In Chéticamp, there remained yet another place that showed Acadian history and arts. A museum called  les Trois Pignons focused on the home life and arts.  We paid a small price to enter and a young guide  named Catharine gave us a short introduction to the centre, after which we could look freely at the displays.

Les Trois Pignons, Chéticamp,Cape Breton Island

A cameraman from Radio Canada was filming  at the museum while we were there. He took footage of a guide who gave a lot of history on the Acadians and their lives.  We learned afterwards that the man was  visiting  a number of Cape Breton attractions, preparing for an upcoming special on tourism. He panned the museum at various points, so some of our party may be in that video.

Yvette, the guide dressed in period costume who spoke on camera, spoke to other visitors in both French and English.  She  answered our questions or came to us when we studied a particular work and told us more about the life of Elizabeth LeFort, a well known rug hooker who both dyed her own wool from sheep raised near Cheticamp and designed her own rugs.

I was fascinated by LeFort’s work, as described by Yvette. LeFort designed her own rugs and wall  hangings, drawing the picture first on paper and then on canvas before she started with the hook. Apparently some people hook freehand, but I think that her designs were better for the planning. She designed and hooked rugs of royalty, statesmen, both Canadian and American, and her faith was evident in her art, since she depicted scenes of Jesus and his disciples among other subjects. Her rugs hang in Rideau Hall, Buckingham Palace, the White House and the Vatican. Some works took a couple of weeks, others took months, but I thought it fascinating that she could hook 55 stitches a minute. That’s much faster than I can knit.

Since I showed such interest, Yvette wondered if I would be there for the upcoming book launch of Elizabeth LeFort: Canada’s Artist in Wool, by author Daniel Doucet, and published by Cape Breton University Press. Unfortunately, the book launch would be held on July 29th, after our return from holidays. I hope to obtain the book soon and read more about LeFort.

We went back the next morning before leaving Chéticamp, hoping that Yvette was there so we could get a picture. She was, and here’s our picture below.

Here’s to you, Yvette, an amazing tour guide and a skilled rug hooker too. I hope the special filming was everything you hoped for and that the launch was well attended.

Getting a lesson from Yvette as she demonstrates rug hooking with yarn.