The week started off busy with an outing to Rexton & Richibucto to check out the Dollar Store fabric flowers with Dorice. On the way through Kouchibouguac Park, I braked to miss a deer & what a beauty it was! The whole drive was so summer-like with the sun shining making everything lush & green & the wildlife out & about.
On our way was the Deja Vu Thrift Store that we stopped into & what finds I found there!
There I found this cross stitched Christmas Angel & the metal embroidery & beadwork just adds elegance to her.
It is stretched & framed & at first, I thought of the purple Christmas this year & she is holding a mauve bird & what a wonderful accent pillow it would be however I'm going to leave it in the frame & add it into a vignette somewhere this Christmas. How lovely is this precious piece for $2.25?!!
Yes, a great find for sure & is nearly 20 years old now & in perfect shape for not being under glass!
We found a great Dollar Store in Rexton, there was everything you could think of in there!
I found a summer table runner that I knew would work for an outdoor flag.
The runner was cut in half making two flags & the sides needed to be hemmed one more time to fit the metal stand. A top sleeve was turned under & voila!
I added picnic table weights of a dragonfly, ladybug, & butterfly to the bottom as the winds here are quite gusty.
The colours & teme spoke to me & the whole runner was $4.00, making it $2.00 per flag!
Summer Sewing
Six months ago at Christmas Nicholas & Leslie gave me a jelly roll & 5 fat 1/4's. I looked at the colours & wanted to do something for Easter but that never happened. So with 6 months to go before Christmas again I thought I better do something with this fabric so I did a jelly roll race & cut it apart to the size of a large table runner. Remembering the table runner that Laura at Sew Very Easy did with pattern & Youtube video, I made one too!
This is the style for the ends & the center is in solid fabric but I added the jelly roll strips. The interesting problem came when I finished three, 1/2 circles, they were too small for the center jelly roll.
So I increased the pattern by 1/2'' all the way around & added one more fan & it worked!
So the first ones were made as accent pieces for the table runner & this one is a fan.
I sewed the two half's together & made a circle & added bias gingham binding to it.
I put nautical whale fabric on the back to add it to the sun porch & quilted it with a stitch in the ditch.
This is a nylon shopping bag that I made that folds into nothing & weighs nothing when put in your purse! I received one many years ago at a fabric store & just loved how handy it was not to mention how strong nylon is!
And the size that it opens to is really great! It also has 6" on each side as it is folded inward at the bottom, giving another 12" to the interior of that bag!
This is the face of a Kewpie Doll that I'm making right now. I've wanted to make it for over a decade & if not now, when?!
I painted the eyes & embroidered the face in a back stitch.
The head is now attached to the body!
The arms are now done too! They are movable arms & legs & will be attached to the body, so are the legs when I get them done. The legs are made up of four pieces & wings need to be made too! I know why I procrastined to get this doll made up. It is also sculptured when finished, much like the Cabbage Patch Doll.
I think that the arms look like a Charlie Brown character! Hmmm, an idea for later...
More to come with this Kewpie Doll.
The 60th Anniversary of the Escuminac Disaster
Jocelyne, Joan, & I attended the opening event last night & what a well-organized event it was!
60 years ago 35 fishermen were drowned in a storm at sea & a documentary by Andrew King called 'Still Fishing' was shown talking with the survivors of that day & the fishermen that are still fishing. The widows & children that were left behind mourning the loss & the fishing village that came together for support is one of strength that I admire living in this area.
Everyone was involved bringing the community together to honour those that died June 15th, 1959 & it is important that this day be remembered & last night the thoughtfulness of all involved was apparent.
The rural schools do a project to help them learn about the disaster & contribute to the event in the gymnasium at Baie-Ste-Anne.
A close up of a few of the students work.
The room was sombre, with the main overhead lights off & only spotlights on the projects that the kids had worked on. I tripped on the spotlight but recovered nicely trying to get a good photo of this live wax museum of the fishermen at sea.
The kids were true to there parts, even with my tripping trying to take photos!
A board listing all those that passed away that day in 1959 & their age beside their name.
A prop made to look like a window & a child waiting for their father to return.
These were women weeping & praying for the loss of their husbands. The kids were amazing in playing their roles!
Another mourning the loss, you will see the rosary beads in all their hand's religion is strong & gives them strength with the Lord.
Here you can see the tryptic of the fishermen, the women, & the child all playing out their roles in the living wax museum. Bravo kids, well done!
Another rural school project of painting the wooden floaters with the fisherman's name & 1959 year.
Mosaic paper tile sailboats on a sunny day in 1959.
Close up of the year of 1959.
Close up of the tiled paper project.
The secondary school project really impressed me!
The statute of the three fishermen, a rendering of the concrete statue in the Escuminac Harbour.
Yvon Durelle, the fishing boxer that put Baie-Ste-Anne on the map!
A fishing boat in deep water.
The Baie-Ste-Anne Church called Eglise Ste-Anne.
There was a small bridge made over Eel River for the children made by many parents, to help shorten the length to school. This was all before school busing came to life, oh the stories I've heard from those grown children & what the bullies would do to them on that bridge.
Here is the installation of painted photos on acrylic with the map of this area in behind.
See the blue dot? That is Hardwicke & that's where I live. See the red dot? That is where I use to live, today it is a seven-unit apartment & about 10 mins from each other.
What a wonderful sculptured work of art right down to the thick rope trim on the bottom.
There's so much talent in this area!
Hangin in the cafeteria was rubber slickers with the fishermen's name & the number tells how old they were when they perished that June day in 1959.
Yes, Eric Williston was only 13 years old! It really was so thought out & a great evening had by all in attendance last night.
The room was filled with chatter as everyone had a bite to eat & there was also refreshments & red/white wine for everyone to enjoy.
It really was a great evening!
Today there were five different church services honouring the dead & a Celebration of Life at the Escuminac Wharf from 2pm - 7pm with an hour Memorial sail for families of lost ones.
This is my 11th summer here on the east coast & every year the fishermen are honoured & remembered, this 60th Anniversary is one I'll remember & the cherished community that I now live in & this is now home for us.
I have the privilege to share this place with many this summer as they chose to vacation here with us.
I hope you too have a wonderful destination spot this summer!
Stay safe. Wishing you health & happiness wherever you are.
Cynthia
