A trip to the Appalachian Area Blacksmith conference

Last Thursday we took off with the little Casita and went to Tennessee. We stayed at the I-24 Kampground in Smyrna TN. Nice park!  My only complaint would be with 100+ campers it really slowed their free wifi down. 

The Appalachian Area Chapter of Blacksmiths was holding their conference about 15 miles away in Murfreesboro. 

Every day we drove through the area where two battles were fought. The first, Battle of Murfreesboro was fought July 13, 1862, with 899 casualties. The second one, Battle of Stones River was fought December 31, 1862 to February 2, 1863, 1677 lives were lost.

The conference auction items were on display, and there were so many beautiful things. 

This hand forged tool box was outstanding. Full of tools (not pictured) it sold for a whopping $1250.00.

 A side view of the beautiful forging.

 This box was also full of tools and sold at the auction for $550.00.

The conference was held at the historical Cannonsburgh Village. In this picture are just a few of the many tailgaters. 

 Anvils and hammers, just a few of the many there.

The weather was cool and damp. Unlike the 100+ temps they said they've had in previous years.  

 This quilt, featuring the anvil pattern was sold at the auction for $800.

A guitar signed by Marty Stuart, Tom T. Hall, and Connie Smith sold for $500.00 The signed t-shirt was almost given to the same person for free.

I didn't write down what this awesome wrought iron spoon went for. It was really neat.

This coal slate was painted by instructor Cindy Hestle. I didn't take her class, but had a nice visit with her both days. 

I did take Suzanne Lebeau's pine needle weaving class. This is the beginning of my coaster.

This was another lady's version. She used a much smaller straw, which creates a finer weave.

Another house at the village. Unfortunately for the conference the houses were not open.

This is the world's largest cedar bucket. It was secured well behind the fence. Click on the picture below to read all about it.

Our time went quickly in Tennessee. One place we visited twice in our three nights out was The Slick Pig Restaurant. It was some of the finest southern smoked meat I've had. Both nights I made sure I got their turnip greens and white beans. 

Life is good.

Her mother's quilt

Several months ago I was asked by Darlene, a friend, if I could make some quilt charms to match her mother's quilt.

Her mother Betty had passed away in April 2013. In her room at the nursing home hung a small ceramic quilt block. They weren't sure who had given it to her; perhaps one of the 8 children she had, or one 15 grand kids, or one of the 13 great grand kids, or maybe even one of her quilting friends. I forgot to mention she was a good friend to my mother in law, who is also a quilter.

After Betty died, it was decided to create that ceramic quilt block into a full size quilt. Betty's friend, 93 year old Leona, (their husbands were cousins), matched the fabrics and pieced the quilt. 

Betty had always attended church at St Margaret's. The ladies Sodality there hand quilted the piece.

Her daughter in law, Judy put the binding on it.

It will be sold in the benefit auction at the St. Margaret's church picnic this summer. 

Usually when I make the quilt charms, I leave the paper pattern on the back. This time I asked if I could do something a little different. 

This is what I came up with. The charms were given to each of Betty's daughters yesterday on Mother's Day. How appropriate, Mom's Quilt on Mother's day! 

My latest blog post

 My donated quilt brought . . . 

 . . . and the cutest story ever.


For the rest of the story click here  Osage Bluff Blacksmith!

A bed turning

It was time . . . 

This wardrobe was bursting at the seams. The quilts had been folded and stored in there for a couple of years. I'd pull out a few now and then to show or to use. But as every quilter knows, they need to be aired out and refolded.

So I piled them all one by one on top of the bed in the spare room. It looked like the princess and the pea bed.

They were left there a week, okay maybe two . . .

Let me tell you a little about some of them.

These blocks my great grandmother Hammer embroidered. I set it together probably 34 years ago. It was quilted by me and family members. 

This was one of my daughter's baby quilts. My Mom embroidered it, I pieced it and quilted it by hand. This was 1983.

This fan quilt is old. I have no clue where I got it from.

This was a baby quilt my mother made for me, circa 1951.

My son's baby quilt. My mom embroidered it, my aunt Faye hand quilted it. 1977

This is a pin wheel quilt I made. It was one of my first. I remember my mother in law saying I'd never get it pieced. That's all it took, I showed her. Another one I hand quilted with family members. 

This quilt was pieced by Leona Hoelscher in 1993. I won it from our church picnic the year we moved into our new home. The Ladies Sodality at St. Stanislaus Church quilted it.

A green log cabin baby quilt I made in 1983, the year my daughter was born. It is a big baby quilt. I remember the nurses at the hospital telling me to fold it in half before I wrapped the 6 lb baby in it. 

A quilt I made for our Casita camper in 2012. I hand quilted it.

Another quilt I made for the camper with the leftover fabric. This one I used to practice my machine quilting.

This is a recently acquired quilt. The top was given to me by a cousin, who found it in her late mother's things. I had it machine quilted. 

I am not sure what this is called. It's not quilted, but is two layers thick. It has a lot of applique and what looks like crewel embroidery on it. It has a matching pillow cover. I expect it was made about 1940. 

This is a cheater top quilt. It belongs to my daughter and was made by her grandmother. Yes it is still stored at my house!

When my son graduated from baby bed to his big boy bed, I made this quilt. That was about 1980. It has been washed many times. It is a square in a square. 

I made this log cabin quilt  in 1982. It fits a queen size bed and for many years it was on our bed.

My son won this signature quilt at project graduation in 1996. Yes it's still stored at MY house. 

This quilt is a family heirloom. It was given to me after my aunt Faye, passed away by her grand daughter. It has names of lots of family relatives, all women except for my Dad. I am guessing he was a little boy when it was made. He was born in 1923, so this quilt is very old and still in great condition. 

My mother bought this quilt top at a nursing home gift shop in Albany, Missouri. I have to laugh at one block that was made out of Budweiser beer fabric. Another one that Aunt Faye quilted.

The white and print blocks were given to me by my mother in law in the late seventies. They were hand pieced by a cousin Clara Lueckenotte. I pieced and hand quilted this. 

This is a double wedding ring. Again these pieces were given to me by my mother in law. I had it pieced by a lady that apparently didn't know rings were completely round. My aunt Faye quilted this one also. 

My mother embroidered 3 sets of blocks to make this queen size double wedding ring. I hand quilted this about 2010.

This is a scrappy string quilt I pieced on news paper. I hand quilted this one too.

Another scrappy quilt, this one is a log cabin pattern. Another one I hand quilted. 

A Christmas string quilt I made in 2000.

This quilt was pieced and quilted by my aunt Faye for her best friend Wanda Winn. Both of them had passed away when I bought it at Wanda's auction. 

This is a chicken quilt I made for Aunt Faye. The chicken wings are actually prairie points. Their beaks and combs are machine appliques. Their feet are embroidered, 

This quilt took forever to make. I had to trace all the blocks from a book. The traced blocks had to be drawn on the back with a pencil made for ironing on fabric. I then embroidered all the blocks. I made this in the late 80's. 

Now they are all folded and back in the wardrobe once again. Until next time they need to be aired. Hope you enjoyed my bed turning. 

Signed the princess who never found the pea.