My day was so full, I just now (11:06 p.m.) remembered your comments… I read them, but it’s too late to answer them. Well, I could, but I’ll just add some general comments here. Many of you said you saw dresses you had never seen before. Sometimes that even happens to me. I run across a picture of a dress that I had totally forgotten about.
Several of you commented on the ivory colored dress on Felicity. That is an embroidered silk dupioni and it was made back in June of 2008…my early days!
If you click on any picture it will enlarge.
I looked it up in my notebook and was almost positive I had made it for a customer of mine. She wanted to surprise her best friend. But I saw in my notebook that it sold for $36! Yep…that’s $36! I hope the lady who I thought hired me to make it reads this and can set me straight on the story. I was positive I received the nicest thank you card from the lady who got it. I probably still have that card somewhere. She couldn’t believe it when she opened it up! Maybe I sold this one and my customer begged me to make one for her… maybe that’s the story…
As I look at it, Felicity’s hat was pretty big…
She needed a hat with a much smaller crown. So I looked at my archived pictures again… and lo and behold, just below those pictures, but 5 days later, are these 2 pictures… of the exact same dress with a much better hat.
Maybe I thought the hat was too big and asked the lady to wait until I found something more reasonable for Felicity… I just can’t remember the story…it was 9 years ago…
So what did I sew on today? MY CURTAINS for the living room. I don’t know why they took me so long to make. I started them a few days ago and thought I could whip them out in about 2 hours… well try TWO DAYS…and then some! I think it’s because the fabric is like a kleenex. Seriously, it is very delicate. It wasn’t really hard to sew, but it was hard to keep straight. I just wanted 2 simple panels to hang down from the rod at the sides of my window. I made about a 3/4″ header at the top to give just a little bit of a ruffled look, but not too much.
I used my steamer to get the wrinkles out of the curtains… the left side was done, but not the right…
I wanted them to be sort of breezy but not blow every time someone walked through the living room. There is a weighted chain covered in white cotton that I picked up today and added to the hem. You just slide it from the end opening of your hem and attach it at one end to keep it in place.
This is what they look like now… I took a panoramic shot of my living room so you could see it. I still can’t believe it took me so long to make what you see… I should have just left them dangling over the rod… but I wanted a lining in them…
When I was at Hobby Lobby today looking for the weighted chain…I decided to look for ideas for something to cover the top part where my blinds are. I don’t like seeing the top edge of the blinds. I want to find something to cover up that area when they are scrunched up and out of the way. I want something decorative to go across the area just in front of the blinds. It needs to be about 110″ long and maybe 5 or so inches wide. I’d like something cut out, or decorative, maybe something like a wrought iron trim or filigree work, only lightweight. This was the best example of what I’m talking about… something not quite this wide or heavy looking… more dainty… just enough to hide the top area of the blinds all the way across.
It came from Pinterest…portlandjetaime.tumblr.com
These are a few things that caught my eye at Hobby Lobby.
This was a wooden shelf but it was only about 2 feet long. If it had just been a panel of the woodwork, and they had several, I would have attached them together on a board somewhow… I really like this and it would cover up the tops of the blinds.
I looked in the decorative trim and loved this piece… it wasn’t quite wide enough and it was $24… a bit pricey for my budget.
I went to the wood cut outs and found these cute pieces…but nothing was long enough or could be put together… but I like the lacy look of that box on the bottom.
I texted Cindy about what I was thinking… and our texts went back and forth with all kinds of ideas….cardboard cut outs glued to a board and painted, stencil a board, use joint compound to build up a design and then paint it, use wood cut outs and paint them, use lace and glue it down and paint it… paper mache, use lace and rub joint compound over it to make a raised design, find a roll of embossed wallpaper border in a floral design and put that on a board… I thought about cutting out fabric and gluing it to a board and then painting it cream and then highlighting it. There are many different ways it could be done…
I just want a decorative piece of “something” to hide the tops of the blinds…especially when they are pulled up…
My curtains at the sides are just for looks… they weren’t wide enough to go all the way across. (you can see how far they come together in the one picture where I’m steaming them.) I thought about just adding a skinny rod and having some thin curtains behind the ones at the side and just slide them shut at night, but there isn’t enough room to hide them behind the curtains I just made…
I’ll figure out something…but that’s what took up my day…
See you Monday,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne, If anyone can figure this curtain issue out, it’s got to be you or you and Cindy. You two have had alot of creative challenges and you always amaze us with your outcomes. At this point, I just sigh with you over how nice your living room looks. You and George have accomplished much in a relatively short period of time. It’s been so fun seeing your works in progress…ha ha! You do the work, we enjoy watching you!
Blessings.
HI Becky,
I’m a little bit shocked at how my living room looks too! I used to think when it was all cleaned up, it looked okay…even with those plywood floors, but now I just can’t get over how nice it is with it all finished… Well, almost all finished… still that window needs to be painted, the baseboard trim needs to be added, trim around my sewing room window and door, so there’s plenty to keep me busy… and I’m worried over a little decorative cover to hide my blind tops! Silly me…
Thanks Becky,
Blessings, Jeanne
I think the curtains look lovely. As for the valance, if you have a big box home repair store (Home Depot, Lowes, Menards) in your area, I would suggest looking in the wood trim isle. They come in all sort of widths and the lengths usually go up to 12 feet. They can get pricey pretty quick though but if nothing else, maybe you will find inspiration. Make sure and tell us (with pictures of course) what you decide.
Hope you have a good day. It’s gonna be another hot one!
Take care.
Hi Charlotte,
We do have a Lowes in town and a Home Depot and Menards about 20 miles away… The one picture of the decorative trim was from Lowes but that was all they had. I probably will check out the other places…
Oh, I most definitely will show you what I find…
Yes, it’s hot out there today!
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, how warm and relaxing your “new” living room looks in the evening, Jeanne! It looks so cozy and I understand what you arte talking about inwanting to hide the tos of the blinds. I think you are on the right track too, looking at those shelves and brackets. It will come in time, believe me! All you need now, is a nice colorful rug to put on the floor in front of the couch. I know, you love your new floors, but it is also nice to have a warm rug in the winter months. It just looks more “centered” , and will tie in the couch and curtains as a point of interest. And don’t forget little Rueben will love sleeping on a nice, warm rug too!
That dress is so pretty on Felicity! I guess this was before Rebecca’s jewelry making days, but wouldn’t a pretty necklace, maybe a black and white cameo necklace have gone with it? The second hat was quite an improvement, and overall, wow, $36.00 was a bargain for whoever got that dress! That’s about what you pay now for AG dresses, but they sure aren’t that exquisite! Did it have any slip or pantalettes?
I need to go for now, am waiting for a certain little 5 year old boy to have some grandma time with me!
Can’t wait for this horrible, hot and humid weather to go away, it’s crazy, but fall is NOT supposed to be like this!!! Have a good Sunday,—- again!! (this time I hope I am right!)
HI Linda,
I’m sure I’ll come up with something one of these days… in the meantime, I’m not gonna stress over it… and yes.. I’ve already been looking at rugs too…
Felicity’s dress does need a necklace, doesn’t it? I don’t remember if it had a slip or not… and I’m sure there were no pantalettes…
Have fun babysitting…
George is inside drinking water…before he has to go out and mow the grass… UGH!
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
I love your curtains. They are beautiful! Your whole living room looks beautiful and well blended. The floors just turned out wonderfully too. It has been fun to see the changes in your house over these last couple of years.
The idea to cover the top of the window would look nice and complete. That first style is really complimentary to the window. I know you’ll find just what you need.
There’s only one of you, and your family, home and other responsibilities come first. You’ll find time for sewing when you can.
Have a lovely day.
Thank you Paula, for thinking my house looks pretty! It’s been a long time since I heard that and there was a time when I thought I’d never hear it! A friend came over last night and she just went on and on about them.. YAY!
I am trying to get some “other” sewing done too… :o)
Thanks Paula,
Blessings, Jeanne
Google valance boxes and there are hundreds of ideas. 🙂 My parents had them over their triple slider and in several other places. My mother covered them with batting and fabric and tucked buttons that matched something in the rooms. My dad made them. I’m sure George could make something similar. However, I really like the open fretwork/cut out look that you showed. One of the first things we did when cleaning the house, was take down the valances because they were such dirt catchers. Also blocked the light too much for me. Now, there are no curtains on the sliders at all. Love that look. Can’t wait to see what you decide on. I need all the ideas I can get to do something about updating many window treatments at the house. Oh, I used to always use washers to weight the curtain bottoms. Very cheap, but love the weighted chains. I’ve never seen them before. And your inspiration window would be such a lovely way to hide a poor view. Love the plants and that lacy look. I should send you my window pictures and you could give me some tips. You know, “Jeanne’s Window Design Studio.” Kidding 🙂
Forgot, I agree with Linda on that area rug. Think Costco. 🙂
HI Joy,
I haven’t looked yet, but I will look up Valance Boxes and see what inspires me there!
I didn’t really want a cornice board looking thingy… just something light to cover up the bunched up blinds… at the top…
I’ve used pennies taped to a piece of string and strung along inside the bottom of curtains before.
We don’t have a Costco anywhere nearby but that doesn’t keep me from looking at rugs! :o)
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Costco has them online! Free shipping I believe. Get that shag one that matches your pup. 🙂
I remember having a long flat curtain rod that was 4 inches wide and covered it with a sleeve of matching fabric gathered on it…but you may need something wider?
Your room looks so nice!
Hi Kathie,
I think that kind of rod is called a Continental Rod and I have 2 of them that I’m debating about using for my dining room. I think I might use the same fabric and do a very small valance with smocking on it. I’d thread the top of the rod with the casing and then have about 5 inches of smocking hanging down, but have it set up high enough that it doesn’t block my window hardly at all… just dreaming… These new floors have got me in a “home” mood!
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
I liked the rug idea for winter too. It’s cold here — it will warm up again, but it’s suddenly jacket weather. In summer you could take the rug up, making the room look big and cool.
I loved the idea of a rug that matched Reuben. Then you wouldn’t notice Reuben and you could trip over him. How nice for you both. My sister did just that and broke one elbow and the opposite wrist.
I agree with all the fans of the silk dress. It was a beauty and that second hat is worth way more than you got for the whole outfit. You really do have more than enough material for a book.