Welcome to Nova Scotia! After breakfast, we’ll begin our day together for our introductory meeting and hand out kits for the thrumming workshop.  We will then venture outdoors along the bustling Halifax harbourfront to explore its amazing maritime history as displayed at the Halifax Maritime Museum, along with the plentiful shops and cafes before enjoying a waterfront dinner together!  The Halifax Citadel provides an amazing view of the harbor if you are up for the climb!

LUNENBURG

We will leave Halifax and spend the next few days along The Lighthouse Route, one of Nova Scotia’s most iconic stretches of coastline. Our base for the next three days will be the UNESCO World Heritage site of Lunenburg, settled snugly into two lovely B&Bs. Renowned for its bright and colorful architecture and vibrant fishing and sailing heritage, we will explore the rugged coastline with its history of lighthouses, shipwrecks, and pirates.  Now, however, the pirates have been largely replaced by artisans inspired by their maritime environment.  Lucky us!

LUNENBURG

We’ll sharpen our knitting skills with the first of 3 workshops on this tour -  Thrumming, the ingenious art of adding little fleecy bits into your knitting for a cloudlike wooly lining. Thrumming produces a very warm fabric, a must in a wet, cool and often foggy maritime climate. We’ll visit the charming town of Mahone Bay, enjoy the dramatic beauty and unique geology of stunning Ovens Natural Park. We’ll have a guided tour of the park and afterwards settle in for a picnic.

We’ll return to Lunenburg with lots of free time to shop or relax followed by our sunset sail in the harbor that evening.

GASPEREAU VALLEY

Today we’ll depart Lunenburg and move north to the Gaspereau Valley, stopping to catch the sweeping views at the spectacular Blomidon Lookout followed by an even more delightful experience - a catered lunch and wine-tasting, cider or non-alcoholic beverage at Lucketts Vineyard, a winery with a gorgeous view of the Bay of Fundy and the Gaspereau Valley. 

It will be difficult to leave this stunning venue, but onward we go to visit TapRoot Fibre & Spinning Mill, processors of flax and wool.

GASPEREAU VALLEY

Our hands stay busy today with another workshop, Rug Hooking, hosted by Gaspereau Valley Fibres. Rug hooking is both an art and a craft where rugs are made by pulling loops of yarn or fabric through a stiff woven base such as burlap, linen, or rug warp. After the workshop, if time permits, we’ll visit the Grand Pre National Historic Site

ONWARD TO PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

This day will be chock full of travel adventure. We’ll begin at Burntcoat Park boasting the highest tides in the world. Afterwards, who doesn’t appreciate the “cute factor” of valais blacknose sheep; we’ve got a farm stop planned to let us get close to this precious breed. We will stretch our legs with a LYS visit in Tatamagouche then head back on the bus time to knit on our works-in-progress as we cross Confederation Bridge to our destination, Prince Edward Island. 

DALVAY BY THE SEA

While PEI has a laid-back vibe, we will spend our time diving deep into as many rich fiber experiences as we can over these next few days on PEI.  We love a place that promotes its own Fibre Trail! We’ll start off with a tour of the local favorite Fleece and Harmony - dyeing and milling their own brand of yarn, you’ll have time on your  own to enjoy lunch and shopping in delightful Charlottetown, and we may even pop in to visit the island’s most famous resident - Anne of Green Gables! We’ll travel to the northwest end of PEI and get acquainted with the Mi’kmaq First Nation culture on Lennox Island through one of their unique crafts, porcupine quill art on birch bark, and we’ll stop in and meet the friendly and gorgeous alpacas of Green Gables Alpacas. We’ll have conquered this fiber trail after 4 days and lounging and knitting on the spectacular veranda in the evenings at Dalvay will be icing on the cake! 

Colleen Troy is knitting multiple projects right now, spinning hand-blended fibers on her Lendrum DT, and has found it difficult but not impossible to knit and watch a South Korean show on Netflix with subtitles at the same time. She is curious about makers' stories of the lineage and evolution of their craft and where to find truly awesome pie.  Her professional background in outdoor tour guiding and small business ownership makes a great match with RTT. Colleen loves to drive a convertible, swim in natural waters and hula hoops. Does she talk to her plants? That’s what her friends want to know.

Vana is an avid knitter, spinner, weaver and lover of all things fiber.  She is fortunate to reside in beautiful Nova Scotia Canada where she raises Angora bunnies and Old English Babydoll Southdown sheep.   During her previous incarnation as an Horticulturist and Arborist she developed a keen interest in native landscapes and has extensive pollinator gardens, beehives and small native plant nursery.