Crafts in the 1800's

We went back to Historic Speedwell again this week. The class was about crafts from the 1800's. First the kids wrapped paper around a block of wood that had a piece of tin taped to it. They drew pictures on the paper. Some of the kids used the pictures that they had ready. Then they used a hammer and nail to punch holes in the tin. When they finished they bent the tin a bit so it would wrap around a candle. Of course Dakota had to draw a picture of a rocket. His favorite thing. I'm not sure that they had many rockets oin the 1800's. Tin punching was a craft that was practiced a lot as a way of decorating their homes.

After they finished tin punching, the kids all made a patchwork quilt. They hand sewed the pieces together to make a pinwheel. Then they layered the top and bottom together and sewed around three of the sides. Then they turned the project inside out and lay the quilt batting inside. Then the finished the last side. All of the kids agreed that it was a lot easier to go to the store and buy a blanket than to go through all this work. It took most of them nearly two hours with lots of help to finish their little 8 inch square quilts.

This will be our last Historic Speedwell class for this year. They will start up again with a new schedule in March or April. We will miss going there over the Winter. But we'll be back again in the Spring.
Before I end this today I just had to include this picture of the old tree they have on the property at Speedwell. His huge branch comes down and touches the ground and then goes back up. It's beautiful.