Showing posts with label quilt shed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quilt shed. Show all posts

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Quilts Bring Sunshine into My Life

I now have all my crib and doll quilts moved into my new quilt research studio. Oh, it has been so much fun going thru them all as I move them.


The first of my McKim Three Little Pigs crib quilts.

"Sunbonnet Lassies" based on a Marie Webster pattern.

Only time I have ever seen the Duckling quilt (top left).

The pattern for the Duckling quilt first appeared in Farmer’s Wife 1934.
Wonder if it was made into a Kit quilt later? 



Patriotic Overall Bill peeking thru in the pile.


Have never seen this Dancing Couple pattern before.

Sort, sort and re-sort. So much fun!




I have to wear an industrial strength mask now as I work with the quilts due to my allergies. Gary says I look like I am from outer space. Don't like the imprint it leaves on my face but it sure beats stirring up my sinuses. Guess I'll have to get Gary to take a photo.

You can see a Ruby McKim Big Bad Wolf & Three Little Pigs crib quilt in that first photo. I have recently acquired another and will show it in the next blog post.

I am so very blessed to be doing what I love -- researching, writing and lecturing about quilt history! 

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The Quilt Shed - Phase II

Well, work began about mid-December, IF my memory serves me correctly. In Phase I, all I really showed you in the photos was the two-foot deep ditch for the electrical and data lines....plus what my present storage area looked like...CROWDED! Click here to see that first post about The Quilt Shed.

I have now taken over 180 photographs of the building process of my DREAM SHED, but won't bore you with all 180 of them.  Let's see if I can pare it down to a manageable size -- say 35 or so.


The barest of bones begins!.
 After the electrical ditch was dug and the pipes for those lines were laid and buried,  the piling footers were poured and the main structural beams set in in the ground.

I like the way they reinforced those support posts. Gives me a nice comfortable feeling.

It's still not quite real to me yet.
 The view from this far back in the yard from this exact position won't be available for much longer.


Floor braces go in.

Finn in the foreground.
Finn is the very lovable 2 year old Black Lab who belongs to one of the carpenters. He came almost every day the first couple of weeks and I always had to go out and play with  him. He loved to retrieve. He also began to find deer bones in the woods and drag them back into the yard!


The sub floor goes in.

I love the energy that builders bring to the site!
 For some reason, I didn't get any photos of the sides going up!  Maybe they went up while we were gone over Christmas. Probably did.


No roof yet but the trusses are all in.

This lovely "little" machine lifted the roof trusses into place.

 Now the building seems REAL to me!



Glad I don't have to climb a ladder all the time to get in any more!

It didn't seem so far off the ground to me at this point. Don't know why.  It sure did once the deck was in!

Should I addd the picture window now or in a few years?

I had a large window "framed in" for the next generation to add when they wanted to (plus a door near the back of the shed). But once I was inside the building, I decided I wanted the choice of more light when and if I wanted it now.  The guys will just order a window and cut the opening when they are ready to add it. I will keep this window covered most of the time to protect the textiles.

This really is a lovely view. 

(Above) I am looking thru the small window at the back of the building and through the the building to the front door. YO can also see the lovely light thru the trusses above the door that are not yet covered up. Makes me wish I could put glass up there too!  But I am building a textile storage shed; not a house!



Looking back at the house. The orchard is off to the right.

The trusses create a lovely pattern against the sky!

View from my sewing room. 
 Do I finally have my tree house?



We added shingles under the eves to match the house.

A very empty interior. 
Look quick!  Once I start moving in you will never see another view like this....empty space!!



The main part of the deck is now up. 

Man, we went around and around trying to decide where to put the door, deck and stairs. Common sense told me to run the path all the way back to the back corner of the building so that I would have only 3 stairs to climb.  But commons sense did not prevail. I loved the feeing of being in a "tree house", so high end it is!

What a great crew to work with!
 So now to decide how few stairs I can get by with from the steep end of the building!


Adding a smaller, lower deck will help. 

I now have a swinging gate off this lower deck. All I have to do is open it and set my boxes up on it. Then I only have to carry heavier stuff up three steps instead of having to climb all seven with my arms full!


Windows go in.

Love all the sun in there but will not actually be able to allow it very often.


Lots and lots of light switches!

Love the tools! Reminds me so much of my childhood when Dad taught shop!

The back wall.
Wait till you see the built-in shelves that are going in here!


Front door. 
 My desk will be to the right in the L-shaped corner with a small window over my left shoulder and a small window directly in front of me.  I don't know how often I will actually work out there. I'll have to "play" at office for awhile once I move all my stuff in. I don't think I will move all my books out there but my paper files will be out there. Aan without a restroom out there...well, let's just say I'm not getting any younger!


Skylights.
 Yes, I will have two skylights. But there will be special blinds that I can close them from down below.


Little shed in the snow!

Love the look of the place from this angle!

Front with deck and railing in place.
Will probably put a skirt around the deck. And of course, the yard around it will have to be re-landscaped!




WA-LA! BOOKSHELVES!

What did I tell you about those built-in shelves! Magazines will go on the narrower shelves around the window.  On the right you can see the edge of my two flat but angled quilt-storage tables!


These babies are sturdy and moveable. 
Both flat-beds also have lots of storage space under each with access from 3 different directions.


However, the oldest quilts and tops will store flat on these two angled flat-beds.


Moving day begins...




Don't you think this says it all?!!

Thanks for stopping by to visit my blog today!  Please leave a note. Maybe you have a suggestion for organizing quilt stuff that has proven useful for you!!  One can never have too much quilt stuff, right?  

KarenQuilt in the Islands







Friday, December 30, 2011

The Quilt Shed - Phase I


A space of her own is every woman's dream,
so they say. I would have to agree.

I can't complain. I actually do have a sewing room in the house--and a large one at that.
 It was built for my mother-in-law. I have no shame.  Here is the present state of my collection. Two sets of bunk beds are piled high plus a queen size bed.



But several years after our move to the island, my quilt history/textile history library, research files — not to mention my teaching collection of quilts and quilt ephemera — has long outstripped the space and taken over both guest rooms in the back part of the house as well.  







One of the guest rooms.  All the quilts get moved when family comes.


They get moved into this small shed above.


So, it's time to build new storage space just for quilts so that the family can have their guest rooms back!




This will be the view down the driveway from the deck of The Quilt Shed.





Machines have replaced buggy-whip makers and ditch diggers


Searching for current electrical lines, not unlike looking for buried coins at the beach.



The electrical line comes out of the house at this corner and goes out to the pump house.


Bill Lewis instructs the digger to go down 24 inches.











Where the line to the well comes out from the house, hand digging takes place so as to not damage the line.


A sharp turn is required as the digging heads up the hill.



 The tree roots and salal roots take such a beating but once things settle down, they will grow back.



Rather looks like the Big Guy lost its false teeth!

Stay tuned for the next phase!

Meanwhile, happy New Year from all the Gang!