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)

Quilter's Garage Sale - THIS WEEK!!

The 2nd Almost Annual Quilter's Garage Sale is next weekend!

When it comes to quilting, it is certainly true that one person's "no longer interested" is another person's "new favorite thing!"

Come and see what Ola, Mary and I are no longer interested in!

My garage is starting to bulge as the three of us quilting squirrels are beginning to stash our discarded nuts in there, getting ready for the sale.  ITEMS PRICED TO MOVE!

WHEN:  Friday & Saturday, June 5 & 6
TIME:  9:00 AM to 4:00 PM each day
PLACE:  7122 Lochmoor Dr, Ypsilanti, MI, 48197

As I will be moving, it will also be the beginning of a moving sale which will continue to the NEXT Friday and Saturday when our whole subdivision will be having a sale.

There most likely be no quilty stuff left the second weekend, if it all goes like it did the last time we did this!

We will have:

quilting fabric
quilting scraps
quilting books and patterns
quilt kits
quilt tops (just add quilting!)
quilt hangers (large and small)
quilt tools and accessories
storage containers and drawers
plastic shelving units
regular fabric
craft items
scrapbook stickers, etc
ribbons and trims
TONS of Barbies
Breyer Horses
Dress-up items
toys, games and puzzles
seasonal items
household items
filing cabinets
task chairs
decorating items
copper
wicker chairs
small shelving
etc., etc., etc

Mary will also be selling a selection of finished table runners, small quilts, and gift items...shop now for Christmas!

All the fabric is in Ziploc baggies from small to super-huge to keep it clean and dry for your shopping pleasure.  

Check this blog for last minute decisions concerning weather on Thursday.  If the weekend is a total wash-out, we will do it the next Friday and Saturday along with the neighborhood sale and our general moving sale. 

In stitches,
Teresa   :o)  
(and Ola and Mary) 

Loyal, lazy quilt kitty needs a new home...

As we prepare for our move and new home, Weasley needs to do the same thing...but, sadly, not with us.

We will be caretakers of our new home and family will be there often...some of my family have very bad cat allergies, so we will not be able to have an indoor pet.  He has no front claws, so becoming an outdoor kitty is out of the question.

(Here he is, hogging the heat vent under the kitchen sink...).  We are very sad about this, but there is nothing we can do about it. Losing him will be one of the hardest things about our move.

(He is a big supporter of napping...anywhere or on anyone...)  He does not like car rides, so the 12-hour trip south would be more than he can take.

So, if anyone out there within an hour or so of Ypsilanti, Michigan would like a constant quilting companion, do I have the cat for you!

He will be nine years old on July 4th (he is a Yankee-Doodle-Dandy!).

He's only ever been around one other cat...only briefly.  We invited a kitty in (who used to come to the back door every day to say "hi" through the door...), and they did not really interact, but there was no hostility.

He follows me around all over the house and always stays up with me, even long after others have gone to bed.

He was supposed to be my daughter's kitty, but he loves me the most (ha!).  Riley named him "Weasley" after Harry Potter's best friend (because he is a ginger kitty!).

"always watching, always watching..."

No pressure...I just thought I would see if he would fit a local need (and it is always fun to see kitty pictures...).

In stitches,
Teresa   :o)

There goes my stash...riding off into the figurative sunset...

It's funny...when the POD was delivered to me empty, I looked at it and thought that it wasn't very big and I would have it filled in no time.

Ha!  More than a week later, off it went this morning. The last two days have been a real scramble!  I didn't have enough stuff boxed and ready to fill the POD and I definitely wanted to get my money's worth.  

So I was doing the 'Curly Shuffle' the last 48 hours, sorting out garage sale stuff into piles and filling boxes as fast as I could. Wow!  I finished at 2:45 AM last night!  The house and quilt cave are a complete shambles, but it is done!

I decided to take the first 5 heavy duty, plastic shelving units I ever bought.  I know I will need shelving in the new cave.  It's too expensive to move more of the shelves.

I turned them on their sides and tied them together so they wouldn't shift (one stack is 3 high, one is two high).  The shelves act as support for little protected pockets filled with the family china, fragile, and weirdly shaped items.

This is what it looked like when I finished at 2:45 AM last night. Steve tied off the last section before he left for work this morning and I stuffed in some duffle bags holding Christmas trees at the last minute and ran a bungee cord through their handles.
  

I wish I had invented this moving concept...really cool to watch (I took video...such a geek...).

Houston, we have lift off!

Then, he just backs the truck under it, lines everything up, then puts it down on the truck bed.  Just one guy, a truck, and his fancy hydraulic doo-hicky.

The POD...and my stash... will be in Huntsville in a week in an indoor storage facility.  I will schedule to have it delivered to Tuscumbia and unload it into the RV garage.  I will be unloading it by myself...ugh...

Then, things will be moved into the house as I can deal with them. All my parents' stuff is still there...

I am nervous about stuff shifting inside the POD even though I tied sections off as I went.  I hope I can get the door open!  Maybe they can lower the non-door end and shake it if I can not get into it.

Yikes...I hope that doesn't happen!

Now to get ready for the kick-ass garage sale with my quilting buddies...June 5 and 6 in Ypsilanti, Michigan...y'all come!

In stitches (and sore as Hell!), 
Teresa   :o)