Winter came before Christmas. With the Winter came the cold. Yet, our living room was still sporting its summertime curtains, sheer drapes. It not only looked cold outside, but it felt cold when you got close to the windows.
So, after Christmas passed, I made it my utmost priority to finish the curtains.
Finally, the cold can’t sneak into our living room. As an added bonus, our neighbors can no longer peak in our windows at night.
The outer fabric is a linen and cotton blend called Embroidered Rico Rosewood by Suburban Home. The lining is a heavy flannel fabric in white for nothing keeps the cold out better. Though I ordered drapery weights, there was no need for them. The curtains could smother a small animal with its weight.
The first panel was sewn on my newer sewing machine, Babylock Decorator’s Choice. The second panel was sewn on the sewing machine that me neighbor gifted to me, a Singer Slant-o-Matic. Hands down, the Singer was much nicer to sew with even if it lacked the fancy buttons, such as automatic needle threader and automatic thread cutter. It went through the thick layers of linen and flannel without a hiccup whereas the Babylock struggled to get through just two of the layers stacked together.
There are two smaller windows that flank our fireplace in the living room that could use matching curtains, but once again more pressing matters are coming up, such as Elly’s big 3rd birthday party. For her birthday, I plan to repair the vintage quilt, hem the shawl and make just a few party decorations. It pains that there are not enough hours in the day to make her a homemade dress for her birthday, but alas there just are not.
And lastly, for those who love before and after shots, this is just for you:
Before
After
I kept with the red theme for the original owner had the right idea. Red looks amazing with the red and blue bricks in our fireplace. My main complaint was always that the all over red was simply too dark for the size of the room. The first thing you saw were the curtains. Perhaps it is still the first thing you see for the windows are quite large and the amount of fabric needed is substantial, but at least they no longer feel overbearing and melancholy.
The Life, Designs & Crafts of Marie Haigh 