been or, better yet, go explore some shops across the border in Canada.

One of the many wonderful things about Buffalo is that if you wanted, and it is not unusual, one could just pop over to Canada for a bite, or a bike ride, or to got to the beach (the Lake Erie shore in Canada is rather nice). Yes; you do need a passport, or enhanced license, and sometimes the lines at the border are long (though I've yet to encounter anything unbearable), but it is fun to think "I went to a different (cheaper) country for an afternoon". So with that exploratory nature in our back pockets we planned a visit that involved going to a couple shops in Canada and a stop off at Niagara-on-the-Lake for gelato.

Our first stop was Rose's Fine Yarn of Niagara in Fonthill, ON. What a fun and unique shop, and not just for their selection and variety of yarns. Walking in feels like walking into a curiosity shop, antiques, trinkets, souvenirs... it is easy to get distracted by a porcelain pie bird, or sterling serving tray in the main (entry) room. Quickly the proprietor gave us some direction pointing out the different rooms and what they hold: The acrylic room, the cotton and linen room, the Canadian yarn room, the room of notions and buttons, the sock yarn room, and the wool room.

I LOVED this shop! What an amazing variety, and not just in yarns, I saw 6x0 dpns here, think about that for a moment size 000000!

I also found a number of yarns I wanted, a really springy turkish wool/polyamide blend, it was so bouncy to the touch I just wanted to have it to squeeze, and Jawoll Aktion cotton stretch color. I learned about Jawoll watching the Dunklgrun podcast. It is a sock yarn that is a specially spun cotton wool blend. I love the idea of being able to knit socks using cotton, but cotton has no memory and gets really stiff. This blend is suppose to 'fix' that. I am super excited to give it a turn (as soon as I finish everything that is currently on my needles)!

We then made a stop at Bee Sew Busy on our way to Niagara-on-the-Lake. This shop is a sewing and yarn boutique, everywhere you look there is eye candy in terms of prints and colors. The yarn selection was not as plentiful or varied as I had hoped, but it was a pleasure to wander through and imagine all the sewing projects I could dream of doing (and I do have a few I hope to get to someday). I was able to find the knitters pride needles I had been looking for here (3mm, US 2.5), and was happy to make a purchase and support a local yarn shop (LYS), especially one so pleasant.

(the days plunder)

Our final stop, before heading back to Buffalo was Niagara-on-the-Lake for gelato and a wander about town. I love Niagara-on-the-Lake, this was not my first time here (it being only 45 minutes from Buffalo, but a world away). The Niagara Peninsula is Canada's wine country, and therefore dotted with vineyards and busy with tourists. While I've yet to indulge in any wines from this region or tour the vineyards I have come to Niagara-on-the-Lake for the Shaw festival.

(photo by ihs Holiday Ads:
https://s.iha.com/0018830906/Niagara-on-the-lake)

The Shaw Festival is a theater festival that runs from April to October of every year. With three theaters and ~13 plays (and very affordable price options). We had come for our anniversary one year, spent the day wandering about town (a very picturesque town) had a bite to eat at one of the many options for dinner, got an "obligatory" gelato at Nina Gelateria and Pastry Shop (WOW!). We ended that day at an amazing performance of The Philadelphia Story. I cannot recommend a trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake enough! (an added bonus is it is a short, and picturesque drive down the Niagara River to Niagara Falls, ON).

Needless to say, when Cathy and I made it back to Buffalo we were ready to call it a day.  A great, wonderful, fun day spent with a dear friend. (Thank you Cathy!)