Dreaming of the Gorsuch family quilt...

Don't get too excited...this is a picture of a picture.  This is the Gorsuch family quilt.  What do you do when you are disconnected from your quilt cave and your stash?  You dream, scheme, and plan about projects to start when you are reconnected...this usually involves spending a little money...

I ordered this pattern from Margo E. Hardie from the land down under.  Here is her home page.  Her email is quiltsbeautifulpatterns@yahoo.com.  She does mail to the United States.  I am so grateful for her time-consuming reproduction of this amazing quilt!

I have always loved this quilt...the Gorsuch family owned the quilt, but it is not certain who made it.  Many of the blocks are similar to blocks made or designed by Mary Simon at that time in history. Many people may have contributed blocks, or maybe they were all stitched by one person.

I want to make this quilt...or one similar to it, but one thing has always bugged me about it...the blocks are all on point, but really only one of the blocks NEEDS to be on point.  See the urn block just above?  All the other blocks have the appearance of leaning slightly.  Oh, and I guess the squirrel in one of the other blocks pictured above will have to be readjusted for a straight set.

To my eye, most of the blocks would work set in a straight setting. I have not completely studied the directions yet, but I think the blocks are supposed to finish at 13.5 or 14 inches square.  I am thinking of either resizing the one obvious on-point block or resizing all the others and choosing a block size that would work for all.  You may all think I am nuts, but that's the way I see it.

If I change the setting, the cornucopia wouldn't look so strange to me...right now it looks like it is dumping out its contents.  In a straight set, it would make more sense to my eye, and the container would be on a diagonal line.

This is the on-point pattern.

But the down side to the changes would be not needing the charming setting and corner triangles.  They are not consistent as far as difficulty and fullness.  The pattern on the left below would whip up very quick, but the one with all the berries would be time-consuming.  Maybe I could use the designs to make additional square blocks...

And here is one of the sweet little corner triangles...

Those who know me know I have trouble leaving other people's patterns alone.  I change blocks, borders, etc. until the final project pleases me.  That is what led me to drawing the Baltimore Rhapsody music project. Half of the blocks in my Civil War Bride quilt were redrawn to my liking and to fit our family story.

I guess I am saying I don't feel bad about changing things and will most likely do this to the Gorsuch quilt pattern.  Margo did a beautiful job interpreting this historic quilt, but I must make changes if I am going to spend all this time making it. 

Anyway, as I continue to pack boxes and tie up loose Michigan ends, I am dreaming of applique...

In stitches,
Teresa  :o) 

Life after garage sales...

Life after two weekends of garage sales included a week in the sunny south, off-loading the first POD in NW Alabama.  It was nearly 100 degrees the 2 days it took me to unload the contents into the RV garage my Dad built.  Stuff will stay there until we can move it into the house.

The truck could not come in the main gate to take the half mile driveway through the woods, around the corners, and across the little bridge to the house due to size and weight, so he came and went on the unpaved service road.  All is well with that as long as the weather stays dry!

It arrived on Wednesday and was to leave on Friday, so I could not wait for the weather to get cooler.  Time to dig in and get started!

This is how it looked after the first layer was peeled away and hauled into the garage.  Nothing got broken, so I am very pleased with my PODS experience.

I was even able to bring the design wall pieces I had made recently...they floated along on top of everything just fine.

Each layer peeled away got me closer to emptying the thing...there were lots of breaks for ice and water!  In this layer, I tied two of my shelves together on their sides and nestled boxes of china, pictures, and small, fragile furniture between the sturdy shelves...and of course, fabric.

This next layer had three shelves tied together.  The shelf stack was hiding and protecting a sousaphone, more china, and other fragile things. 

These five shelves were some of the twenty plastic shelving units I had lining the walls of the quilt cave, holding my containers of fabric and other treasure.  I sold the rest in the garage sales.  I'm not sure how I will store everything in the new space.

Another layer gone...those tall boxes are heavy with my Art Bin containers holding works in progress.  Thank goodness I invested in a really good dolly with inflatable tires. It made doing all the loading and unloading possible. 

Finally down to the last layer...fabric on top, heavy books and quilting files on the bottom (ugh).

Finally empty...and the rain held off until the POD guy returned to take it away.  There was a torrential downpour 10 minutes after he left the property.

Everything fit in the RV garage and it will wait among the trees until I can move things into the house.  I must love this stuff to put up with moving it twice!

So it was not "two men and a truck" but "one woman and a POD." We will pack another POD with the remaining house contents and furniture around the middle of July.  Until then I will be packing boxes, visiting my FIL in Pennsylvania, and trying to paint and get the house ready for the market.  Riley is hosting friends tomorrow for her 18th birthday...then no more entertaining...ALL PACKING AND PREPARING!

