House of Quilts

My house here on Main Street was built in 1911-1917 in a style known as American Foursquare.  (Our's is a modified version.)  We've lived here 17 years and have done lots of work on the house, modernizing essentials like heating and plumbing and making it more comfortable for us as a family home.

About a year ago, we got a call from the local historical society, asking if we would allow our house to be on their biannual house tour.  We agreed, because we have enjoyed touring the other houses in past years and because we thought it would give us a deadline to work towards for the projects we'd been meaning to get to.  It did serve that purpose and that's the major reason I have not been quilting as much the last few months. 

 

Come on it!  You've just entered the front door.

 

The tour was Sunday and it was really fun. Of course, we spent most of Saturday cleaning and de-cluttering - my home has never been so clean and tidy! On Sunday afternoon, we had about 350 people through the house. Fortunately, the traffic was pretty evenly spread out over the four hours of the tour so it was never too crowded.

 



 

West end of living room; notice quilts on back of both chairs.

 

 

People were so complimentary about the house and gushed over all my quilts on display.  Two ladies came up to me and one said, "Oh, you're the owner?  We already decided we hate you, you are too talented!"  (She said this with a laugh, the real life equivalent of LOL.)

 

West end of sunroom, with another quilt on a chair. 

 

The weather was perfect, no rain or wet to be tracked in the house (my nightmare).  I vacuumed the house Saturday night.  After the tour, I noticed a few bits of leaf here and there so vacuumed again.  It is amazing what 350 will track in, all unseen.  I have a bagless vacuum and the dirt cannister was completely full!  That was the only yuck factor is the whole process. 



 

Quilts on chair and couch in sunroom, the TV end of the room.

Dillie the Corgi wondering what is going on.

 

 

Miss Main Street did not like the idea of her bedroom being "on display" so we kept the door closed and used the room as a stash spot for a few items, plus the dogs in their crates.  They were very good and mostly quiet.  Of course, they were incensed that they had not been allowed to attend the party!

Quilt hanging in kitchen in my seasonal rotation quilt holder.

Flower arrangement courtesy of local garden club.

 

The biggest job in getting ready was the redecoration of our dining room.  Fortunately, everything came together in plenty of time. 

 

East end of dining room; you can see me reflected in the mirror.

 

Our kitchen is not an "eat in" except for breakfast or when I am home alone for lunch; we eat in our dining room every evening so it gets a lot of wear.  I was ready for a design upgrade and am happy with the result (I bought most of the furniture at Ethan Allen). 

 

This cabinet could be holding quilts!  But for now it displays china and crystal.

 

 

The dining room is the only room without any quilts, at least, so far!  Instead, it has boat pictures.  Mr. Main Street's father and grandfather were both professional yachtsmen; we have lots of inherited boat pictures and model ships.  They are significant to Mr. Main Street so I worked them into the decor. 

We added a couple of upholstered chairs to the dining room, to use as host and hostess chairs when we entertain and are seating more than six at the table.  This does not happen often because we have a small family and tend to entertain more informally than a seated dinner. 

 

Barrister bookcase from 1911 belonged to my grandfather. It holds cookbooks now.

 

 

The tour included my sewing room.  Come back tomorrow for a once-in-a-lifetime view of it clean!