Tassels in a Small World

While visiting the Homestead Heritage in Texas I met one of the girls who worked at the fiber crafts shop. When she found out we were moving to Abu Dhabi, she told me that a representative for an Emirate in Abu Dhabi had flown there specifically to order custom tassels for some sort of decoration. Now, every time I see a tassel, I wonder if it came from Texas.

Who would have thought?

Homestead Heritage: Forge

The last workshop I will share from our homeschooling field trip to Homestead Heritage in Waco, Texas is the forge.

Here the blacksmith started with a metal rod...

and while his assistant pumped air through the bellows to increase the heat,

He gradually beat the piece of the metal into a:

deceptively delicate looking leaf key chain.

Homestead Heritage: Woodworking

Another workshop we visited on our homeschooling field trip to Homestead Heritage in Waco, Texas was the woodworking shop.

Both the stained glass and the doors were created by craftsmen in the community.

Inside was a spacious workplace with a wood stove to keep warm in winter.

Some of the beautiful things they have crafted in the woodworking shop include
a prize-winning violin, (among other instruments,) and really nice furniture.

One such piece of furniture is this handmade wooden bed frame...

which reminded me of a handcrafted wooden bed frame we had in Guatemala. 

Here's a photo for comparison:

Homestead Heritage: Pottery

This is a continuation of our homeschool group field trip in Waco, Texas to Homestead Heritage touring different workshops. Here we visited the pottery shop:

 At the Potter's House we watched a clump of clay turn into a vase...

 We saw how this lady used a combination of clay and weaving to create...

 this two toned basket that is still in the drying, unfinished process:

 The yellow minerals on the pottery below, after fired in the kiln, turned into...

 the beautiful brown and copper tones seen in pottery like this tea set:

There were many other beautiful pottery colors available as well, like this deep blue:

This is a class I would love to take, though I'm sure my product wouldn't look as nice as some of these!

Homestead Heritage: Gristmeal

This is a continuation of our homeschool group Homestead Heritage field trip in Waco, Texas through the different workshops. Here we visited the gristmill:

Outside of the gristmill, you will find...

this waterwheel, which powers...

these wheels and pulleys so that...

the grindstone can grind the wheat, corn or other grain.
The craftsman in charge of this workshop told us that the freshly ground flour is extremely flammable and that many gristmills in the past went up in flames. From this comes the saying: "Keep your nose to the grindstone..." because that was how the miller could sense if the flour started scorching.

The grooves in the grindstone, combined with centrifugal force, 

push the freshly ground flour off of the grindstone into a collecting place.

Unless the grindstone gets too old to use and then it can be...

turned into a flower planter!

Homestead Heritage: Fiber Crafts

In October several homeschooling families went on a field trip to Homestead Heritage in Waco, Texas. This is a place committed to sustainability and community that I recommend checking out if you're ever in the area. As reflected on their website:

"Our Traditional Crafts Village showcases a community of craftsmen who have returned, not to the past, but to the enduring values exemplified in handcraftsmanship. True craft requires more than skill: it expresses the craftsmen’s care and concern, their personal investment in everything they do. You can visit the shops of our crafts village, watch our craftsmen work, even attend classes to learn craft skills and, in all this, experience with our craftsmen the joy and fulfillment of returning to craft, the art of work."

Because there was so much to see that I think a single post with all of it would be picture and information overload, I'm going to separate the different stations they had into different posts for this week.

One of my favorite workshops to visit was the Fiber Crafts shop.

 

Here we were introduced to...

 

a beautiful selection of naturally dyed fibers.

The loom.

I liked the useful decoration of the wooden ceiling beam.

Just looking at the beautiful colors makes me want to make something.

Foot pedals on the loom.

 Batya measuring her weaving.

I loved all of the colorful yarn and threads displayed throughout the shop.

There were many looms for when there is a class.

For comparison, a piece of Guatemalan textile patchwork and...

 a Swedish version of a patchwork weaving.