Thank you for all your well wishes!  I hope to actually have a post about quilting soon, even though I am far from moving out or in!

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

Second epic quilter/crafter garage sale is now history...

Thank you to everyone who came to our big quilter/crafter garage sale...or wished us well from afar, while drooling!  We were a little slower on Saturday than Friday...there were several whole subdivision sales in the area with which to compete.
  
Ola and Mary were taking a little time to consolidate our many tubs of packaged fabric bundles, so I tried to take a picture of them.

Ouch!  That wasn't very nice!  (hee-hee-hee)

We donated the remaining fabric this morning to a church group in the area that is very active in making charity quilts for many local groups.  We still have lots of books and patterns, some of Mary's beautiful finished wall hangings and table runners, and some notions, Barbies and Breyer horses to blend with the furniture and additional household stuff we are selling in this weekend's sub-wide garage sale, .  

This weekend will be our big moving sale.  Then we will be camping out in our house after another, smaller POD is filled (as we paint, clean carpets, etc. to get house ready for the market).

Here's what my garage looks like after we dragged everything inside after the sale yesterday.

Mary's grid wall covered with beautiful little quilts adds a touch of loveliness to the chaos of the garage.  I have until Friday to get it straightened up and set up for the next sale!  

We are leaving behind and selling some things I thought we would never part with, mostly furniture, but my parents' house is furnished and we are only taking a few pieces to round out our master bedroom suite and Riley's room.  I will post pictures before the sale in case any of you are nearby and interested in furniture or fixtures.

Oh yes...we are definitely also taking my grand piano...that will be an odyssey in itself! 

Steve and I wrestled this up the basement stairs this afternoon. OMG, I knew exercise would kill us...

It is fun to dream about a new quilt cave.  I am not sure that will be the first thing established, but it is certainly at the top of MY list!  

Once we get to Alabama, we will only have days to locate the boxes that Riley will need to move into the dorm at the U of Alabama...she starts college on August 19.  We will leave Michigan for Alabama that first week of August, after she gets back from a school trip to Spain and France and then has a chance to say goodbye to all her friends.

In stitches,
Teresa  :o)

HUGE sale is coming together...

Even though we don't have everything in place yet, I thought I would give you a sneaky-peeky of how things are progressing concerning our BIG SALE on Friday and Saturday. There are still a lot of things in my basement, so tomorrow will be a busy day!

We learned a lot of things 18 months ago when the three of us did this the first time.  Most important...there needs to be enough room for quilting ladies to move around in the garage without having to get too close...it is said that Midwest people like a little "personal space" around them.  All the fabric tubs will be out in the driveway on tables, also with plenty of room to move around. 

Mary is selling some of her beautiful, FINISHED wall hangings and table runners.  There are more, folded on the tables beneath the grid wall.

Secondly, we learned that quilters love a bargain.  So, again, everything is priced to MOVE!  We have 17 containers of books alone, priced from 50 cents to $2 with most costing $1.  Books are inside in case the weather decides to be interesting.  

Four quilters/crafters thinned their libraries for this sale, so there are 100's of fabulous books, hard and soft cover.

There are also patterns...most 50 cents or $1 for larger ones.

There are mountains of tubs of fabric.  Most all the fabric is in baggies.  We are not trying the 'stuff-a-bag' thing this time.  The baggies keep the fabric clean and folded, which makes it easier to see.

There are tubs EVERYWHERE...under the tarped mountain, under all the tables...there is plenty of fabric for everyone!  We will pull them out and have them on tables for easy searching.  We have so much...neutrals, batiks, novelties of all kinds, kid stuff, flannel, collections, blenders, backings, seasonal, etc...OMG!

There are yardage, cuts, fat quarters, scraps, pre-cuts, so much joy, all in baggies from sandwich size to 2.5 gallon size...

There is also a Toyota serger, a vintage Singer, and a Necchi sewing machine from the 1940's.  Also some Breyer Horses and fun accessories, Barbies, assorted toys and games, storage containers/drawers, sturdy plastic shelving units, kitchen items, a crystal punch bowl, my hanging cradle from when I was a babe, DVD's, non-quilting fabrics, TV lazy susan, bedding, kits, finished quilt tops, dress-up stuff, seasonal decorations, scrapbooking stickers...and lots of misc, too numerous to mention.

If you are local, I hope we will see you!  It will be worth the effort. Then, on June 12-13, we will be having a general moving sale with furniture, household items, etc. (along with the rest of our subdivision).  Email me or comment, and I will send you the address.

In stitches,
Teresa   :o)