Curtains!

What a difference curtains can make in a room! We are getting so much done on our house this summer. It's been fun to personalize some of the main living areas. I have had a hard time letting loose from the restraint that was necessary over the time our other house was on the market. While we quickly set up Brenna and Daniel's rooms, I somehow didn't feel as free to work on the kitchen and living room. Or maybe I just didn't have the energy.

But now we're making progress. We started with new couches that were delivered the first week of July. I chose a very neutral fabric so that we'll be able to change out colors easily if the desire strikes. After that, we painted the kitchen. I had already chosen the fabrics for the curtains, so we covered the tan with a sunny yellow. Sometimes, especially at night, the yellow looks a little bright, but most of the time we love it.

My job is always the cutting in

 After the kitchen, we tackled the living room. While the color in there was nice, we wanted to lighten it up a bit. With Carrie around, and so incredibly untrustworthy right now, we can only paint while she's in bed. It works best if we start after she goes down for the night because the walls are dry by the time she's up next. But that also means it takes several days to get the job done. (leaving us vulnerable to her curiousity) In the end, we opted to only paint three of the walls in the living room. The one with the windows and the bookshelf, we left the darker tan. It's not really that noticeable, but it means the curtains stand out a little better.

And then it was time for curtains to go up in the kitchen. Several weeks ago, Mom met me at JoAnn's to pick out fabric. I had already chosen a pattern and so we just needed the material. We had something picked out, but as I was walking up and down the aisles I fell in love with a green floral print. An expensive fabric, of course. By going cheaper on the contrasting green color, though, I was able to afford the floral and then I could hardly wait to get started.

Mom was willing to help me make them, but lining up our schedules was a little challenging. Finally this past Sunday we were able to get it done. It was a non-stop work day. We started about 1:30 and finished around 10, leaving me with a few bits to finalize on Monday morning. But when Mom and Dad left on Sunday night, both curtains were hanging!!

The big window

Mom working

Saying goodbye to mom and dad's old couch that was moved out on Sunday

Me learning how to follow a pattern

Without mom I couldn't have gotten these done. I had to stop too often for kid stuff.

Final kitchen curtain

On Monday morning, I stood on a chair and sewed the dragonfly buttons onto the curtain that hangs on the big window. It felt so good to be completely finished with them. I absolutely LOVE these curtains - at both windows. They just make me smile every time I walk in the room.



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Thanks Mom!! I couldn't have done it without you!