Announcing People's University Appalachian Crafts!
This Fall! Space is limited.
Register Now!
The Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling, with the support of the Library Friends, is offering a new series this Fall called People's University Appalachian Crafts.
All four subjects will be two classes each.
The quilting and basket weaving classes are limited to 20 and 15 per class, respectively. So the Library is offering a 4 PM (A) section and a 7 PM (B) section in order to give more people a chance to participate.
For the quilting, basket weaving, and wood carving classes, it is necessary to attend the first class in order to get a supply kit (courtesy of the Friends of the Library) and to start the project, which will be completed in Class 2.
Cooking will involve the preparation of two different plates, therefore it is not necessary to attend Class 1, as each class can stand alone.
The Full schedule (See below for program descriptions and instructor bios):
Sept 19 Quilting 1 (4 pm or 7 pm)
Sept 26 Quilting 2 (4 or 7)
Oct 3 Wood Carving 1 (7 pm)
Oct 10 Wood Carving 2 (7 pm)*
Oct 17 Cooking 1 (7 pm)
Oct 24 Cooking 2 (7 pm)
Oct 31- Halloween - no classes
Nov 7 Basket Weaving 1 (4 pm or 7 pm)
Nov 14 Basket Weaving 2 (4 or 7)
*It might be necessary to do the same thing with the wood carving classes. We will keep you posted.
See below for program descriptions and instructor bios.
Sept. 19: Quilting Class 1, Section A - 4 PM
Learn the basics of quilting and try your hand at hand quilting a small table topper in fall colors to take home with you!
You will receive your kit--courtesy Friends of the Ohio County Public Library--and begin your quilting project in Class 1.
Instructor: Sandi Blackwell (see bio below)
Facebook Event
Library Calendar
Sept. 19: Quilting Class 1, Section B - 7 PM
Learn the basics of quilting and try your hand at hand quilting a small table topper in fall colors to take home with you!
You will receive your kit--courtesy Friends of the Ohio County Public Library--and begin your quilting project in Class 1.
Instructor: Sandi Blackwell (see bio below)
Facebook Event
Library Calendar
Sept. 26: Quilting Class 2, Section A - 4 PM
Section A will complete their quilting projects!
Instructor: Sandi Blackwell (see bio below)
Facebook Event
Library Calendar
Sept. 26: Quilting Class 2, Section B - 7 PM
Section B will complete their quilting projects!
Instructor: Sandi Blackwell (see bio below)
Facebook Event
Library Calendar
Oct. 3: Wood Carving Class 1 - 7 PM
You will receive your kits and begin carving a Christmas ornament. (details TBA)
Instructor: Clark Adams has been president of the Oglebay Wood Carvers’ Club for 22 years. He is a graduate of the Geisler-Moroder Wood Carving in Austria, and specializes in deep relief.
Facebook Event
Library Calendar
Oct. 10: Wood Carving Class 2 - 7 PM
You will finish carving a Christmas ornament. (details TBA)
Instructor: Clark Adams has been president of the Oglebay Wood Carvers’ Club for 22 years. He is a graduate of the Geisler-Moroder Wood Carving in Austria, and specializes in deep relief.
Facebook Event
Library Calendar
Oct. 17: Cooking Class 1 with The Vagabond Chef - 7 PM
Soup Beans - the magic of getting the most out of life. Chef will discuss the food and the process with samples.
Instructor: Chef Matt Welsch (see bio below)
Facebook Event
Library Calendar
Oct. 24: Cooking Class 2 with The Vagabond Chef - 7 PM
Apple Stack Cake - the power of communities coming together. Chef will discuss the food and the process with samples.
Instructor: Chef Matt Welsch (see bio below)
Facebook Event
Library Calendar
Oct. 31: No Class: Happy Halloween!
Nov. 7: Basket Weaving Class 1 Section A - 4 PM
Section A will receive their kits and begin their weaving projects.
Students will make a reed basket based upon the style of a traditional biscuit basket. Since today's baskets tend to blend practicality with fashion, students will have the opportunity to add a few accent rows of color if they wish.
Instructor: Pat Mercer (see bio below)
Facebook Event
Library Calendar
Nov. 7: Basket Weaving Class 1, Section B - 7 PM
Section B will receive their kits and begin their weaving projects.
Students will make a reed basket based upon the style of a traditional biscuit basket. Since today's baskets tend to blend practicality with fashion, students will have the opportunity to add a few accent rows of color if they wish.
Instructor: Pat Mercer (see bio below)
Facebook Event
Library Calendar
Nov. 14: Basket Weaving Class 2 Section A - 4 PM
Section A will complete your weaving projects!
Instructor: Pat Mercer (see bio below)
Facebook Event
Library Calendar
Nov. 14: Basket Weaving Class 2, Section B - 7 PM
Section B will complete your weaving projects!
Instructor: Pat Mercer (see bio below)
Facebook Event
Library Calendar
Instructor Bios
Quilting Instructor: Sandi Blackwell is a West Virginian and has been a home sewer for most of her life. She started quilting in 1992 and has since received numerous awards for her quilted works.
