Halloween Weekend Victorian House Tour and Craft Show - Sat/Sun Oct 29 & 30 - 10a until 5p

COME TO OUR

VICTORIAN HOUSE TOUR and CRAFT SHOW
255 Mill St. - Scandinavia, Wisconsin  54977

Halloween Weekend – Saturday Oct 29 and Sunday 30 – 10:00a to 5:00p

Take a historic tour of the Wrolstad-Quien Victorian at 255 Mill Street in Scandinavia, Wisconsin Halloween weekend.  We are asking for a modest donation of $2 per person--all going to The Humane Society of Waupaca County.  Enjoy chili and dessert by Scandinavia Library in the Red Garage.

PLENTY OF PARKING
IN REAR OF PROPERTY, BEHIND THE RED GARAGE.

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Our Queen Anne Style Victorian was built in 1893 by John and Mathea Wrolstad--owners of a successful logging business.  

   

Back row, left to right standing: sons and daughter Alfred, Sina, and James.  Second row, seated: son Martin, parents John Olsen and wife Mathea, and son John.  Littlest ones: Henry, Mabel, and Josephine.  

I believe this photo of our house was taken about 1905

The girl second from the left is Mabel Wrolstad youngest daughter of John Olsen Wrolstad and his wife Mathea.  

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The second owners, Thomas and Maren Quien family owned the house for 90 years.

Standing, left to right: Bessie, Gusta, Peter, Ragnhild, 

with parents: Thomas and Maren (Gurholt) Quien.

photo c. 1910 - Second Owners

Thomas Quien with grand-daughters Mary Jane and Donna (children of Ruth and Peter Quien)

photo taken about 1926

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Jon and I purchased the house in 2007 beginning a 7 year restoration.  We are delighted to show you all the ornate features of the house; faux bois woodwork, pocket doors, fret work (spandrels), 5-window bay, corbels, 3-window cut-aways, wrap around porch, summer kitchen, Juliet balcony, stained glass window, etched glass doors, wavy-glass windows, spoon carved woodwork, 1917 cook stove, 1916 parlor stove, and original hardware.  Be sure to see the displays of photographs and personal items belonging to the Quien family.

Kitchen - March 2008

Before: North Bedroom Upstairs

After: North Bedroom Upstairs

Let me tell you a little bit more about our CRAFT SHOW artists— and more about our restoration.

1. Jerry Johnson of Iola is a master rug weaver for more than 35 years.  At the Halloween Victorian Tour and Craft Show Jerry will demonstrate the frugal Scandinavian method of turning old clothing into beautiful woven rugs for the home.   Also--Jerry will demonstrate many antique and vintage sewing machines he restored. 

Jerry will tell you the history of portable hand crank sewing machines like this turn of the century Singer La Vencedora Model 128 he restored.  A 3/4 size petite sewing machine, it is ready to take to the cabin for a bit of relaxation and sewing!  

As as a teenager Jerry was already helping his Mother and Aunt sort old clothing by weight, texture, and color in preparation for rug weaving.  Jerry says, “cotton and wool make great rugs, but the real artistry of combining fabrics to create pattern, color, and texture—it all begins with my 1932 Singer hand crank sewing machine Model 99 . . . made of good old cast iron, and no plastic.”

Jerry studied with master weavers: Ken Colwell of Mineral Point, Joanna Ericksen of Boston, and Peter Collingwood of England.  Jerry says he loves to weave rugs, because it keeps a connection to the past alive.  He says, “people relate to the art of rug weaving—many people share stories of family members who made rag rugs, and that makes me smile.” 

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2.  Jane Berkholtz  and daughter Krissy Samson have good news to share about their business "Just Hangin' aRound" and will show you some wonderful ways to decorate your home during the Fall and Winter with beautiful holiday wreaths, and table centerpieces.

Born and raised in New London, Jane moved to the Shawano area in 2010.  She's been doing arrangements and wedding flowers for more than 20 years now  Jane tells me, her husband Keith helps with all the wood cutting and new display ideas, while her daughter Krissy Samson created the business logo and facebook page Just Hangin' aRound."  Jane and Krissy look forward to meeting you at the Halloween Weekend Victorian House Tour.  Come browse their collection of wreaths and table centerpieces--and see how they've decorated our old Victorian House.

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Our Red Dining Room

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3.  Sisters Cathy Larson and Deb Kettenhofen - have lots of beautiful items to show you at our Craft Show.  

Cathy learned to sew as part of 4H. She started out sewing clothes, but expanded into quilting after visiting quilt shops with her mother.  Cathy is also active in paper crafts and card making.  Her business Wood 'n Stitches began several years ago.  

