Week One Eabametoong Sewing Circle Project

With a population of 2000, located 366 air miles north of Thunder Bay and 1084 air miles from Toronto, the First Nations community of Eabametoong is the site of the very first Sewing Circle Project.  

I left on April 12 to spend 8 days setting up the project. It takes a full day to get there from Toronto Pearson airport and costs more than a trip to Paris. First stop is Thunder Bay, then a 10 seater Nakina Airlines flight to Eabametoong. 

This is the emblem for the community and each of the colours were chosen to represent an aspect of life. 

Surrounded by frozen lakes and forests this is the ancestral home of the Anishnabe people who live there. 

A selfie with the Youth Rangers, a spirited group of teenagers who came by the Sewing Circle, curious to see what it was all about. They each visited again throughout the week to try out the high speed industrial sewing machines and play with the fabrics, imagining what they would like to make. 

Daisy Slipperjack was frightened to use the machines, but overcame her fear and she will now help others to learn how to use this brand new Juki 4 Thread Serger. Go Daisy!

Daisy made these capri leggings for her niece, with fabric from Syd Textiles in Markham.  

Sheila is learning to use the cutting machine to cut the 40 pack sacks we are producing for the community. The people do not like to carry bags in their hands, so they requested a light cloth bag that can be reused for carrying their groceries and things. 

This baby arrived in a traditional tikinagan, carried on Mom Lilly's back and stood against the wall while she sewed. There were many children who came to the Sewing Circle, bright eyed and curious. It got kinda crazy at times, with kids crawling over the fabrics under the tables and helping snip threads.  

And then there was Daniel! 

Come back for my next instalment to this blog.