We've had our house for sale for the last year. Anyone who has ever gone through the process of living in staged house with multiple showing requests will understand why there has been little sewing or blogging.
I'm happy to say that we have now sold and will be downsizing from this beautiful acreage which we named Dayspring Farm (hence my blog moniker) :
This beautiful place has been the backdrop of almost all of my quilt photos. Here are a few of my photo ops:
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| Original pattern: Amish Block Party |
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| Original pattern: Coffee Shop Around the Block |
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| During my one and only outdoor Saanich studio tour. This is a fractured quilt I made for my sister. |
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| Another photo from the outdoor studio tour. |
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| Photo taken in the "Lion Garden" named because as we were reclaiming this garden we uncovered a lion head statue. |
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| "Mom's Tomato Garden" - this quilt was donated for a silent auction - also taken in the Lion Garden looking towards our back yard/garden |
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| Tennessee Waltz - gifted to my cousin - photo taken in our orchard |
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| Ohio Log Cabin - wedding gift - also taken in our orchard |
Moving is hard. We are downsizing from 5 acres and 6500 square feet (which we chose because of my mother in law living with us before we lost her to Alzheimer's, a home based business and two kids at home). We have so many memories at this place!
Times change. Kids grow up and move out. Our loved ones pass on. We age. Our needs change. It's the end of an era for sure. During our time here we published a Christian newspaper until 2006. We had a B&B for 5+ years. During the building of the B&B business I had the pleasure of using the good dishes for guests (who doesn't love playing with china and linens??!!).
I had a purpose for making some of my larger quilts!
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| Queen sized log cabin I call "Country Sunshine" - the Princess Suite |
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| Queen sized Buckeye Beauty quilt and a corner of Double Delight, my first Bonnie Hunter Quiltville mystery quilt - Queen Suite |
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| Roll Roll Cotton Boll also in our Queen Suite (another Bonnie Hunter Quiltville mystery quilt) |
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| "Celtic Solstice" another Bonnie Hunter Quiltville mystery quilt on the King bed in our King Suite. |
During the 12 years at this home my quilting passion, acquisitions, and tools and stash grew! And my quilt studio happily held the expansion.
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| I love my space! That window looks out over the back garden. I love everything in this space except that blue carpet! |
And here's how the sewing room looks now:
I'll tell you. It's a sobering day when you pack it all up and see just how much 'stuff' you have. It makes me reflect on how different the quilters of today are from those that walked with our ancestors. Bonnie Hunter, recently blogged HERE about her epiphany about our stashes and why we collect them. I had a similar epiphany as I was packing away all my treasures. How much do I really need in order to be content as a quilter? I know I need to quilt. It's my passion and my therapy. But will it all fit into my smaller space at the new house? The jury is still out on that.
It will be a bedroom that has been converted to a laundry room. The closets that would have been in the bedroom remain. There are two banks of closets which will be all there is to store the 'stash'.
Pardon the picture. It was a snapshot from the brochure. Under the window you see in the reflection there will be my simple sewing desk, an heirloom Jamaican mahogany piece that we cannot dispense with. Any project that requires a bigger space will be sewn on the dining room table. As you can see it will be quite an adjustment! I am determined to make it work. The top of the washer and dryer is a countertop which will serve as a cutting/worktable. See that TILE floor?! SEW excited not to have threads on carpet.
Two weeks today we'll be unpacking in the new house! Yippee!
The majority of our living space has been packed. I've been vigilant about getting it done early because we still have the man caves to deal with. Yes, I said caves. Hubby is a collector and we have a seriously large amount of stuff to go through and recycle, sell, give away or pack. This will be the hardest part. If you think of us please say a prayer.
I will probably not be doing another blog post until we've actually moved. I've enjoyed catching up with this but it takes time to write and while it's a fun Saturday morning activity, it isn't going to get those boxes packed. This stuff isn't going to pack itself. So, for now, I will sign off. There will be a new post after August 1st.
This is a very long post and thank you if you've already stuck with me this far. Thanks for sharing in the journey.
One last thought...so if this quilter is no longer at Dayspring Farm, should the blog be renamed? Let me know what you think.
Mavis
I pray your shift goes well. As for your blog name, it all depends whether keeping the name the same makes it hard to move on into your new life. Some times its good to let go gradually, rather than cut ties too fast. And it sounds like Dayspring farm will take a long time to move on from, since you had many wonderful years there. All the best, God bless you in your new home, may it bring many new opportunities your way.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing all the photos and the retrospective of your quilting. What huge changes you are accomplishing! I'd say wait until a new name seems to present itself, even if that takes a year. Good luck in the new place!
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