In 1996 she began her own custom-order quilt business named “Stitched Buy”. She is a West Virginia artisan, and her work is sold at Tamarack, and other West Virginia artisan locations. Her work has also been displayed or sold all over the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia.
Her first published work was a pattern in the “Miniature Quilts” magazine in July 2000 and was featured on the cover. Since then, she has had several patterns published in quilt magazines and has designed and published her own line of patterns. She has had quilt blocks selected and published for Volume 3, 8, 10, 11 and 12 of the “Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks” magazine.
She was selected, as a representative of Ohio County, to create the quilt block for the West Virginia 150th Birthday Quilt in June 2013. She has also been selected as one of the quilt designers for the “Quilted In Honor” program, which was launched nationwide in late 2013. She designs quilts for Island Batik Fabrics.
Sandi is also a quilt author. Her first book, “Square-agonals®; A New Angle on Quilting” was released in September of 2010. It is based on the technique she developed “Square-agonals®”.
In November 2011 she released a series of new patterns using the Square-agonals® technique and continually adds new patterns. She now has a series of quilting books. “Square-agonals®, 12 Easy Pieces” was released in October 2012 and “Simply Sensational Square-agonals® Quilts” was released in May 2013. Book number 4 “Simple Blocks, Stunning Quilts” was released in November 2015. She tours both the United States and internationally teaching and lecturing on her technique. She is also an educator on quilt cruises and quilt tours.
Her proudest endeavor is filming classes for Craftsy.com! Her first class “Sensational Square-agonals®” was released in March 2014, and her second class was released in August 2016, “Ready to Quilt: Quick tips and tools”.
She is a member of AQS, IQA, Seams Sew Snugly Quilt Guild, The Quilters Hall of Fame, and West Virginia Quilters. She was recognized on the NQA web site as the October 2010 Spotlight Quilter as well as an “Electric Quilt” artist and “Aurifil” designer.
Sandi resides in Wheeling, West Virginia with her supportive husband of 50 years and happily enjoys her role as granny BB to ten grandchildren.
Cooking Instructor Chef Matt Welsch was born and raised in the hills and hollers of the heart of Appalachia. A childhood exploring the deep woods surrounding the farm he grew up on led to a life exploring new horizons worldwide. Welsch has traveled extensively throughout the States and surveyed several overseas destinations including Ireland, Europe, Japan, the Dominican Republic, and Paris. Throughout his journeys Welsch has sought ways to share his experiences: the written word, photography, and now, the plates in his restaurant.
Over ten years ago, Chef Welsch became one of West Virginia’s prodigals, returning home after several years cooking in the American Rockies punctuated by a year-long deep dive into the culinary scene of modern-day America from the back of his motorcycle -- a culinary travel blog called, the Vagabond Chef.
Back on the banks of the Ohio River, Welsch founded his restaurant, Vagabond Kitchen www.thevagabondkitchen.com, to share the flavors he found on the road and celebrate roots and home. Vagabond Kitchen is dedicated to “handcrafted food rooted in local community,” serving up high-end Appalachian comfort food -- bringing the spirit of the past to a modern plate.
Chef Welsch and the Vagabond Kitchen are a beacon for the reinvention of beautiful, downtown Wheeling, and participate in statewide discourse about the future of local economy and cuisine. In 2018 Chef Welsch founded the group WV Cooks, a loose-nit conglomeration of culinary passion sourced from across the state. They have worked together on various dinners, speaking engagements, and tastings championing the talent within the state.
Since 2021 Chef Welsch has served as one of the first WV Tourism Chef Ambassadors, furthering his goals to promote the flavors and culture of WV to a greater audience. In 2023 Chef Welsch became the Executive Chef of West Virginia State Parks and began working with the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition promoting WV-Made Value-Added Products -- two new ways he gets to celebrate his love of good food and his Appalachian culture.
Basket Weaving Instructor Pat Mercer has studied various creative arts, but none satisfied her desire to learn basket weaving. After retirement, Pat began throwing herself into learning basketry. While continuing to learn, she loves sharing her passion through designing and teaching.
For several years, she contributed to the Christmas ArtisTree project, sponsored by the WV Dept. of Arts, Culture and History. In 2021, her tribute to health care workers, a woven mortar and pestle ornament, was featured in WV ArtWorks Magazine.
Pat has taught basketry to all ages from middle school to university to senior citizens in federal grant-funded programs, private businesses, churches, and arts counsels among others. After the local basketry guild was forced to close, she launched monthly basket weaving classes more than 2 years ago, which continue to grow in popularity.
Pat experiments with non-traditional weaving materials, such as road maps, denim, dog leashes, and cotton cords, and repurposes such items as BBQ tongs, candle-saver lids, and wooden trivets. Many of her designs blend basketry with other art forms such as macrame, decoupage and pour painting. Most of her pieces combine function and form into a decorative piece – in other words, art with a purpose.