Deb--(Cathy's sister) works more with yarn and thread.  Learning sewing and knitting in 4H she's a quilter too just like her mother and sister.  Her interest in machine embroidery took off several years ago when she read some articles on thread art.  Soon she was offering beautiful embroidered flour sack towels for drying dishes.  When I met Deb and Cathy this summer at a craft show in Wausau I was dazzled by the sisters' booth.  I remarked--the towels are almost too pretty to use.  Deb says, "who says dish towels can't be pretty."    

West Bedroom - Wall Repairs Finished Smooth - Ready for Paint

4.  Patty Kirchner - "Nature's Treasures--All Things Beautiful from The Earth and Sea" 

Patty is a designer of fine sterling silver jewelry.  The materials she uses are natural items: Gemstones, Pearls, Shells, Polished Stones, Sea Urchin Spines, Seeds from Hawaii, Mother of Pearl, and even Wood Beads.  Patty happily admits, "I pride myself in using only the best materials and guarantee all of my work."

Patty's expertise includes sterling silver wire-wrapping and hand-setting stones herself to make each jewelry piece perfect.  I am pleased Patty is joining us for this year's Halloween Weekend Victorian House Tour and Craft Show where you can see, feel, and enjoy her handcrafted Earrings, Necklaces, and Bracelets./

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5.   Kay Durrant of Sheridan, WI demonstrate the time honored tradition of wood carving.  What started out as a hobby for Kay turned into teaching wood carving classes at Fox Valley Tech.  Currently she is teaching several classes a week and her classes are always full.

I’m so happy to have Kay here as a featured artist so you can meet her in person and watch her carve. If you ant to know more about wood carving, Kay is the person to talk to.  She'll have a selection of her wood carvings for sale at our open house.

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Arched spandrel, east window bay, Living Room

(June 2007 - blowing insulation into walls, installing new ceiling)

Linda touching up faux bois finish on woodwork with artist brush and oil paints.

Living Room  - 2008

Repairing Walls - 2007
Repairing Downstairs Bedroom (formerly the Parlor)

2008 - Downstairs Bedroom Finished

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6.  Jenny Vater - Tie Dyed Clothing and More

I met Jenny at a craft show and was so delighted to buy a half dozen of her colorful tie dyed dish towels.  Recently I wrote to her and asked how she got started . . . .

Jenny replied:
I am a stay-at-home-mother of four children.  I love sewing, tie dyeing, gardening running and cross country skiing.  I started dyeing everything white in our house to practice different dye techniques in order to make a ring sling to carry my baby.  I fell in love with ice dyeing.  90% of my work is ice dyed, which results in unique and beautiful colors.  Most of my dyed items are purchased new and some are upcycled from "like new" pieces.  I enjoy turning something ordinary into extraordinary.  I use professional fiber reactive dyes that are permanent (no fading) and rinse the unbond dye thoroughly (no bleeding).

Long Hallway Upstairs - 2011

Process of Saving the Walls throughout the House

Long Hallway Upstairs - 2013
Wall Repairs Finished and
Jon re-installing picture rail found in attic

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Wall Repair - Stairwell 2013

Jon working on bathroom 

Installing 3/4" beadboard

Kohler Clawfoot Tub
born May 12, 1903, Plant Line #2 Kohler, WI, about 11:30 in the morning
according to tub serial number and Kohler mfgr. records

7.  Linda Durrant - long arm quilter, Scandinavia WI.  My husband and I are the restorers of this old Victorian.  I will be displaying and selling my queen size bed quilts, baby quilts, table runners, over-sized fancy quilted potholders and my signature beaded zipper pull purses.

Be sure to check out all the 1950s restored VINTAGE SEWING MACHINES "For Sale" in my SECOND STORY STUDIO above the RED GARAGE.

1950's Nelco Model 1603, Ser. #70

I call her "Miss America"--she's so pretty.  

My studio where I make quilts and purses . . .

Finished Earth Tone Quilt

Detail of quilting on "Stars 'n Scraps" quilt

Long Arm Quilting of "Stars 'n Scraps" queen size quilt in Linda's studio (Victorian homeowner)

"Night Shirts" quilt

Detail of long arm quilting, "Night Shirts" quilt

Long Arm Quilting "Navy Blue" queen size quilt.  Linda experiments using freezer paper cutouts.

 Quilting around the freezer paper leaf template.

Orange Crush - Hand Applique - Queen Size Quilt

Detail of Hand Applique - Queen Size Quilt by Linda Durrant

Crazy Blue Jeans Quilt featuring machine embroidered and fabric yo-yos 

Hand stitching binding on "Cheese Platter" queen size quilt

Hand stitching binding on "Cheese Platter" queen size quilt

antique buffet in the red dining room

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REMINDER:  The Halloween Weekend Victorian House Tour is:

Saturday Oct 29 and Sunday Oct 30

10:00a until 5:00p

ACRES OF PARKING BEHIND THE RED GARAGE

DON'T FORGET-- there is a great lunch of chili and dessert by the Scandinavia Library Group in the Red Garage.

