New Window Curtain

My mom and dad are wonderful grandparents. I love to watch them interact with Ari when they come to visit from Seattle. But you know what I love just as much? How much time I have to finish projects when the grandparents are here. When my mom visits, she somehow feeds Ari, gives him his bath, plays and sings with him, puts him to bed, and still manages to work in my garden and clean my kitchen. Oh, and bake a pie or two. With everything taken care of, I always get some gardening and sewing practice in as well. My dad was here last week and he did a great job helping to clean the kitchen (why is the kitchen always in need of cleaning?) and run after Ari while I completed this new kitchen window treatment I've been wanting to do for a year. A year!

I wish I could call this the $3 curtain, but really the curtain rods make this more like a $30 project. The vintage white linen with simple blue embroidery did cost only $3 in a little shop in Midway, KY (My new obsession--good thing it's a half hour away). All I did was fold it in half and then sew a seam across about 2 inches down to allow for the tension rod. I chose a fancier metal rod with decorative circular ends that cost about $15, but there's really no reason why I didn't use a cheaper rod since you don't even see it. I actually think the embroidered dishtowel looked great alone, but I had a vision that included black gingham and I had to see it through.

I already had the bracket curtain rod and liner fabric and I found the yard of cotton gingham for about $5 at Hancock Fabrics during their half off sale, so I didn't spend too much more money. I basically sewed the good sides of the liner and fabric together, leaving enough space for the rod pocket and to turn the fabric right side out. After turning it, I folded in each side of each rod pocket to essentially hem them. Then I sewed a seam 1-inch down form the top to create a ruffle and then about 3-inches down to create the rod pocket. Almost done. I finished by sewing a seam right across the bottom to keep the liner from sagging.

This was a very easy project that has made my kitchen feel nice and cozy. I've told you in the past that I'm a beginner sewer. This project came together pretty easily and made me realize that I've been trying to learn how to sew on a little bit more difficult fabrics like upholstery weight and some of the vintage fabrics that tended to pucker. The cotton just flew through the machine and I was surprised at how straight my lines were. (OK, I also was not totally exhausted after a long day and drinking a beer at the time since it was only about 1:00 in the afternoon.)

You might have noticed that I took a close up shot of the window. When I'm done with a chalkboard project to the left of that window, I'll take a wider angel shot. But that will also mean putting away dishes and cleaning up...I hope a grandparent is coming again soon!