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Crafts West

The Western Arts and Crafts Trail

On this route, we will be travelling along parts of the North Cape Coastal Drive as we take a tour of the western towns, villages and harbours of PEI.

Starting from Summerside, we'll follow Route 2 to Miscouche where a stop at the Acadian Museum/Musee Acadien, complete with gift shop, will provide you with a wonderful historical view of the Acadians on PEI from 1720 until present. Continuing along Route 2, drop by Boutique A-Point on the Wellington boardwalk where you'll find handmade, one-of-a-kind, reversible ladies and children's jackets, men's clothing and linens.

From Wellington, head south on Route 177 to Mont Carmel. Follow the North Cape Coastal Drive to Abrams-Village and stop by le Centre D'Artisanat/Abram-Village Handcraft Co-Op Ltd. for a selection of Acadian shirts, woodwork, pottery and locally made crafts, weaving, quilts and rugs.

Stay on the North Cape Coastal Drive and enjoy the views overlooking Egmont Bay. If you're interested in basket-weaving you may want to head east on Route 127 to Richmond and visit Basket Weavers of PEI Co-op. Here you'll find ash splint baskets and natural materials such as wild cherry bark, sea kelp, rush and sweet grass.

Following the North Cape Coastal Drive, don't forget to drop by the West Point Lighthouse Craft Shop, in Cedar Dunes Provincial Park. This charming shop offers a unique selection of locally made handcrafts and quilts, casual wearables and jewellery. From here you can visit a number of arts and crafts stores in the area.

In O'Leary you'll find the Prince Edward Island Potato Museum. Items for sale in their gift shop include ceramics, potato bag pants, potato oven mitts, canvas book bags, and other PEI souvenirs. For locally made hand quilted quilts and over 1,500 bolts of cotton, quilting supplies and books, visit Quilt Gallery and Fabric Crafts 'n More.

Leaving O'Leary, and just before you arrive at Route 2, take a few moments to visit the Windmill Craft Cooperative in Woodstock for quilts, ceramics, knitting and dried flower arrangements. Heading north on Route 2, the next stop is Bloomfield to visit The Old Mill Craft Company. Here you'll find fine woolen items, weaving, quilting, artwork and hand-carved decoys. Then, drop by the Back Road Folk Art in Lauretta and discover antiques, birdhouses, sculptured wood, driftwood, sea glass art and much more.

Continuing on, you'll arrive at North Cape, where the tides of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Northumberland Strait meet over Canada's longest natural rock reef. Be sure to visit the North Cape Nature and Technology Centre, where you'll find a selection of Island handcrafts.

On your return journey to Summerside, take the North Cape Coastal Drive on Route 12 from North Cape to enjoy the views of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. You'll connect with Route 2 just before Portage and if you head east on Route 134, you will soon be at Lennox Island. Here you can visit Indian Art & Craft of North America. This shop features many examples of traditional and non-traditional native crafts such as Mi'kmaq ash-splint baskets, beadwork, carvings, drums, pipes, marks, headdresses, moccasins and many birch-bark novelty items.

Next stop on our tour is Graim's Creek Bear Studio & Gift Shop, in Murray Road, where you will find bears created on site from Island blancket wool, mohair and vintage fabrics.

From here, you can continue on your return journey to Summerside along the scenic North Cape Coastal Drive.