24+ Hours of Fun

Poppy, Jen1, and I hit the road on Friday afternoon and headed up to Gravenhurst where we spent the night before the Muskoka Yarn and Fibre Festival.

I was very pleased to find us lodgings in an efficiency unit that could comfortably accommodate three people in three beds at the Pinedale Inn, on the shore of Gull Lake. 

The view from our balcony

For a Friday night in the cottaging season, it was very quiet. We chatted outside on the balcony until almost sundown. The temperature was perfect, the view stunning, and we reveled in the rustling sound of the poplar leaves in a nearby tree. One could almost feel one's blood pressure dropping and the stresses in our lives drifting away.

I took an array of bears to see if Jen1 was interested in having one come and live with her. She picked Lola.

We took a selfie with our little friends and had ChatGPT make it into a cartoon.

Jen1 with Lola, Geri with Thomas and Ernest, Poppy with Daphne

The next morning we had breakfast at Stacked in Bracebridge then headed to the Fairgrounds for the yarn fest.

We split up - each interested in different things - and determined a meet-up time. Jen1 had pre-ordered something she went to pick up. Several of the yarn merchants had models on display. We all were intrigued by the Mautinoa shawl designed by Malia Mae Joseph. The pattern is available on Ravelry. It would work very well with a couple of contrasting skeins of laceweight. I could see knitting wider bands and making it into a lap blanket.

I was intrigued by a Knitted Bliss Stitching kit which featured several specialty stitches to look like flowers and balls of yarn.

Other colourways were also available. The blue kit I purchased was complete with 2 needles, a threader, all the DMC flosses separated on a floss card, the printed fabric, and 6" hoop. I do plan to vary the flowers with other colours. There are instructional videos available for the various techniques required.

What first drew me to their booth was seeing a floral embroidery on a sweater on display.

Of course, I dragged Poppy over to their booth, too. The designer uses Sticky Fabri-Solvy and just washes the water-soluble interfacing away once the embroidery is completed. She also sells 'Stick and Stitch' packs with designs already printed onto the 'Solvy', ready to literally stick and stitch. My mind is now racing with ideas for this embroidery technique. 

Ernest had a few photo ops:

with a very cute, needle-felted Peter Rabbit.

with an intriguing book of fellow critters,

between a couple of felted sheep on display,

amid an assembled lot of needle-felted critters,

and with an emotional support chicken and a frog.

After the fibre fest we made a beeline for Thimbles & Things quilt shop near Orillia to see if there were any to-die-for fabrics or kits. Among our purchases, Poppy found a very cool panel of a poppy print that was ready to make into a tote bag. It was very cool that the ends were printed in two directions so it could just be folded and seamed without having to cut a front and back separately.

Jen1 found a pretty, floral printed panel and companion fabric that she though would make a nice table cloth. Close up, the flowers looked like they'd been appliquéd in place.

I picked up a couple of William Morris fat eighths.

Our final stop was Myrtle Station Wool which conveniently, was on our route home. We had a nice visit with Stephanie and ogled her lovely yarn.

Back at home, I pretty much baffed out after all the activity of the previous 24 hours. 

It was so good for the three of us to get away. 

I don't see enough of the two of them as they are still working and busy with family commitments so I really look forward to spending time with them. We got to indulge ourselves doing many of our favourite things: shopping, discussing crafts, eating at restaurants, staying in comfy lodgings, getting away from 'adulting' for a little while, and spending time together.

We really need to do things like this more.