Sunday, October 5, 2014

i made some curtains, yo

I really don't sew.  I can't read a pattern.  But I know how to thread a machine, turn it on, and put my foot on the pedal.  And I can sew a fairly straight line.  I think I've told you all this before, but I tend to repeat myself.

I tend to repeat myself.

Oh, and I actually love to make quilts of my own design

I also know how to hand-wind a bobbin because the bobbin winders on both my cheap Chinese machines have now failed miserably and catastrophically.  Let's just say Singer isn't what it used to be.  In fact, Singer, you suck.  I don't do anything crazy with my machines.  I don't sew a bunch of bling onto my hooker clothes and I don't use it to stitch up my cat when she gets in a fight with the neighborhood whistlepig.

She won't hold still for that.

And now I can't even wind a bobbin on either piece of crap.


But who am I kidding?  I love to hand-wind bobbins.  It's right up there with having a colonoscopy.

Help.  I'm talking and I can't shut up.

Where was I?  Oh yeah....curtains.

Thank goodness I like very simple curtainry.  Drapery.  Whatevery.

I made matching curtains for my family room and dining room windows.

Here's the before of the dining area...casing is up here:




And here it is with curtains.  AND BASEBOARD!  WOOHOO!



And here we are with the table back in place:




Here's the family room before:

You get to see when we were putting casing up!  What a huge difference casing makes.


And here we are with casing, baseboard, and curtains!
 


Remember the chair I painted?


See my checkerboard table below?  That's one of my very favorite early projects:






In all fairness, I didn't MAKE the sheer curtains.  But they were actually more work than the heavier (outside) curtains that I DID make.

If you're interested in how I made the grommet-topped heavier drapes, you can visit Infarrantly Creative.  I followed her stellar tutorial.  They are stupid easy to make.  

This is not to say being stupid is a prerequisite for making these curtains.  It's just that you CAN be stupid and still make them.  They're that easy.  After all, I made them.

Here's what I started out with for the sheers.  They were stupid cheap at Tuesday Morning and they were EXACTLY what I wanted.  I never find exactly what I want.



Naturally, they were Highwater Jims.


So I bought extreees.  And this:


 And then I did this:



And voila!



I'm an expert tutorialist.

We got the curtains up and I hemmed them and Phil said: but they're touching the floor.

Me:  Yep.  That's okay.

Phil:  But they're touching the floor.

Me:  Yep. They're supposed to.  It's really okay.

Phil:  But why are they touching the floor? 

Me:  But why is the rum gone?

<sigh>

Anyway, I'm loving the final result.


What are we going to do on the wall between the windows?




I could tell you, but then my blog would self-destruct.

In three....two....one....






33 comments:

  1. The suspense is too much!!!!! This is all sorts of full of the awesome...but I am surprised that you leave your stripper clothes plain, or do you have a bedazzler?

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  2. Look at you! No, I mean look at those curtains! They're awesome! We can look at you too because you're awesome also. Now I sound like a Gay blogger. Not that there's anything wrong with that. These look fabulous and I can't believe you gave no hint on your recent comment that you'd just pulled these off. Well done my dear, well done.

    Yo, since were Breaking Bad super fans, we should nickname each other BIT#H. 'My dear' makes me sound like I'm 100 when im just 95. Anywho, then we can say things like 'yo bitch, that's so awesome' on each other's blogs.

    Yeah, that's the ticket...

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  3. Oh, you are so fancy! Do you have a giant grommet-maker? Me want to borrow!! I love the fabric you chose, gray and golden go so well together. My baby loves to call yellow, golden, and so shall I.

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  4. I really love how this room is coming together... I have even seen some bloggers use hot glue to make curtains... I really agonize over picking out curtains for a room, it is one of the hardest parts of decorating for me. You did great!

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  5. Oh, Andi. I am so proud.
    You are definitely fancy.

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  6. For not knowing how to sew, your curtains look GREAT! The room looks great! Loved your post, you had me laughing out loud. (You can tell I don't text at all...LOL)

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    1. Hey....straight line....straight line...(no wine...no wine....)

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  7. Those look great, this from an expert seamstress! Usually, craft ribbon is not washable. Be careful if you wash those. You just proved that anything can be changed to work or be saved if you actually cut them too short. Keep it up.

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    1. Heck...I didn't even cut them too short! Darn manufacturer....how did they not know how long to make my curtains??

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  8. You can't sew but somehow you managed to produce those beautiful quilts. Must be immaculate conception. I am so jealous of your many talents that I don't know what to do about you. At least I'm royalty, and I know you aren't because we royals all know each other.

