My bathroom window is in the shower! It is a full sized window. I hung a white plastic opaque shower curtain, doubled with the fold facing the shower head, over it. I can move the curtain aside because the spring rod is the full length of the tub. We do also have film on the bottom half of the window, and a big shrub outside. I would like some of those bottom top blinds too in various places in my house, but it never occurred to me to try to retrofit regular blinds. To buy bottom-tops new is quite expensive. If any one knows how to do it, I'd love to hear it. BTW, I have friends who have them, and its kindof a disappointment to realize that the strings that raise and lower the blinds cover the window all the time, so you don't really get an unobstructed view. Excuse my going on and on, but you have got me thinking about mounting a shade onthe bottom and pulling it upwards which wouldnt work well in a shower however. But that would just involve one string up the middle of the window where we have a muntin anyway. Good luck. Kathy

Sue, I have the Viking Mega Quilter and Inspira Frame and I love it. We got it just before the New Generation Frames were coming out, so the whole setup was just under $2000. It can be set up at half width or full (120") which is where I have left it. It will do a king size--but I've never made one that big. I have done queen size with no problems and have gone as small as about 1 yard (for a purse) As the others have said, on bigger quilts you have to plan ahead for the smaller quilting area or simply turn it around. I read many postings on home quilting forums about different problems and was determined to not be frustrated with the learning curve. And I can honestly say the problems were absolutely minimal and I was hooked from the get-go. I'm still not a "pro" by any means, but I sure am enjoying it. Linda

The manufacturer will have a maximum width that they will make which may very well be less than 9'. When I was getting my wood blinds for my 5' window, I think I just came in under the wire for max width. Otherwise, I would have had to get 3 separate sections. Cell shades don't weigh so much, so that helps, but I suspect 9' may not be available. The mechanism -- top-down-bottom-up or just bottom-up -- may limit your choices as well at that width. I think my 5' limit was also because I wanted cordless.

There was a thread on this topic some months ago--see below. There are some good photos of niches. Our project is bogged down, but I have a few additional comments since I posted... Because we have to watch our pennies, I'm shopping in bargain places. One problem I have encountered is that oddball lots of tiles often don't include bullnose pieces as well as regular field tile sizes. The niche that we have roughed in will require some cute tricks to make ordinary tile edges seem attractive and classy; we don't want to just snip tiles and leave raw edges. DH, my sweaty equity, did not finish the niche smoothly when he created it in drywall because we knew we would cover it in tile. Now, we're thinking that we might not do the tiling right away and he'll have to pull out drywall tools and make a proper corner edging around the niche. This kind of "go back and do over" gig is getting very frustrating. [Meanwhile, I've found a smashingly exciting tile that of course only comes without trim pieces. It's sitting right next to me, thinking. Unfortunately it has a decidedly unfinished raw edge and will require tricky handling if we choose to use it. I just covered it over so I can't see it tempting me there on the table. Have to be more practical. ] Tile shops do carry a metal edging that can be used to finish off edges when no bullnose is available, but I haven't seen examples of it in actual use on a range niche. Would love to see a sample photo to reassure me. Also, remember that if you choose to work with a thick tile or a remnant of some kind of rock from countertop on the back of the niche, that will cut down the depth of the niche shelf. If you want the area above range/cooktop to be an artistic focal point, I humbly suggest that you either make a niche OR some kind of tile design but not both. If you choose too fancy a niche back, the items standing within the niche will compete with the tile design for viewer's attention. Mine will be a working kitchen, so we're planning to put oil bottles, vinegar bottles, salt shaker, etc. there and they are supposed to get top billing. Don't forget that you can suspend a second shelf in the niche if there's room. Here is a link that might be useful: Niche topic thread