24 February 2022

Covered

(affiliate links to my fabric designs)

Now that I've finally finished all the mending one of my friends brought by a little more than a year ago, I don't feel so guilty working on something for me. I made a few more scrappy I-Spy houses, although they still need roofs and grass. I also put pockets in a dress I made many years ago. I have four more old dresses that also need pockets in my own mending pile.

But fun projects got put on hold once again when the blinds in the master bedroom gave up the ghost. I'd been planning to use the leftovers from the Lizard Toes quilt I've been crafting for our bedroom to create DIY Roman shades from the blinds that most needed to be replaced.

I got stuck on the final quadrant of Lizard Toes backing because I accidentally turned the second quadrant the wrong way

I decided to do something totally different with the backing for the third quadrant to make sure I would have enough of the Tahiti Dream wide backing to make the Roman shades, too. I used remnants an old sheet I'd used to back one of my grandkids' quilts a couple of years ago for the third quadrant backing.

I really like the way it turned out, but it left me puzzling what to do for the fourth quadrant to make it look like it belongs with the other three and to prevent the backing from looking as if I used two different orphan backs when the quilt is done. On the bright side, I definitely would have enough of the Tahiti Dream to do the Roman shades. But the venetian blinds didn't wait.

Not only did I not have enough time before the next sub-zero plunge to create some kind of window covering, the housing for the blinds were so old and deformed, I wouldn't be able to reuse them. I looked at honeycomb blinds on the internet but didn't have time to order the proper size. I was going to just pin up an old fleece blanket over the window to ward off the -11 chill the huge window projects, but Lizard has been using that fleece as a stand-alone blanket. Parkinson's makes him feel tangled in sheets and quilts.

I decided to go online shopping for a curtain rod and simple, inexpensive blackout thermal curtains, thinking I could either add my Tahiti Dream to the front side later on or make an additional set of curtains that wouldn't need backing if I used them in front of the purchased curtains.

Initially, I went down a rabbit hole of cute curtains I wouldn't have minded buying. But those adorable curtains come from overseas, probably aren't made in advance, and would take at least five weeks to get here... that is, if the shipping backlog doesn't further disrupt.

So I ordered plain dove white thermal curtains with supposed blackout properties, and by golly they really are thick enough to block out the light during the day and keep out the cold at night. I even used a power drill for the first time in my life to get these babies hung on time to beat the polar plunge! I didn't iron the curtains prior to hanging them because it was already -2 when I received them. I think the wrinkles may fall out with time. But if not, I will press them when I add the homemade curtains. Not sure when that will be, but it is the plan.

These new curtains (first curtains we've ever bought as a couple) made me contemplate using similar curtains in the living room, where we have the biggest window in the house. Oh, how I love the sunshine and the wildlife views we get from this window, but we have to cover it in the mornings from March to September or cover our television to keep the sun from hitting it, and we've never had heat/cold protection on that window. The new bedroom curtain windows also make me wonder if I could print my own adorable curtain panels via Spoonflower... Might have to look into that.

I went through my stash, and I'm curious if one of my newest Spoonflower panels might make a nice window treatment...

I could reverse the original image and have it printed, then make the two panels into living room curtains... Maybe. I might have other photos that might make better curtains, but this definitely gives me something to think about.

Linking up with Alycia Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

4 comments :

  1. Wow, I didn't know curtains like these (the butterfly, peacock, etc.) existed! Your fabric panel would make smashing curtains.

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  2. Love your eye spy houses.
    And I hope you figure out what you want to do on your lizards..
    I also like the idea of you custom printing your curtains - that would be cool to see!

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  3. The curtains are super. You may spray them with water to flatten the wrinkles. Anyway, at least the cold stays outside.

    Have a nice week!

    Regula

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  4. Hard to know which I like best, but the Eagles are pretty awesome.

    ReplyDelete


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