West Coast NEST Knitting Reatreat

The basket I wove out of cedar bark with the guidance of Rose and Brian Wilson.

I’ve really enjoyed travelling around Vancouver Island and I recently got to visit a new destination - Ucluelet. It’s very near Tofino, which I’ve visited and loved, but I’d never popped over to Ucluelet before I was invited to teach at the West Coast NEST knitting retreat.

It was a really special event in an unbelievably beautiful location. The workshops were all held at the Black Rock Resort with a gorgeous view of the ocean crashing in. A theme of the West Coast NEST is knowledge sharing so all the teachers were able to attend each other’s workshops. Due to some traffic delays I only made it to the cedar weaving class, but I really appreciate the idea of instructors getting to see what others are up to. It was such a treat to get to learn about basket weaving from Rose and Brain Wilson! And just look at the pretty pictures I got while I was there!

The rocky coast had so many of these mirror-calm tide pools at low tide.

This ochre star has the most interesting colouring. Is it orange and turning purple?

I’m drawn to the subtle textures of scrubby plants and lichen growing on the rocks.

One particularly amazing treat was visiting the Thornton Creek Hatchery. Because of the salmon run, there are bears that like to hang out right there and we got to see them! There’s an electric fence separating the people from the bears, so we weren’t too close.

A bear turns its head and looks straight at me!

Two bears were in the river at once, but never got very close to one another.

We got some warm sunshine for a few days, then more typical stormy, rainy weather. I love all of it! Plus, wearing wool under my rain jacket kept me perfectly cozy even during the drizzles. I’m always amazed at how the outside of my toque can be soaked when the inside is completely dry! Ah, wool.

Gull taking a stroll along a gloomy beach.

If you like my nature photography, you can always see more of it over on Instagram - I have a special nature photography feed @andrearangeloutside.

Just some rotting wood, not a giant creepy hand skeleton emerging out of the sand. Really.

What the weather is really like in Ucluelet in the fall.

West Coast NEST Knitting Reatreat

You Might Also Like