I'm looking forward to seeing you at our Victorian House Tour--Halloween weekend.  Can't wait to talk to you!

Little Black Purse

100% Black Wool Purse with Embellishments

Quickly--I want to show you a black wool purse I finished last night.  This year I purchased several long wool coats from thrift stores in my favorite colors: gray, red, teal, olive, cobalt blue, black, and mustard.  The black with tiny gray flecks coat was shorter but once deconstructed there was enough to make 2 lined purses and a number of cell phone totes.  

The assorted buttons are gifts from friend Jerry who recycles clothing to make his beautiful loomed rag rugs, and some recycled buttons I bought from thrift shops.  The zipper pull is made from Hemptique cord and polymer clay beads I form by hand and bake in the oven.

Before joining side seams, I decorated the wool with No. 8 Perle Cotton thread in several colors.  I especially like echoing the running stitch.  My favorite colors against a black background are the same as the wool coats I purchased plus turquoise, cinnamon, and purple.

I took an online Craftsy class from Carol Ann Waugh called Stupendous Stitching and learned several simple French Knot, Running Stitch, etc.  Her class is fabulous and so is she!

Taking Carol Ann Waugh's class was a turning point for me.  I used to sew everything in ivory, beige, and blah.  After taking Waugh's class I'm creating in LIVING COLOR.  It is so exciting.  I highly recommend signing up for her class on Craftsy.com

Blue Skies . . . smiling at me

Clear Blue Sky Colors for my latest quilt

I could say I stumbled on this one.  I was looking for contrast and grabbed the bolt of gray to frame the 9 patch of white clouds and blue skies.  Once I got going I just let the quilt be what it wanted to be.  Simple blocks and cornerstones using fabrics I like.

While picking sky colors and clouds,  I was thinking about Irving Berlin's 1926 hit song Blue Skies. Ella Fitzgerald sang it in the 1940s.  But I love it most when Willie Nelson sings it.

Blue skies smiling at me

Nothing but blue skies do I see 

Bluebirds singing a song

Nothing but bluebirds all day long

Never saw the sun shining so bright

Never saw things going so right

Noticing the days hurrying by

When you're in love, my how they fly . . .

I always thought the music sounded a bit sad, but the words uplifting.  Why did Berlin write it that way?  

In this photos I'm finished and rolling the quilt back to the beginning, checking to make sure I didn't miss anything.  It happened once during a bobbin change, I missed a spot and I had to reload the whole darn quilt just to take care of an obvious 4 inch space.  

There is a long list of considerations, things to watch for when doing long arm quilting.  Knowing, (feeling) just the right vertical tension so the quilt lays close to the throat plate--keeps the stitches going just right.   I crank the belly bar to snug the quilt, then backing it off to give it some slack to touch the throat plate.

Be careful, don't crank the belly bar so tight . . . doing this can distort the quilt (stretching it). 

Yes, lots of things to watch for . . . like forgetting the basic no-no rule of having the machine needle in the down position in the fabric and cranking the belly bar creates problems with the bobbin assembly . . . ask me how I discovered that???  It was a $200 repair discovery, uhhhh.  I'm long arm quilting three years now and still learning, improving.

This is the only quilt I've made this summer.  I've been so busy helping my brother on his 1892 Victorian in Wild Rose that I haven't had much time to work in the studio.  

I took time last week and this week to get it loaded on the frame with 100% cotton Warm and Natural batting, and do the long arm quilting.   Also I made four purses.  I have a show Sep 4 and Sep 17.

I like the edge to edge free style Floral Bouquet I created and use often on quilts.  It is a sequence design that is relaxing to do, and has predictable spacing.  A joy.

I'll take more photos later.  Since these photos were taken I made lined prairie points for this quilt--placed the points facing inward, around the border--between the corners stones.  Then I added the binding, hand stitched the binding, and hand stitched around each prairie point to secure properly.  

Ah, what I do for love . . . 

Back again with a photo of the prairie points installed and binding completed.  

Photos taken at 6 something this morning--looks different under lamp light than the photos taken in the studio with natural daylight.  

I really like this shade of green prairie point made with a purple-blue lining.  

If you'd like to review how to make the prairie points, check out my Toast and Jam Quilt.

http://1893victorianfarmhouse.blogspot.com/2016/04/toast-and-jam-quilt.html

Nice to visit with you again.  See you later.  

Railings for the Wrap Around Porch

This past week/weekend Jon installed new rails for the wrap around front porch.  View looking west

He installed the stair posts and rails first.

It's been so suffering hot/humid, Jon works a little bit each night.  At some point in the future, Jon will trim a little off the tops of the posts to add four caps and finials that I purchased.  

