Curtain Call

This past weekend, while Colby was traipsing around the woods up at hunting camp, I trekked the three hours north to visit my folks.  Not only did I bring the pup (he LOVES his grandparents house) but I also brought a whole bag of fabric.  Yup…fabric.  As in fabric to make some curtains for the dining room.  First off, you should know that I don’t sew and don’t have a clue what I’m doing (I actually asked for my fabric in feet instead of yards….ooops).  Second, I made my novice sewing nature blatantly obvious while I was purchasing the fabric.  I found this gorgeous taffeta fabric for CHEAP!  It was so pretty and I knew it had to come home with.  Meet my curtain fabric:

After I had picked up the fabric I was wandering around the store aimlessly, looking for a fabric to line it with.  I had no clue what I was looking for.  Do I get another taffeta, and do I prefer white or black, or should it be cotton?  Apparently my lack of knowledge was obvious and the Jo-Ann’s lady came over to help me.  When I asked her what she would recommend using as a curtain lining, she looked at me like I had three heads, maybe four, and told me that I couldn’t make curtains out of taffeta.  What?!  She told me it won’t block light, it’s fragile fabric to work with, it’s not washable, and it’s just not the right fabric.  My reaction…but…but…but…I love the fabric.  It’s THE fabric.  It spoke to me and told me that it NEEDED to come home with me.  So she pointed me to the back of the store where they had several bolts of fabric especially for lining curtains.  All I have to say is that the Jo-Ann’s lady just made me want to make these curtains even more….just to prove her wrong!  What can I say…I’m competitive like that!  And sometimes spiteful!  So up in the county…my momma and I buckled down and made some curtains using Ms. Singer:

I quickly learned that curtain making involves lots of pinning:

Lots and lots of pinning:

Then we got to some sewing.  First my mom sewed and showed me how to use the machine:

Then I got to take the reins and sew some too:

My dad likes to call sewing “ca-chunking” because when you go really, really slow (like I do because I’m in super concentration mode, taking it slow so I don’t screw up) it sounds like the machine is going “ca-chunk, ca-chunk, ca-chunk”.  After I was done ca-chunking, I had a pair of curtain panels.

I’m not going to lie, they’re not perfect.  One is actually about a quarter of an inch longer than the other and one of them is not quite square…there’s a serious bubble going on between the plaid section and the lining.  But my inner Bob Ross is just saying they’re happy accidents.  Besides, it’s more about the experience and spending time with my momma than it is about having perfect curtains.  After we were done, I folded up my pretty panels to take home.

Of course upon return I had to test out the panels in the dining room.  I still need to finish painting the window trim and then I can install the curtain rod and hang the curtains.  There’s still about another week’s worth of work before they can be properly hung, but I NEEDED to know if our hard work paid off.  My lovely assistant held up the curtains while I snapped a few pics.

Doesn’t he look enthused?  Do you also like how he coordinated his outfit to match the curtains!  LOVE them (to be clear I’m referring to the curtains…but I do love Colby too).  Now I have a fire lit under my butt to get cranking on the trim painting project.  I also should mention that the curtains are just square panels.  I’m using curtain clips to attach the curtain to the curtain rod.  Thus, no loops or threading the curtain rod through the curtain.  I wanted to keep it simple for my first sewing project.  And by the way…I’m hooked!  I can’t wait to tackle some more sewing projects.  I see pillows and other curtains and a duvet cover in my future!  Anyway…I’m absolutely in love with the color combo in the dining room.

The black/gray taffeta goes so well with not only the gray walls but also the bright white trim.  It’s all very classy looking and the taffeta really makes the room feel rich.

Although, I see these curtains used solely in the winter time.  They’ll be great during the Christmas decorating season with reds and greens accenting the table and room.  But come summertime, I think I’ll be ready to punch up the color in that room and may trade them out for something a bit more colorful or happy…I’m thinking bright white/yellow striped curtains.  And you know I’ll be sewing those up too.  This time solo style!  Although I do treasure the mother/daughter time that we got out of this curtain project!

Pssst…I’m writing this post while Colby is singing “Goose’s just wanna have fun” (to the tune of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun) and dancing around the living room with the dog.  I just thought you should know.  The kind of distractions I have to go through to write these blog posts!  Sheesh!