Alberta Trip - part deux

After our first tour of southern Alberta, where we went to Dinosaur provincial park, Writing on Stone provincial park (that was way cool) and Waterton provincial park - where the sock was just too stunned by the beauty of the place - we went back to Cochrane for a few days of rest at my father's place. [ it should be noted that in our vocabulary, rest means going to Stampede, going wool shopping, going to brunch, and generally not resting]


I had heard about the Make 1 yarns trip to the mountains for a knitting retreat, and if they're still doing it in 5 years, I'll probably go on one then when Erika is bigger - but I just had to go and visit their store.

W.O.W.

This was more than I had bargained for. They had all of the yarns that people drool over on blogland - misty alpaca, Malabrigo, Alchemy yarns, Rowan, Lorna's Laces, and tons of other hand painted or hand dyed yarns that I hadn't even heard of (but loved none the less). If ever you find yourself anywhere near Calgary, you NEED to go to this store [with your credit card].

The store had just (and by just, I mean the day before) re-opened after a week's worth of renovations. Most of the yarn was still in bags, as the dusty part of the renovations had only finished the day before. I'm sure the store looks much more put-together now, but this is what it looked like when I was there.


I was helped by the lovely Amy, one of the store's owners. I felt totally at home there, was allowed to fondle as much yarn as I wanted, and they even had a little chair with crayons for Erika to color so I could concentrate on the yarn.

I have been wanting for the longest time to make a "Moderne Blanket" in blues with a hint of orange. Amy spent quite some time helping me find the right yarn. First, we were going with some wool (I dont' remember the type) but the orange they had was too vibrant. In the end, I got some Misty Alpaca in cream, light blue, dark blue and orange. I've done a couple of sketches and think it will look pretty snazzy when it's all done.

It's so soft...I wish you could feel it through the screen.


I also got a Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton Noro book that I've been looking for in Montreal, but no one has it anymore and a skein of some lovely purple hand painted superwash/mohair. Not sure what I'll do with this one, but as soon as I saw it, I needed it.


The day before the yarn store, Dave had found out about a shop that specializes in Acoustic Guitars. I felt less guilty about buying alpaca for a blanket after he bought himself a new guitar. Let's just say that the cheapest guitar in the shop was just over $1000, and Dave didn't get the cheapest one.


Next post - Alberta trip part 3 where I go to a tour of the Custom Woolen Mills.