 New rails for the porch - installed at original 1893 height.  

Back in 2009--My Mom Lorraine and I repaired the salvaged/decaying spindles from the original porch railing design.  Even after we labored to repair missing areas with wood putty--in the end the spindles were wafer brittle and dehydrated/light weight, feeling more like cardboard replicas after 120+ years of exposure.  Jon chose to replicate the original rail moldings, and present the vertical styles without the spindles.  

Standing L-R: Leon Pasternacki and his wife Bessie Pauline (Quien) Pasternacki, Donna Quien, Ruth Quien, and Ragnhild Quien.  Seated is Maren (Gurholt) Quien.  

Photo: our front porch modified into a screened in porch - about 1938.  Maren's husband Thomas is missing from the photo, and looking at the young Donna Quien center, I'll guess this photo was taken August 1938 at a gathering after the funeral of Thomas Quien.

This photo shows the front porch's original railing, spindles, and vertical pieces.

Maren Quien and her husband Thomas Quien bought the house December 1917, and lived

there with their children Ragnhild, Bessie, Gusta, and Peter.  Peter's wife is Ruth (Danielson) Quien and daugthers Mary Jo and Donna.  Leon and Bessie lived in Ohio, until 1967 when they moved to Scandinavia and lived next door to our house.

Front Porch Photo taken about 1925 - Thomas Quien and his granddaughters R-Donna and L-Mary Jo Quien.  Thomas and Maren Quien's son Peter, his wife Ruth, and their two daughters Donna and Mary Jo lived together.

Photo of our house about 1905 - 2nd from left is Mabel Wrolstad daughter of John Olson Wrolstad (the man who built our house in 1893).  Photo's age is based on clothing, and Mabel's age.  I've seen other photos of Mabel and she is easy to recognize.  Mr. Wrolstad died at home here in December 1907, and his widow Mathea moved to Gillette, WI to live with her oldest daughter Sina.  Mathea passed away in 1909.

West side of Wrap Around Front Porch.  New flooring, new rails, repaired original column bases.  Ready to prime and paint.  I hear someone calling my name . . . . . .

Repairing Front Porch - June/July 2016

July - 2016

Jon repairs columns on the front porch

When we first bought the house back in April 2007--we had to work on the house a full year before we could move in.  During that year--one of the first tasks was to repair the front porch.  

Below are photos of the front porch as it was when we bought it, and repaired it in 2008.

Peeling off the decay.  Photo of my father Gale and husband Jon (both professional contractors) as they discuss rebuilding the porch structure, saving the columns.

rebuilding/restoring the columns

New front porch structure 2008

Rebuilt/Restored Front Porch

Front Porch Summer of 2009

Jon replaced the front porch ceiling, and he and dad built new stairs as well.  And, we continued on and on with repair of the other two porches, and long list of projects inside the house.  For the first 5 years--there was never a stopping point--just moving forward one project at a time. 

2008: Jon rebuilt the East Porch with salvaged original spindles, and rails fabricated from new stock. 

West Porch - new floor structure and newly painted 2008

Note: we scraped, primed, and painted the exterior of the house Light Green with Orange and Brown Accents during the summers of 2007 and 2008 while I was still working full time.  

Then in summer/fall of 2014 we scraped primed, and REPAINTED the exterior of the house again changing to a darker Mossy Green (Sherwin Williams).  

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Back to the topic of his post . . . Repairing Front Porch - June/July 2006

In a perfect world, you repair porch floors and they last forever, right?  But that didn't happen.  

The 2008 new porch boards began to cup,  and in June 2016 we could no longer rock in our rocking chairs on the Front Porch (north side).  This summer Jon tore off the old boards and replaced with a quality stable PVC decking.  

Sometimes, you have to go with modern technology to make repairs that will last--even for a historic house like this.  Our goal is to make this house a home for us, and the family who follows us.   We purchased enough decking for the East Porch too.  

Jon attended to additional repairs to the front porch columns.  This time, Jon inserted a rubber boot at the base of the columns.

 The new decking is great in dark gray color.  Now I can rock in my chair on the front porch again.  

Jon measures white PVC material to cover repairs.  He's gonna bevel the edge to create a proper drip edge.  This shroud material can be painted ivory like the rest of the house trim.  

Last weekend--Jon repainted the front steps.  The rails will go on the porch and steps soon.

Jon had his cousin Lloyd Durrant reproduce the hand rails to match the original rails.

Here's a photo of Dad--working on the front porch restoration

Who is this masked woman?  I think it's me.

Mom--scraping paint on the front porch.  She delicately hand painted the (4) bird medallions at the front porch doors.  

Photo of our house c. 1905

Everything takes time and Jon doesn't get much of an opportunity to rest.  He puts in 60+ hours a week at work--then spends his weekends working on our house and yard.