Touristing at home in Victoria
A bronze sculpture of hands holding a tall stack of folded blankets. This piece is by artist Crystal Przybille and is part of the Hands of Time series.
It’s easy to get comfortable in a place, to forget to look around. Last weekend I went on a little foodie tour (definitely designed for tourists) around downtown Victoria and was so delighted to see my adopted home town with fresh eyes.
The sculpture above is located outside the Victoria Public market (across the street from my LYS, Beehive Wool Shop). It’s a part of a project called The Hands of Time, sculptural pieces around Victoria featuring life size hands doing important things in the history of the city. Artist Crystal Przybille created twelve different pieces, but this one really hit me. I can’t believe I’d never noticed it before! Blankets were of major importance to the First Nations community before (and after) settlers arrived and the now-famous Hudson Bay blankets were part of a massive cultural shift. To learn more about this, check out Sylvia Olsen’s book, Working with Wool. The Royal BC Museum in Victoria also has info on the history of the impressive fibre tradition of the First Nations people on the Island.
Lollipops at Tout de Sweet
Beers to try at Phillips Brewery
Colourful macarons at La Roux Patisserie
It was a food tour, so we did try a bunch of wonderfully tasty stuff, including candy at Tout de Sweet, macarons at La Roux Patisserie, and beer at Phillips Brewery.
Fan Tan Alley
Mural outside Phillips Brewery
Mural outside Phillips Brewery
There’s lots of magical colour inspo around too. Fan Tan Alley, above on the left, is always packed with tourists, but the businesses there are really charming and the lanterns and lights in the narrow corridor give it an otherworldly feel. The art outside Phillips brewery has some really great colour palettes too.
Beehive Wool Shop, my LYS
And since this is a knitting blog, I won’t forget my favourite LYS, Beehive. Their seasonal displays are always charming - those scoops of ice cream are giant yarn.