Before my holiday at the cottage was quite over I had planned a road trip to see two stores. Mom & Dad decided they'd love a day out so now there were three. First stop was The Match Factory in New Liskeard, north of the cottage. I consulted Al's GPS and it said something around 6 hours and 40 minutes ... I knew that couldn't be right so I then checked with Mapquest and they said a much more reasonable (but still seemed long) 5 hours and 30 minutes or so. So, to be on the safe side, off we went at 7:00 am. It was a sunny and warm day (but not too awfully hot) so perfect for a drive. I love driving in the North as the scenery is fabulous and there's so much to look at. On the way, on Hwy 64 I think, we had to slow down to a near stop to allow a baby bear to decide which way on the highway it was going to go ... a little dithering as it looked at us and then it scampered off across in front of us and disappeared into the bush. I was keeping a leery eye out for Mama Bear as she'd not be quite as cute as baby but that was fun to see.
We arrived at New Liskeard about 11:30 so a mere 4 hours and 30 minutes - and that was with the various slow downs and stops for construction! Bea's directions were helpful (ie the little set of shops behind the PizzaPizza) and we found her, mom Mary and her cute little shop.
The Match Factory
Bea Demarce
17 Wellington St North
New Liskeard, ON
705-647-5899
Yarn * DMC * Alterations
The Match Factory is inspired by an old family story about an individual leaving the North ready to set the world on fire but always being drawn back, “Looking for more matches.”Bea is a busy and accomplished seamstress who decided to endulge her love of yarn and knitting by including a little yarn shop in her work environment. Way to go Bea! If you're in the area, travelling through or cottaging (great location for a holiday and tons of resorts, camps and other places to stay) stop by and say "hi" to Bea. And Bea will be having felting classes this fall using our Northern Lights yarn and felting patterns!
After a lovely visit and lunch, back in the car and off to Sudbury to visit Paulina at Sweet Yarns. The drive back down to Sudbury didn't have the excitement of seeing a bear but we were treated to a view of a Heron flying quite low over the van. We see them along our waterfront but they're usually walking along. Those birds are really, really big!
We had an excellent visit with Paulina, and her husband Simone, and of course Mom and I just enjoyed looking at the great selection of yarns and bags and other knitting goodies. Paulina wanted her picture taken in front of our yarns : ) and she now has all the colours in Cotton Tweed and Northern Lights. A great shop to visit if you're touring Northern Ontario or holidaying nearby Sudbury, as Paulina has a fabulous selection of yarns in a warm and comfortable set-up - just the place to settle in for a good look around and maybe do some knitting! She does lots of classes so check her Facebook listing for updates.
Sweet Yarns
2354 Long Lake Road
Sudbury, ON
705-586-4648
Simone recommended a great Italian restaurant nearby called "Ripe" and it was terrific. After dinner it was time to get on the road and home to sit for a bit on the deck. Life is good.
-Lyn
PS On our last day of holiday, Al & I were sitting down at the waterfront and a little family ducks - Momma duck and seven babies - came right up to us, practically on our toes. Momma kept on looking into the bush area behind us, up on her tippy toes, then hustled the babies off back into the lake and away. Just a few minutes later a beautiful sleek little animal came scampering down and starting jumping around on the rocks and in and out of the water about 20 ft away from us. We later went and looked it up and think it was a young mink. It was a great way to end the holiday!
Now that's the best kind of roadtrip--2 great yarn shops and wildlife as a bonus! Hope you're managing to stay cool in this heat wave.
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