Family sewing tradition lives on in P.E.I.'s Évangéline region

From her sewing table overlooking the Northumberland Strait and the Mont-Carmel Catholic church, Colette Aucoin watches birds and fishing boats while working on her recycled denim projects. 

"I see blue jays and I see finches and they sing for me," said Aucoin as she sewed a tag onto her newest denim tote bag.   

The tag reads Boutique à Point, "a name that I took from my mother's business because she had a boutique and that was the name," Aucoin said.  

Sewing has been a part of Aucoin's family for generations — and now she's passing it on to her daughter and granddaughters. 

Her grandmother on her mother's side, Joséphine Arsenault, was a seamstress who helped found the Co-operative d'artisanat d'Abram-Village, a handcraft store in the Évangéline region of P.E.I. that is going strong after more than 50 years. 

"She was a person that had this development aspect to her and she was really a community person," Aucoin said of her grandmother.

"She encouraged other ladies from the community to up their crafts to a higher level."

Joséphine had 14 children, and Aucoin's mother Marie Anne was the fourth. She followed in her mother's footsteps and became the family seamstress. 

"That was her job, so she had to dress the 14 children," said Aucoin. 

Marie Anne passed her sewing knowledge down to Aucoin, who first learned to sew as a child and has sewed on and off throughout her life. 

Aucoin began to focus on sewing about six years ago when she made heatable bags as Christmas gifts for her family. 

She ended up starting Boutique à Point and getting a booth at the Summerside Farmers' Market, where you can still find her every Saturday. 

"Sewing has become my priority and I always want to try to please customers and make new products," said Aucoin.

Her latest foray into recycled denim has proved popular with market-goers.