WFMW:We Are THAT Family
This week I am incorporating my Wednesday's Workbook post into Kristen's WFMW because I really like what Kristen has to say about writing letters to the chldren that you sponsor through Compassion International. It has inspired me so much knowing that I can send little things, like stickers (wish I could send my whole darn Creative Memories binder...lol :D ...AND pages to color, even band-aides! Next week I hope to have a big surprise regarding BAND-AIDES...be sure to check my B.O.B.I.'s BLOG to find out about these:
Boo Boo Jars...
OKAY...back to my POST...this week I have been very busy doing alot of different sewing projects and working on curtains for the Love Shack.
Still trying to squeeze in my Embroidery Sampler e-zine that I'm taking on-line with the wonderful Teresa McFadden...it's just so hard with so many things going on at once! My sampler sits in a basket with all my ephemera right by my chair and I want to work on it more...for now though it pleases me to just look at it and know that I've got a lovely, relaxing project waiting for me :D This week I've been working on a monogram and I really like it so far:
The main concern we have had here at the Love Shack is getting the windows covered with curtains that are both functional...unlike the louvers that came with the house on this darn sliding glass door to our patio...
In the above photo you can see where we temporarily put up my silk drapes with a shower curtain rod over the louvers because they did not keep the heat/sun out of the kitchen...and the darn lourvers didn't close half the time :{
So last week in a fit of frustration when the lourvers would not close...I yanked them right out of their tracks...oh year! Then on Sunday, DH and I pulled a Lucy & Ricky job of hanging a new double curtain rod...I say this because anyone watching us would have been rolling on the floor laughing and crying at our antics. Let's just say this...it took me three trips to the store to get the right rod...first one was a single rod, but after removing the louvers, I realized that I needed some sheers for privacy during the day when the silk drapes were open. Back to the store to return the single rod and buy some sheers. Back up on the stool to hang the rod...IT WAS THE WRONG SIZE....AND IT COULD NOT HAVE ANY FINIALS..... waaahhhhaaaaaa
Finally...after trip number three the double rod is hung! DH and I had a GREAT time trying to figure out how to get the silk drapes on the rod and then shorten it so that it would go between the end brackets and then out to attach the small end cap...it is so close to the one side of the wall that you can't have finials...DONE!
Boy...you really have to think about EVERYTHING when it comes to window treatments...CAUSE that's what this was...not just simply CURTAINS...to freakin' complicated for that...lol The silk drapes are handing by the larger top rod by curtain rings...because I want to be able to open and close them EASILY (especially if I expect DH to EVER touch them :D Then I needed sheers that would also open and close easily because folks...we have a sliding glass door behind this TREATMENT...remember! ALSO the sheers when hung also needed to match the length of the silk drapes when all was said and done...AS I SAID...COMPLICATED...
SOMEONE had to be looking out for me because...I found sheers that had large grommets, for easy of opening and closing. I found sheers that had the exact same thread color as my silk drapes. AND I found sheers that when hung on the second drapery rod...were the perfect length for my WINDOW TREATMENT...yes!!! btw...the Lucy & Ricky moment occured when DH decided to ask me this question, "Are you sorry that you took the louvers down now?"...you can just imagine the rest....
Now, for the actual "workshop" part of this post...for years I have used fabric curtains to "hide" things in my bookcases. That is because I don't like doors on bookcases...they tend to get in the way and do not necesarrily keep the dust out like you would think. First up is a photo of my TV cabinet that was originally a Pottery Barn console that I purchased over 10 years ago to hold my scrapbooking supplies. Back then I made two mini-curtains...you could call them valances...from a one-yard scrap of toille fabric.
Orignally, I made two curtains because there are two shelves...but when we re-purposed this console table into a TV stand...we didn't want to cover the stereo/surround sound, DVD player and the cable box as you can see in the above photo. When you take the curtain down you can see my art and journaling supplies...
Not very pretty...right...but I like that I can take the curtain down when I am working and see all my supplies. So, "what did I do with the second curtain", you ask?
