I’ve developed a really bad habit lately.  It’s embarrassing to admit, but I’ve really gotten sucked in by the afternoon ‘do it yourself’ shows on TV.  I sit mesmerized by power tools and hardware, paint and spackle while the host spends his portion of the show talking directly to me.  I’m fascinated by things like PVC pipe, metal flashing, hinges, and I feel slighted when the hardware store employees treat me like a “dumb girl”.  Well, I did have an opportunity to try my first project.  The power tools are AWESOME, and the project turned out really well.  My husband no longer doubts my abilities and has agreed to give me workspace in the garage.  During the process though, I kept thinking about how my quiltmaking experience has helped me to understand the logical sequencing of steps to reach a final product.  There was ‘unbuilding’ and then reinforcing the item I was working on, a built-in piece that came out of the wall wobbly and weak; much like unsewing or resewing to strengthen and stabilize the seams of a second-hand quilt or to re-square blocks and pieces.  Next there was cutting and piecing wood trim, very similar to adding sashing to a quilt – I even cut some miters!  Every step of the way included leveling and squaring up, making sure to have nice square corners and straight level pieces, an optical illusion in our house. (In order to understand the importance of that part better you need to know that we live in an old farmhouse that was built long before the concept of level and straight were even recognized as something to consider.  Hence the reason the water flowed straight across the kitchen floor and down the furnace duct when the dishwasher broke.  I guess it’s not always a bad thing.)  As I sat crunched up in a ball under the shelving to put the last screws in place I cursed when the end piece clunked me on the head.  The screws fell in the carpet, and I couldn’t twist my body any more severely to locate them; the level slid down the wall and smacked me on the ankle.  It was at that point that the differences between quiltmaking and what I was attempting to do were becoming very clear.  I’ve had some sore muscles and creaky bones after pin basting a quilt but not quite like that.  And I don’t recall ever having to have someone hold part of the quilt so I could make a cut or fasten two parts together, or unload the fabric from the truck.  I don’t get pinched fingers, blood blisters, or slivers, and I don’t have to wear safety glasses.  Still, it was a great experience, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.