Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Deutsch Country Days - Part 1 Lace, Quilts & other Home Decor




Living History Weekend in Marthasville, MO
as Deutsch Country Days kicked off it's annual
event on the historic Luxenhaus Farm.
 The all volunteer staff demonstrated skills of the
German settlers.  It is sponsored by the Lexenhaus Farm 
German Heritage Foundation.

The farm has folklife from fur traders to "modern" times of the 1800s.
 I have split this post up so I can cover all the wonderful artisans 
that donate their time to this event.


This woman is making bobbin lace, or Kloppolei.
You can see in the photo below that there is a template
that is pinned on something that resembles a pillow and then
several bobbins are twisted around themselves to make
this wonder pattern.


I really loved this rooster.


These are some of the other items they were making,
all for sale.  My neighbor brought her set over from Germany
and told me these prices were very fair as it takes a number
of hours to complete a small piece.


The loom fascinated me. I would love to have one
once I learn how to use my spinning wheel.


Some looms are much larger than this but something
this size would be perfect.


These are some of the items she was selling.


The fiber arts building had such cute items for sale
like this little rabbit


or this beautiful mouse.  Who could resist this?


All of these are made out of paper.
The artist uses templates and an exacto type knife to 
cut out these shapes on coffee stained paper.  
He then comes back an removes some of the coloring to
get the proper shading.


I thought this was a great quilt for a guy!
She also teaches wool rug braiding through private lessons.


The traditional hand quilting.


Another quilt was exhibited at the basket weaver's place.


I love the rug hooking although the colors in my kit
were a little too muddy to be a good match, they 
did offer to exchange them but it was a pretty far drive.
I would love to try the chicken or pumpkin.
These are woolen fabrics.


There was a twinging demo, similar
to a child's pot holder loom but of course
more sturdy and the fabrics were much nicer.


She weaves over and under using a large needle
  so the fabric strips can fit through them.


A similar weaving loom made larger rugs.
This was woven using two strips, 
one over and one under the vertical strips.


Another type used tied fabric to make rag rugs,
this one had a backing so it could be used 
as a shower mat.


 Of course there were candles to be made!

This was the first installment.
I'll have the wood workers,  homemaking,
edibles and all other scenes.
I will admit I did not walk up the Osage Trail section this year.
There are warnings that you have to be pretty fit to tackle it 
and my arthritis is kicking in with the colder weather.
I decided to scope out the shops and get a super big
cup of coffee to keep me warm.

The trail has the fur trappers, flint makers, primitive cooking, etc.
I have some photos from our last trip that I might link back to.

Stay tuned for part 2.




5 comments:

Sunnybrook Farm said...

Looks like an interesting event, so neat to see how people used to do things like that.

Patricia @ 9th and Denver said...

I love seeing all these things being made.
We went to the State Fair last week. I didn't get to go into the fiber arts or the womens building where they have these things. I missed it. While we did has a wonderful time-- I used to love going with my Mom and Granny to these buildings and seeing these items first hand. My Granny loved trying her hand at making things. I'd love to have a little cricket loom...just to use leftovers from scraps of fabrics and old clothing; for rugs, pot holders, hot pads etc.
Thanks for showing them...cant wait to see your other pictures of the wood working.
Sorry to hear that your arthritis kept you from enjoying the rest of the trail. I'm in the same boat as you. You can only do so much sometimes.
... Oh my personal favorite here today. The rooster!
Pat

Lisa said...

I wish I could have gone with you! I love demonstrations like this. Thanks for the pics and details.

Lady Locust said...

Wow, what fun. I would love to see that - all right up my alley of interest. No you're keeping me in suspense for part two:)
Smiles,

Michelle said...

I lived in Germany for 7 years so it was fun to read your post. Can't wait for the next one.