More Spectacular Rock

Had a chance to work a pretty interesting piece today.

It looks like Stilbite invading basalt as it is very fibrous but it polished up much better than I thought. There are beautiful pinks and reds and it looks as if some of the original mineral has been replaced with silicate.
If you have any ideas, help me out!
Beautiful weather here right now- sunny and mild with light winds and low humidity. If only it would last a few months!
We just got a new shipment of fall weight yarn so I'll do a more extensive post on that when we have it all in inventory.
Cheers!

Visit from a Hard Core Knitter

One of the great things about having the shop is the interesting people you meet.
Today we met Bethany.
In previous posts I have commented on the , dare I say, fanatical mindset of knitters. The fact is most serious knitters have a "stash" of yarn that is sitting, just waiting to be knit. The really serious ones have SABLE- Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy!
But you have to be really hard core to travel from New York to vacation in Nova Scotia packing your own spinning wheel in the back seat of your vehicle.

You should know that this is just one of FIVE such wheels that Bethany owns!
Apparently she had found us via the internet and since she was coming to Digby, decided to pay us a visit. From here, she will be going to another part of Nova Scotia to see (and spin yarn) with another friend.

We just love meeting people like Bethany- people with a real passion for their craft and a real love for this beautiful province.
So Bethany, you're an old friend now. Heck, one more trip and we'll have to make you an honorary Bluenoser!
Hope to see you again soon.

P.S. We will be closed tomorrow, Friday September, 16th because I have an appointment in Halifax. Open again on Saturday.
Cheers!

Interesting Visitors- Interesting Rocks

We are experiencing beautiful fall weather here yesterday and today after a weekend that was so foggy and wet I couldn't see the nearest house!
On Sunday afternoon two of our loyal yarn customers (you know who you are!) paid us a visit with their "children". We love it when kids come in the shop-especially when they are as well-behaved as these three!

We love it when our beautiful Seawall Fibres hand dyed yarn is really appreciated. These guys wouldn't stop fondling it!
And speaking of beautiful, I am cutting a gorgeous piece of banded agate.

It's a little macrocrystalline but the colours are awesome and I should be able to get about 4 slabs and a nice specimen piece.

Vickie sees a bracelet in its future!
Don't forget our special offer. Visit the shop before the end of the year and mention the blog offer and you'll get 10% off the price of your purchase (not to be combined with other offers).
Hope to see you soon!
Cheers.

The Mother Lode of Amethyst!

I'm finally getting around to working on some of the rock that we had collected while my buddy Ted (from Australia) was here.
Vickie found a seam of crystals about 3-4 cm thick and the slab was about 20 cm square. It looked nice from the side but it was a bit large to sell as a specimen so we decided to give it a "tap" with the 2 pound hammer. We ended up with about 3 nice pieces and I took them in the house to show "The Boss". They looked really nice with some beautiful colour but then Vickie went to pick up a piece and something amazing happened.
The piece split in half through the center exposing two beautiful crystal faces!

So I went back to the other two pieces and very carefully tapped them in the center with a chisel. Here's what we got

Close up you can see a bit of the colour although I have to say that they are even nicer in person

So now we have some beautiful specimens of Nova Scotia Amethyst sitting in the shop waiting to go to a new home!
My current load of tumbler rocks is at stage #2 and they should be finished in about a week. There are some absolutely beautiful stones in there- jasper, flame, plume and crazy lace agate- can't wait to see the results!
So come on by if you live in the area and while you are here, check out the beautiful yarn and hand knitted pieces.
Cheers!

The Third Tourist Season

Well, it's the last day of the Labour Day weekend so we are headed into our third phase of this year's tourist season. In the spring, we get a lot of people from the Maratimes doing short trips to explore their back yard.
That all changes when school gets out. Then it's mostly families from all over and a lot of people from Europe.
But after Labour Day, the kids are back at school and we start seeing more retired couples from all over.
This year has been amazing, with almost twice the visitors we had last year- our first in operation. Part of that was due to people coming in to buy the Seawall Fibres Yarn (of which we are the sole distributors) but more and more people are discovering us through this blog and the Nova Scotia printed guide (Doers and Dreamers) and web site.

So I thought I'd give you a little peek at what's in store for next year.
Thanks to our summer adventures, I have a ton (literally) of great rock to work on over the winter. Also, I've been able to work some beautiful stone that Vickie has started to "set" in various ways. Here's a sample of what's coming.

Crazy Lace Agate set with copper and leather cord

By next spring, we will have a great selection of stone jewelry to complement Vickie's amazing polymer clay pieces and Sandra's whimsical fantasies. And I promise to get Vickie back to work to restore our inventory of purses that have been so popular.
As I type, Lisa is dying more yarn in some exciting new colours. Look for it soon on the Seawall Fibres Etsy site and follow Seawall Fibres on Instagram and Facebook.
We should have a large selection of knitted goods by then as well and there will be more of Vickie's art. She is even working on kits so you can make your own leather soled slippers from our beautiful yarn.
So you will have all sorts of exciting options to Take Home a Piece of The Neck!
That being said, we still have plenty of beautiful items in the shop and the weather in the fall is beautiful and the whales are still around in abundance so if you're looking for a place to spend some time, come on out to "The Neck" and stop by and see us. Mention this blog post and get 10% off anything you buy this year. 
Hope to see you soon or, if not, next year.