By Hand: Nova Scotia

I love to travel – far from home, close to home, it doesn’t matter where.  Travel, simply put, feeds my soul. Thankfully, Matt and I agree on this and it’s one of the many reasons we fell in love.  But I also love my crafts so when I happened upon the By Hand serials, I was in love. I want them all! Heck, I want to be employed by them!  

Recently, we started looking very seriously at Canada cruises.  This gave me the perfect excuse to order the latest edition, By Hand: Nova Scotia.  As luck would have it, shortly before the serial arrived, we booked a cruise with two stops in Nova Scotia.  To say that I’m excited is putting it very lightly!

Culture

Andrea Hungeford does such an excellent job conveying the culture of a place to her readers.  The photography in the serials is beautiful and Andrea’s profiles are just lovely. She tells you about the different regions of the province and what they are known for.  It’s truly like a tour of Nova Scotia.  

I cannot wait to see this beautiful place for myself!

Crafts

The By Hand serials focus on makers and what they’re making.  In Novia Scotia, they make wool, quilts, fabric, hand-sewn objects, rug hooking, and jewelry.  

One of my favorite profiles is of Sea Glass Designs.  With all of our trips to the Caribbean, I’m familiar with sea glass – but never would have thought of it being so popular in Nova Scotia.

Yarnies 

Hungerford profiles several yarn makers and shops.  Gaspereau Valley Fibres makes their own fiber and yarn from sheep they raise.  In their shop, they carry other yarns, spinning and knitting tools, and patterns.  Thanks to Hungerford, I learned that Handmaiden and Fleece Artist yarns are also a product of Nova Scotia.  

Also profiled is The Mariner’s Daughter yarn shop in Lunenburg.  This town is a UNESCO World Heritage site – and it’s lovely. I so hope we get to see it!  The yarn shop is quite the attraction with its large selection of natural fibers.  

Another fiber maker in Nova Scotia is TapRoot Fibre.  In fact, they grow their own flax and are the only makers of linen in Canada.  How amazing is that?!

Conclusion

As usual, Hungerford offers several patterns in the serial.  And I’m already in love with one of them, called Just Peachy.  It reminds me vaguely of Andrea Mowry’s Birds of a Feather. But with the peach…I’m in love!  That will have to go on to my “must make” list.  

I’m already looking forward to the next By Hand serial.  Where will Andrea go to next?!