Easter 2014

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day

spending time with family and/or friends.

Blessings all,

Greta

Splinters & Threads Antiques

Renovating an old house while living in it is not easy.  Especially since we downsized when we moved here.  We have about 900 square feet less than we had before.  Most everything except the basic essentials of daily living has remained in boxes waiting for the renovations to be completed.  However, there are a number of things that will never fit in this house so over the last few years we have begun to go through our storage space to decide what will stay and what will go.

To facilitate the elimination process of some of the antiques and collectables we gathered togethger over the last 30+ years, we decided to turn the focus of our business Splinters & Threads (Est.1994) to the sale of antiques.

I have missed our shop these last few months, but with Spring finally underway it is time to start focusing on selling again - at the shop, on Ebay and Etsy.  

One of the items going up for sale soon is this early hexagon quilt top piece.

 

It is in the same condition I found it in.

The center has a couple of fabrics that are albeit gone.

These fabrics came with the top piece - intended to be used to fix it I suppose.

I have not done anything with it in all the time I have owned it.

The hexagon pieces were most likely paper pieced...

though the papers are gone.

The hexagons are whip stitched together

with stitches that are almost invisible.

This top piece appears to have been the center of a larger top at one time.  The edges were obviously sewn to something.  I don't see any signs that it was ever quilted.  It is strong for its age which I would estimate to be early to mid 19th century based on the fabrics, or possibly later made by someone with a very deep scrap bag.

Splinters & Threads home office.

 Happy quilting!

Greta

Progress of Another Kind...

Not a lot of quilts are being worked on in my studio the last few days...

My Bernina and Featherweight are hiding under a sheet.

Boxes of fabric are blocking my embroidery machine.

Lumber is holding my design wall hostage.

As you can see in the photos, 

I occupy my studio space in spite of the pending renovations.

Even my cutting table has become a catchall for stuff.

That means that for any renovation progress to be made

my studio ends up a mess!

I have a huge window (3'x6') over my sewing table that faces north.

My view is our back yard and the woods behind us.

Soon there will be another nine square feet of windows 

installed above the cutting table for even more natural light.

Mr. Splinters is making room inside the wall to hide plumbing.

  Progress of another kind is being made though.

The kind of progress that brings us one step closer to finishing the renovations in my studio.

Who doesn't love a plumbing puzzle?

My job today is to put the plumbing pieces together so that we can close up this wall.

And then all of the other walls.

Eventually my wonderful 8' tall antique step back 

cabinet will sit in front of this plumbing-filled wall.

The cabinet will be filled with all the wonderful fabrics 

that have been in boxes far too long.

Right now the cabinet is the wood shop in the process of being refinished.

The ceiling installation.

The entire ceiling used to be only 7' high

which allowed space for some of the plumbing 

we now have to hide inside the wall.

Now, the ceiling slopes from 7' at the outside wall to a towering 10' 

where it is attached to the original 1870 house structure.

It is visible when entering the room.

I didn't want just any old ceiling.

It had to be something interesting, 

but not distracting.

We decided to use t&g v-groove boards that will be 

washed with a light-colored semi-transparent stain.

There is a stack of the ceiling boards piled up 

in our living room ready and waiting to finish the ceiling.

As soon as the plumbing wall is complete.

We have been working on this house for 11 years.

The end is finally becoming imaginable.

It will take us a few more years though because

Mr. Splinters and I do most of the work ourselves.

Goodies to be used in my finished space.

More evidence of my occupation.

Eventually my vests and other things will be displayed on a dress form.

I have upholstery fabrics ready to re-cover my wing chair.

And jars filled with wonderful things that look pretty on the shelves of my corner cabinet.

First things first ... the plumbing, walls, windows and ceiling 

need to be completed 

so that I can officially move in.

Happy quilting!

Greta