Well, I re-purposed it of course :D This bookcase serves as an end table for DH on his end of our reclining loveseat...and inside I store boxes of acrylic paints on the bottom. These are photo boxes...which I love because the always look neat and have LABELS...enough said!
While "behind the curtain" we store instruction VHS tapes and DVD's that we don't get into everyday...cool huh!
SO what does this have to do with anything...well since moving here to the Love Shack, every single square inch is used for storage and I held onto every piece of furniture that I could because I needed the storage space...including this antique red cupboard.

This is a solid piece...the top does not come off the bottom and it is solid pine and very heavy and study. I have had this cabiniet for over 20 years and DH says that he goes before this cupboard does...and he's close to right :D Someone made this cabinet by hand...the insides of the drawers are not painted...ha! ha! I bought it at a yard sale for $60.00 and there were do doors on it...and someone painted it red at some point in time and painted right over where the door hinges were originally. I love all my pretty green and red Amy Butler fabric totes...but in this house it's just too much to look at and this cabinet sits across from my small dining room table which doubles as my craft desk now.
SO...I made some curtains to cover the shelves in my red cupboard...only these curtains I made with "double rod-pockets" so that they would stay tight when closed. Here is a "long shot" of the red cupboard as it sits next to the ladder shelves in the living room. I especially wanted the shelves covered in the red cupboard because the open-shelves of the ladder-shelves cannot be covered.
Here you can see my black baskets set up on top with all my projects ready to go. Another reason I choose to make these curtains with double rod-pockets is because the width of these panels are not that wide, yet the are very long so as loose curtains that would have been "flappin' in the wind" every time someone walked by here.
I chose to make a decorative header at the top of the panels/cupboard because the bottom always tends to gather things on the bottom here and I pull the bottom rod up when I want to get something out of the shelves. Most of the time I am reaching for my "tool kit" here on the bottom shelf.
Here is a close up of how I simply place the tension rod up underneath the panel when I need to get into my "tool kit". If I'm working on a big project and need a lot of various supplies, then I simply take the entire panels down and place them on a chair out of the way while I'm working.
Here in this final photo, you can see how things tend to get "placed" on the bottom shelf...but that's okay, because it is usually new supplies that I need to put away and this coordinating red, wooden bin is the perfect catch-all.
I have been making these types of "double rod-pocket" panels since I lived in Italy and rented my first sewing machine.
1. You do not need a pattern...simply measure the length and width of your space that you want to cover and add seven inches to the finished length.
2. The width deepends on the width of your space and the width of your fabric...and how "full" you want your panels to be. Here, I simply cut a piece of 54-inch wide upholstery/drapery fabric in half. I hemmed the sides by turning them under an half-inch and then again by a half-inch because I like a neat, finished side hem.
3. Once you've hemmed your sides then you can hem your top/bottom. Again, turn your seams in by a half-inch...I always pin and iron my seams as I go because I like really straight hems :D
4. This is where it's a little differen from the sides...I usually have a 1-inch "header" on my rod pockets...the header is the part that sits on-top of the rod. So at this point I turn my edges in at 2 1/2-inches and pin the ends and iron, once more.
5. Then at the sewing machine you are going to sew TWO seams...one for the hem and one for the header. I sew the hem first by placing the pressure foot as near the edge of the turned-up hem as possible.
6. Then I remove the pins, and sew the second "header" edge. This I do simply by placing my fabric edge at the 1-inch "guide" mark to the right of the needle. If your machine does not have one or you need more of a guide...take a sharpie, permanent marker and mark the front of you machine with this 1-inch guide.
7. Iron your finished panels and hang them...easy...really!
Next time, I'll try to demo the pinning and sewing for you because I have more panels to sew for my bedroom vanity.
WELL THIS WORKS FOR ME...I just hope that you can make it work for you as well...and that you find some inspiration for re-purposing your fabircs and book shelves :D
Sorry for this LONG POST...so long in fact that spell-check was timing out in Typepad...lol So just get over it...all you Spelling Police...
comments welcome