Curtain Call

So I've been spending a lot of free evening time lately with my new best friend, "Singer" or "Singy" (as I like to call him:)...

...measuring, cutting, pinning, ironing, sewing, ironing, pinning and sewing again.  

Making lined curtains has been a painstaking process, I must say!!!   GG wisely encouraged me to go online and find some instructions before beginning the project.  What a smart man! :)  I was going to try to wing it based on some thorough investigation of other tailored curtains in our house.  But thankfully I managed to find a really informative website here, which talked me through the various steps necessary to make tailored, lined drapes.  Thank goodness!!  What would one do without the internet??

I started off with an assembly line approach, doing each step of the process on all 6 panels before moving on.  The measuring and cutting took ages and my knees were so sore after scooting around on our hard floors...  Nonetheless, I finally finished and moved onto hemming both the liners and fabric.  Last night I started joining the two together (inside out) and then inverting them to make the almost-finished product.  Around 11:30pm, my first "baby" churned out and was hung this morning.  Here it is, limply and rather lonely, as it adorns the middle window.

Not too shabby!  While I think it still needs a little something, I am happy to say it is well-made and should not fall down!! :)  The fabric choice did end up looking somewhat "30-year-old-man's office" and not quite "toddler bedroom", but I'm still happy with the choice.  By starting out basic, I can always add playful, colorful elements later (but you can't always take away!)   I am really thinking now of adding some sort of hooks to the top and perhaps changing out the drapery rods.  I'm also going to look into some red tie-back cords to make it a little more fun and playful.  

All in all,  I'm thrilled to have one done (but am lamenting the other five I have to finish!)  Oh well, all in a day's work.  Before I leave, let me include a pic of Heidi's beautiful valences she shared with me--if you zoom in, you can see the adorable Osh Kosh effect she created at the top.  Too cute!  Heidi, you are a talented woman!  I decided to play it simple by default... (too tired=no creativity!)  Maybe next time I can rise to your prowess!! ;)

Thanks for enduring all this decorating talk.

I'll hopefully be updating you on the finished project very soon!

Hope you are all enjoying a glorious Monday.  God bless you!

The Choice

You, ladies, are wonderful in that you've affirmed my intuition...

... to choose #2!!   The Variegated Stripe Indigo
Thank you to all who voiced their thoughts in the previous post!  You had great things to say.  I had been leaning in the direction of #2--not too extreme, but also not too plain for the room with all of its basics.  The larger striped pattern is still an option, though I'm definitely thinking of doing more colorful patterns, ginghams, and stripes as room accents (pillows, etc.) which echo some of the subtle "fun" of the quilt.   

As you can see in the room shots above, we currently have some navy blankets hanging to cover the windows (notice the sleeping cherub in the crib shot!) and I do like their overall look, so the hint of stripe on the navy will be just enough to add a little pattern to the room.  Heidi also made a fun suggestion to add buttons and hooks at the top for a cute, boyish finish.  I definitely think we may do something of the sort-- some hook clips like these that might offer a little playful variety (and make my sewing venture even easier--I'm quite the novice!)

I'll have to keep you posted as the project progresses...  

Before that, though, we meet tonight with an interior designer(!), whose services come free(!!) if we order furniture through Norwalk.  I just about fell out of my chair when she told me she would help us design our family room, choose furniture and fabrics, and coordinate our ideas... for nothing!  Whew!!  What a relief that was!  GG and I have no clue what we're doing on the design front.  We desperately want to do things "right" because we plan to be here for awhile, but are operating on a tight budget.  Thankfully, April visits tonight and the family room design process starts!  I'll be sure to fill you in on the latest. ;)

Blessings to you all for a *wonderful* Wednesday.

Tomorrow I promise pics of M and the week-long Bible school he's been enjoying.  T and I have been joining him and another family afterward to picnic and play on the church playground.  How nice this time has been for us!  Praise God for His Provision of friends during this new Virginia adventure...  God bless!

Your Input, Por Favor

Along similar decorating notions as to my last post, I'm planning to sew simple curtains for the boys' room. They are in dire need of some thicker shades to blackout this beautiful summer sunlight! My thoughts are no matter what fabric I choose for the curtains, I will line them to ensure maximum shade potential!!

So here's where you come in... I've scoped out Jo-Ann.com and have chosen a few curtain fabric finalists for the room and I need your opinion as to which you like best! For your reference, here's a room shot from a previous post to show you the wall color.

It is a beautiful "raindrop blue", which complements a navy dresser and M's Pottery Barn Kids train quilt (which looks a lot like this but with a white background) and T's chambray blue crib sheet. I'll have to post some actual room shots tomorrow after the kids wake up!!


I would like the curtains to be a darker navy color to help anchor the lightness of the room. We've decided to make them window length--not to the floor, but also not as short as valences (which are so cute, yet too impractical with the sun as bright as it is!) The curtains will cover plantation shutters already in place.
Okay, so here are the fabric finalists:


#1 Galeton Denim


#2 Variegated Stripe Indigo


#3 Ticking Stripe Indigo

#4 Solid Indigo

Please vote away in the comments... Your advice would be so appreciated! Thank you and God bless.

(P.S. I'll tell you which one I like best tomorrow!)