Swipe And Wipe

This is one of those jobs you (or at least I) procrastinate about for days, even weeks.  When the painters left last summer, they were procrastinating too, because they never did paint the trim in the bathroom.

Having bought that quart of paint for $17.99, I wasn't about to let it sit in the cupboard too long.  Time to get to work.  Funny, I don't remember floors being this hard on my knees before.  It took about an hour to tape it off, most of which was spent hugging the toilet bowl trying to reach around to the back.  With a cupboard on one side and the bathtub on the other, it was a tight squeeze.

It probably took all of three tablespoons of paint as I swiped the brush around the edges, then wiped up all the paint I dripped on the floor.  I inched my way around the small room and in less than 15 minutes of painting time, was done.  That was a lot of work for small reward, but it does look better than it did.

With that project done, I went back to this one (now sporting my sun glasses to reduce the glare) and completed the borders.  I have to say although I'm more into neutral colors in my house, I'm totally in to this bright wake-me-up quilt top.  All it needs is some backing and quilting.

I lasted about an hour before jumping up to start yet ANOTHER project.  I found this Paris-fancy quilt kit in Palm Desert.  Always a place I wanted to visit, I even have a Paris bathroom in California.  I know, it's weird, but it even has a little Eiffel tower as decoration.

Once I read the instructions, I was sorry I bought it.  It's difficult with lots of fussy cutting.  That means you don't just lay down a ruler and cut up squares .. you have to cut AROUND all the good stuff to end up with a panel.  I spent thirty minutes making sure I was cutting the outside borders exactly like the picture.  

That's when I came to the end of the fabric and discovered the last border was missing three inches of black fabric.  Are you kidding me??  There's no do-over because there's no more fabric!!!  I turned around and found the 86 inch piece of material I needed in a big pile on the floor.

It is here I have to say I did NOT make a mistake.  I cut it just the way the pattern said.  The only solution is to sew that black strip to the bottom of the border cut.  But wait .... it has those stripes to match up and a long gold line.  

After studying everything for about an hour, I finally made some cuts, matched the pieces and began to sew.  I don't know how I did it, but in the end I had a perfect border piece to match the first one I cut.  Can you tell which one is pieced?  I'm ecstatic!!  I not only figured it out but sewed it perfectly.  A first for me!!!

This morning I'll pack up parts and pieces and head west all of 200 feet up the hill to the quilt group Monday sewing.  Yes I drive ... it's a steep hill.  But first, I have to make some cornbread to go with Chef Patty's wonderful posole lunch.  Every week someone cooks for all of us.  It's one of those more-time-talking-than-sewing get-togethers with a wonderful group of ladies.  I wouldn't miss it.