Curtain Hems and Sneek Peek

I will admit it. I am not a great seamstress. Some people may even say bad. But, on a deal I am willing to try. When we were at Bed, Bath & Beyond getting curtains for the living room we checked out the clearance section. Always one that like a great deal. There were 4 beautiful curtains, that would coordinate with the living room. You can see the dining room from the living room but not a whole lot, and vise versa. The package didn't say a whole lot on it. A plastic bag with a sticker that said clearance, online only, was $69.99 now $14.99. Obviously someone had purchased them online, didn't like them and returned them in store. Now this is all before we even closed on the house. It is so hard to pass up the deal. So, we purchased 3 of the 4 for the dining room. Throw them all into storage to wait for the house to be finished. Fast forward a month and we have moved in and hung curtains. Bad news. They are way too long. Some people like the laying on the ground look. Not me. We have 5 kids and 2 dogs. Laying on the ground they just get dirtier, and makes it hard to vacuum around them.  

Not just going to throw out $45 because it is too long. I can make a quilt it is just straight lines. Damn it I can hem these curtains. So, I have to find and unpack my sewing machine which busts into spontaneously unpacking my quilt fabric stash and organizing it. For now I am using the kitchen table for a sewing table. I think back what am I doing wrong when I hem? I determine that I don't use enough pins to hold it in place so it doesn't move around. Answer, use more pins. Easy peasy. Off I go. I determine I need to take it up 10 inches. Really I just guess and hope it is right because who wants to try and hem it up more again. I laid it out across the table and two chairs so it doesn't pull it down to the ground and start measuring and pinning. One pin on top edge, one pin on bottom edge, every few inches, and three on each end that should hold it.

Much better picture of how gorgeous these are.

I sew the far ends along the seam. Next I sew along the previous hem line, then 1.5 inches up from the bottom. Last 5/8 inch down from former bottom. Results?

Look pretty good. Not as great as a seamstress, but nobody except you, and me know.

Now my curtains are the right length. Just have to wait for hubby to get home and install the pull backs.

Sneek Peek of what is coming up for sale in my Etsy shop.

Needle Minders

Needle Threaders

Finished Mediterranean Mermaid

Woohoo! Second finish of the year, and it is only the beginning of April. Mediterranean Mermaid by Nora Corbett was a fast stitch. She is very Shinny with all the Kreinik thread and Mill Hill Beads and Treasures. The major conversion on her was her skin and hair.

We have two children that are adopted with darker skin. All of the beautiful pieces by Nora Corbett are fair skinned. I want our adopted children to be able to look at the pieces I have done and see that their skin is beautiful as well. Our daughter really loves this one. I might have to hang it in her room after it is framed. You can find the conversion for her on the Conversion Tab at the top of the page.

Other news: I ordered needle minders for the first time from Gina's Unique Boutique on Etsy. Even though I free stitch, with out a hoop or q-snaps, I am loving these. Instead of holding my needle in my mouth, sticking it in my pants/shorts, or stabbing it into the bead I attach this to my pattern holder and when I need to change thread color it keeps my needle safe. No more coming back going where did I put that needle now?

Mermaid Undine is back from the frame shop. :)

Already found her a home on the wall.

Fabric I need to start Christmas gifts still hasn't come in. So, next project will be a Coral Charms by Nora Corbett. I am going to do the same skin conversion on this one. I think the darker skin will be radiant against the bright colors of her tail.