Farmer's Wife Quilt Along and We *almost* had a farm

I'm thrilled that I am caught up with the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along. I have my 4 blocks done ( we are doing 2 per week) and I only have 107 to go!! This is so much fun. Picking fabrics for each block is a treat!

When signing up for this quilt along, I was reminded of some farm related happenings in our past.

We almost had a farm. About two years ago, my husband Jay and I were looking for a vacation property on Vashon Island. We love the island because it is so close to Seattle (a 30 min ferry ride ). 

We found this lovely house with an acre of land.

It is the McNair house and was built in 1884.
This is the historical info from History.org:

"In 1884, Thomas and Etta McNair began living on and improving their land claim near Burton on Vashon Island. Every Monday, Thomas McNair commuted to Tacoma by rowboat. He would spend the week in the city while Etta worked on their farm. Like many other early settlers, the McNairs lived in a log house while starting out. In about 1890, Thomas built a substantial two-story wood-frame house that reflects the influence of the Queen Anne style in its asymmetrical elevations, ornate gable-end ornamentation and elegant porch. Thomas McNair also constructed a number of other Burton structures, including the Quartermaster School."

The house needed a lot of work and we were in the midst of finishing our 1908 house in the Madrona neighborhood of Seattle.   You can read about it here.

We thought long and hard but knew it would be an amazing house and sanctuary from the city. 

I had so many wonderful dreams of the boys spending summers in the beautiful grounds, climbing trees, building forts and doing what boys do.

So......we made an offer on the house and then......my husband Jay lost his job.

We obviously didn't buy the house.

While writing this blog post I have a pit in my stomach. I really loved this house and more than that the possibilities. I knew we could bring it back to its original glory and create many more happy memories there.

This is original wallpaper in the linen closet.


All the windows have the original Victorian style moulding.

This is the view of Quartermaster Harbour.

The upstairs bedroom has a view of the harbour.

I know that home is where the heart is but I'm still heartbroken that this one got away.