July 2018 eNews from Sanborn Mills Farm

 It has been a busy summer so far with workshops full of people getting things done!

 Here’s a peak at what they’ve been up to.

Blacksmithing

The knife is one of the most basic of human tools and guest instructor Lucian Avery of Hardwick, Vermont  taught our first ever knife making workshop this past April. Students spent the first day drawing out the tang and the blade for a small carving knife. Lucian had them file the beveled knife edge by hand and then moved on to showing them how to heat treat and temper the blade. The next step was to set the tang in a wooden handle and carve it to a comfortable shape. On the second day they made a custom sheath out of goat hide.  On the third day students whittled a wooden butter knife and spoon with the knife they made!

Left to right, top to bottom: Hand filing the bevel; heat tempering the blade; finished carving knife with sheath; whittling a butter knife; and Matthew Herrick of Henniker, NH with his completed carving knife, wooden butter knife and spoon.

Oxen

According to Alexander Langlands in his book Craeft – An Inquiry into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts, “While the earliest depictions of oxen . . come from the Upper Nile of the fourth century BC, archaeological evidence suggests that oxen had been domesticated to work the land as early as the seventh century B.C.. Oxen then continued as the ideal draught animal for the next eight thousand years, with donkeys, mules and in some places goats used to a lesser extent.”

The skills of working with oxen continue to be an important part of New England’s heritage and are shared through the 4-H Working Steers program and workshops at Sanborn Mills Farm. This June, seven people participated in the
Working Cattle on the Farm & in the Garden workshop and got a chance to work with several different teams engaged in a variety of farm tasks. 

 

Elsa Acerbo of Riverhead, NY plowing in the Teaching Garden with instructor Tyler Allen driving Ruff & Tuff, a team of Devons. 

Elsa Acerbo and Durham team Huck and Finn returning from a morning of work at Joe’s farm with Luke Bronnenberg riding on the ox cart.

Baskets

Up until modern measuring systems and containers became common, baskets were a form of measurement for produce – bushel, half bushel, peck and half peck being the most common. Whether made from strips of wood, bark, dried grasses, reeds, branches, or vines, the goal is to find a material that can be bent, twisted, or plaited to create a form. This summer Wendy Jensen from Monterey, MA taught a fast paced one-day workshop using rattan reed. Working steadily through the day, everyone went home with a practical and beautiful round field basket.

Left to right, top to bottom: Jean Therrien of Gilford (left), NH & Dagmar Sepulveda of Henniker NH starting their round basket; Jack Swanson of Weare, NH taking tips from instructor Wendy Jensen; the Woodward family (Lucy, Hillary & Emma) with their finished baskets; and Molly & Jack Swanson with their completed baskets.

Floor Cloths

Before braided and hooked rugs grew into common use on New England floors, people used what were sometimes called “crumb cloths” or “oyled cloths.”  They were very popular in Colonial times and records indicate they were used in the homes of our founding fathers including Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.

The process started with a piece of painted canvas (sometimes portions of worn out canvas sails). The designs were usually stenciled and in some cases made to imitate more expensive marble tiled flooring. The surface was coated with layers of linseed oil to make it waterproof and strong. Floor cloths remained a common floor covering until the development of linoleum around the turn of the century. Here’s an excerpt from an advertisement in the New Hampshire Gazette of 1828.*

“These carpets possess a decided advantage over all others, as they are more durable, and in warm weather much more comfortable, and easier to keep clean, and in hot climates the only kind that are not subject to injury from insects; in winter they may be covered with other carpeting without damage, and the room is kept warmer …”

Michele Hollick of Hollis, NH is a juried member of the
League of NH Craftsmen and specializes in historic floor cloths. This is the fourth year she has taught a workshop at Sanborn Mills Farm. Students came from as far away as Pennsylvania and Vermont to spend two days in our Sanborn Barn creating two beautiful pieces, one with a stenciled design and the other with a diamond design.

Left to right, top to bottom: Heather Diamond of Londonderry, NH stenciling a Rufus Porter design; Joe Lahr of Hummelstown, PA stenciling an Isaac Buck House design; Joe’s wife Denise with her Wayside Inn floor cloth; Sharon Warga of Plymouth, NH with her Shaker Tree floor cloth; Bonnie Mohla (left) of Wilder, VT with a pineapple design & Claire Gendron of Center Barnstead, NH with her diamond design; and Martha Forgione of Woodstock, VT with her Edward Durant House piece.