Let me entertain you, let me make you smile!

Okay, so I’m not going to do a few tricks like Gypsy Rose Lee but I will tell you the story of my yesterday . . . the day that nearly had me in tears.  After that, I’ll give you a little tutorial for creating your own French Country Drop Cloth Tablecloth.

The day began with a flat – TOTALLY FLAT – tire, which I really had no time for.  Next came the frantic text to the hubby who is working extremely long hours as the whole computer system at his work is changing and he barely has time to breathe let alone deal with the other stuff of life.  Of course he called me back right away and assured me that all I had to do was call AAA and everything would be okay.

Next came the call to the lady at AAA who didn’t recognize my card number, or my name, or my husband’s name, and after doing some research informed me that my membership was never transferred over from Washington State.  I told her that I knew that it had been transferred because I had already used AAA’s service for a tow to the shop when my old car broke down on the side of the highway.  Of course, there was absolutely NO record of that occurrence.

Since I assured her that I had the card in my hand and that we had been members since 1994 she told me I could purchase a new plan and, for a same day fee, could “reinstate” our service and get the services of a tow truck.  I somehow had the feeling that she didn’t believe me but   . . . I was a desperate woman.

Then came the panic of looking in my wallet only to find that my Master Card was missing and being told by the AAA representative that she couldn’t accept anything but a card over the phone, followed by the whole process of making phone calls to places I might have left it, all the time knowing that I would have no way of driving to get it if someone had it, and finally looking in a place I would never put it, but where I obviously did put it, and the call back to get that silly AAA card “reinstated.”

Two hours later the tow truck driver arrived and put the spare on and I headed off to Firestone, where I’d already made an appointment for a new tire.  Life is good.

Arriving at Firestone I’m told they don’t have said tire in stock but can have it “in no time” so I sat down with my laptap to wait.  A long wait.  A longer wait.  An excruciatingly long wait due to the fact that even though I had my laptop I didn’t have any reading glasses to see what I was reading, let alone writing!  I’m pretty sure someone out there got a very strange message from me yesterday.

Now while this seems like a minor tale of distress compared things that others may be going through, it was just the last straw in a series of crazy things that have been happening in our lives lately.  The tears wanted to come but they DID NOT.  As I messaged a friend last night who asked if I was okay, ” I wanted to cry but I am woman, hear me roar!”  One day I will surely laugh at this story 🙂

So this is my ruffled French country tablecloth made out of my favorite linen-look fabric ever, painter’s drop cloths.  Let’s get started with a tutorial.  I’ll keep it short and sweet.

I always begin by washing and drying my drop cloths on the highest setting  to make sure there will be no shrinkage later.

I placed my drop cloth on top of my table and used a pen to outline the table top.  This tablecloth is custom fit to my table with three leaves in place, which is the size I (almost) always leave it.  Why am I telling you this?  I guess as sort of a disclaimer because I’d hate for you to make this tablecloth and realize that you made it too small or too big for the size you would normally leave your table.

Next I cut 5/8″ away from my marking to allow for seam allowance.

After measuring the circumference, or outer boundary, of the table I doubled that distance and cut an 18″ wide strip of drop cloth (plus a little – for seam and hem) to the doubled length.  My drop cloth wasn’t large enough to cut one piece that long so I did have to piece it together in a couple of places.

I then basted and gathered my long strip of drop cloth to make the ruffle, laid it on top of the fabric piece that I’d cut to size on the table and pinned it in place, right sides together.

After sewing it together with a sturdy double stitch the fit was perfect.  I machine hemmed along the bottom edge.

Yes, it is kinda wrinkly and shabby looking but so am I and that’s my style 🙂

While I was at it I quickly whipped up a table runner from some great faux grain sack fabric I found online.

I bought quite a bit of it so maybe I’ll make some pillows, or some place mats, or who know what else.  You can find a link to that source HERE, and if you aren’t close to a hardware store that carries these wonderful linen-look painter’s drop cloths I’ve shared that link HERE.

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By the way, thanks for listening to my tale of woe today.  As Mr. OTN always says, “Pain shared is pain lessened.”

Blessings friends,

 TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, NiftyThriftyThings, SilverPenniesSundays,SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace