Sleightholm Folk Art

Folk Art by Heather Sleightholm

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Welcome!

Welcome to Sleightholm Folk Art! I am Heather Sleightholm, a lover of history and homespun. On this site I will share what I’m making and what’s inspiring me.

So grab a cup of tea, gather your knitting, and settle in for a chat about creating and exploring a homespun life. Thank you for coming by to visit me!

As well all shelter at home, I've been thinking a lot about the home lives of our ancestors--- many of whom lived in rural and remote areas where self isolation was just part of life. For many, any contact with beloved family and friends came from letters that were weeks or even months old by the time they arrived at their door. And perhaps the shopping was done only when the peddler's wagon came up the road, or a big trip 'to town' every few months--- or even once a year. I have no doubt, it was hard. Especially for the women, many of whom said goodbye to mothers and sisters from the seat of a wagon that trundled west to unknown lands. How impressed those same women would be at our abilities to stay in touch with those we love, even if we are many miles apart. I dont know about you, but my days are starting to feel a bit like the movie "Ground Hog Day", the same day lived, day in, day out. More dishes, more laundry, more waiting inside. But I take heart in the example of those long gone women. And what lives they lived! Hugs to you, across the miles. I know they are with us, guiding us through this strange age.

All spun up, washed and dried, ready to knit with 🙌

“How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a wear world.” ~ William Shakespeare * * I chose this painting (Home from Pascha) and this quote for the month of April when I was making my calendar last year. I’ve been surprised by how much the quotes seem to dovetail with current events lately 🕯hope you are safe and well! Let your little light shine! ✨

Today would have been my great granny Emma’s 116th birthday. She was born April 1, 1904 in the rural Ozarks of Missouri. Recent events has me thinking about where she was in life during the big events of the 20th century. She was 10 when WWI broke out...14 years old during the Spanish Flu pandemic....and about my age with 3 kids at home when Pearl Harbor was bombed. She also tended a huge garden and made dozens of beautiful quilts her family still treasure. Happy birthday, granny Emma! 🌸

I made my little “All Shall be Well” stitching into a little pillow filled with crushed walnut hulls. These lovely little dolls I have that were made by @christine.crocker look very nice with it! Has anyone else stitched this pattern? It’s free on my blog! I’d love to see when you’ve completed it!

A little moment of a long ago summer walk in the early 1800s. I think her bonnet is just the loveliest, and I'd like to have one for my own, it would be perfect out at Hunter's Home, where we focus on the 1840s and 1850s. Where do you think this young woman is walking to on this beautiful sunny day? What is in her bag? What's her story? You tell me, perhaps together we can fashion a whole life from this one fragment of day..... 📷 by me at @oldsturbridgevillage