    Love,
    Janie

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  9. Andi, your home is just beautiful. I have to say that curtains are not the easiest thing to sew.....keeping everything straight is a challenge and you definitely rose to it! Love the fabric and the fix on your bought sheers! AMAZING!!

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  10. Oh I love your curtains Andi and I'm jealous because I haven't even tried to thread a bobbin on my new sewing machine yet. Those lights over the dining room table are absolutely gorgeous!!

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  11. What a clever idea adding to the sheers! It all came out great. Be sure to tell your husband that your drapes 'puddle' the floor and because you use the world puddle it is all ok in the home decor world and not to worry :-)
    Fondly,
    -Lisa

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  12. Singer has really gone downhill over the decades. :(
    I really like your "fix" on the length of the sheers and your big heavy curtains look awesome!
    It's all coming together so well--be waiting to see the rest of the touches. :)

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  13. Bravo! I even love them pole things that the drapes hang on... what are those called? I have just demonstrated to you my window treatment prowess. And the reason that my house is full of blinds.
    Signed,
    Bobbin Jammer

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  14. I love that the rug pattern and window treatments mimic the same design. In my former house, I loved the design on your handmade curtains when I found them, and bought them, at BED BATH & BEYOND. (I did. I swear.) But that was probably 15 years ago when you were still in diapers. They were semi-transparent and held up through the years wonderfully. I miss those curtains. I left them with the house and the new buyer yanked them down. JERK

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  15. How can a post about curtainry (thanks for the new word) still make me laugh? Because it's from Andi, of course. Love your new curtains. I only sew straight lines too, but it's amazing what you can do with a straight line. Still love that chair too. If you lived closer, you might wake to find it missing...along with the curtainry.

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  16. Wow Andi, what a difference the casing and the curtains make. Beautiful transformation..I be able to help you with the read more option on Blogger.

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  17. The room looks great! I love your color choices. The curtains look great! Stupid great : )

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  18. I don't really sew either; just sort of make things by guess and by golly. My machine won't wind bobbins either (although my sister seems to be able to get it to) so I should learn your hand winding technique. Nice job on the drapes!

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  19. Great job, it's so pretty. I don't really sew either and my Mum and her quilting friends recently corrected my sewing notion lingo...On my blog page lol. I love the chair in their too, I tried another chalk paint chair...mine was horrid! No more fabric painting for me I suck.

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  20. they look fab! Adam complained about our curtains touching the floor too. I tried to tell him this was the style and it looked pretty this way, he complained some more, then forgot about it.
    i like the little fur rug too! where is that from!

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  21. Wow! Casement, baseboard and curtains, all in one post! What a treat for your readers!

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  22. Seriously awesome curtains! Love 'em and the molding updates. But be careful putting down Singer sewing machines... I've had mine for almost 20 years and it's been a dream. Now it does weigh like 20 lbs. in comparision with new ones, but I love it... Maybe you're just to hard on yours (I kid) 😉

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  23. I'm impressed. Have we been exposed before via blog post to that amazing light fixture?

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  24. I bought a sewing machine many years ago - and I can't thread the thing LMHO - love your drapes ( and curtains )
    What a gorgeous room Andi - that light fixture is absolutely fantastic !!!
    xoxo

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  25. Beautiful curtains. I'm with you on trashing Singer. I broke the bobbin holder thingy underneath and no local store carries any replacement parts. I found the ONLY place where I could get a part via the internet and it had to be sent from American Samoa! The guy was nice who fixes sewing machines, but (seriously) a mail plane only leaves his island once a week so I had to wait a while for the part to arrive. I think the shipping cost me waaay more than the plastic part itself and it had to travel from American Samoa to Michigan. Way to go Singer!!!!

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  26. I lost the comment I just posted! It went something like this....."I'm late for the party again! Ever since your posts stopped coming to my email, I have to MANUALLY click on the link I put on my tool bar. Sheesh. What I go through for you. But......totally worth it! Love the curtains and I total lust after your dining room. You go girl, with those mad sewing skills! Dona" So if the original comments shows up, you'll have two of me. Oh, you lucky girl.

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    Replies
    1. That is SO weird!!! I get it in my inbox. Are you sure it's not going to your spam or junk folder? Maybe try unsubscribing, then subscribing again. I have no clue. Stupid e-mail thing!!

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  27. Love the painted chair! Love the curtains! LOVE that green light fixture! We just replaced our front windows, and I am reminded that there is not a single window covering anywhere in our house. I am such a failure. SAVE ME.

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