Sunday Sundry 10-5-14

Here a job, there a job, everywhere a job-job.
E-I-E-I-O.

One thing leads to another around here lately.  I start to paint, and I notice a lot of old paint and stain that needs to be disposed of.

The old paint that needs to be disposed of is located in a very messy workshop that needs cleaning and organizing.

The workshop that needs cleaning and organizing is also where my treadmill is.

The treadmill needs using again because it's getting too cool (and dark earlier) to walk outside.

I need a distraction while on the treadmill, so the television needs moving from the sewing room to the workshop.

The workshop needs cleaning before the TV is moved.

And so it goes, around and around and doubling back on itself.  This leads to that, and that leads to another thing.  Stuff is getting done, though, including some long-procrastinated-on, time-sucking, dumb jobs. There is also a growing donation pile.  I did a big purge about two years ago in the fall.  Something about this time of year gets me wanting to clear out.

Finishing the table was not a dumb job.  I put the last coat of polyacrylic on it this morning.

I learn, and relearn, as I go with table painting.  Overall, it has come out fine, but mistakes were made.  If you ever come to my house and volunteer to do laundry, I will be happy to point them out to you.

(The lighting makes it look more orange sherbet-y than it really is.)

One job was not even on my radar until my daughter, while helping me get started on cleaning the workshop, found an old broken putty knife, which she (quite reasonably) wanted to throw away.  I stopped her from doing that, however, because...well, because Pinterest.

(Image Source)

I'd seen this image on Pinterest, some cool art made with old putty/spackling knives and photo images.  This seems a doable craft, given that I have a couple old putty knives (albeit broken) and a ton of old photographs.

But this particular post is not about doing something artsy with Mod Podge, sorry.  Besides, I threw that old jar away in the workshop cleanup.

So I'm standing there in the basement handling this broken putty knife and I notice that broken edge is pointy and sharp and thin, and—hey, Macarena!—maybe it could scrape off something super stuck on, like the ancient stuff adhered to (and seemingly one with the very molecules of) the basement window casings.  Are they called casings?  It's the metal part that sits in the concrete and holds the window.

The old basement windows had been leaky, so the previous owners, about 20 years ago, had used an airtight window sealing film over them.  We had the windows replaced probably six or seven years ago.  The strip of adhesive left after the film was removed turned out to be extremely tenacious.  A regular putty knife didn't budge it and I gave up trying years ago.  Yep, years.  I am the Queen of Procrastination, especially when it comes to dumb jobs like that.

But when the universe finally hands you the right tool for the job...

I was almost giddy, actually, at how well it worked.  That sharp pointy edge got right up under the sticky strip and cut through the gunk that had melded it to the underlying surface.

There was still ample elbow grease involved, as well as some Goo Gone once the majority of the adhesive was removed with my special tool.

But over the course of a couple days, the removal work was done on all the windows.  Now I just have to paint the casings with some Rustoleum and that job will be history.

In With the New
I took advantage of a 50% sale off already marked down fabric at the hometown Jo-Ann store recently.

They had a pretty nice selection so I loaded up the cart.  The stash had been lacking in the blues and low volume department, in particular. 

I picked up a couple black and white pieces as well, including six yards of the Alexander Henry one in the background here with the large scale print.  That will make a nice backing for something down the road.

Between other things, I sewed more plaid shirt strips.  I think I have enough strata made to start cutting the pieces. 

Since the Dad's Plaids quilt I'm planning uses a drunkard's path block, I'm going to join the Cross the Drunkard's Path Quilt-Along at Field Trips in Fiber.  I need all the motivation I can get these days, and it should be fun!