Lined Curtains with Dotty Fabric and Circle Grommets

Today's sewing fun was some lined curtains for my son and daughter-in-law's dining room. They recently painted the dining room grey with a focal wall a deep blue. Very pretty. The lone window had blinds, but needed a little fun. A week ago we went to Mill End Textiles armed with a 60% off coupon and careful measurements. DIL spotted (no pun intended!) this fabric right away and I agreed it was perfect! We decided to line them to give them more body - plus it just makes any fabric look great. To finish them off, we decided to install big black grommets. I love making lined panels. They seem even easier than not lining them, because the side seams are sewn to the lining fabric. Since the lining fabric is narrower than the main fabric, the sides roll to the back and it looks very professional. I found a good tutorial for this method at http://www.alternative-windows.com/lined-curtains.htm . I didn't put in the drapery tape they call for, and I increased the top hem from a double one inch to a double 4 inches to allow for a nice hem to place the grommets. Unfortunately, after we tried to put in the first grommet, we discovered that the 6 layers of fabric (main fabric and lining and two layers of hem) were too much to handle closing the circle. So, I unsewed the stitching, trimmed off one of the hem foldovers, stitched the top hem down again, and everything worked. If you haven't tried those plastic grommets that are out in the market now, you should! They have the big ones that I used here that will look good on the fat black curtain rod, but there are littler ones, too. I have used them in handbag patterns, too. The curtain rod was installed close to the ceiling and the drapes come to the floor. I think they will be really fun. I have just a little bit of fabric left and I might use a piece as a photo mat for a black and white photo. The room will look great just in time for youngest grandson's first birthday party. Jerilynn

Sick of Circles Yet?

This table runner is loosely based on the traditional Bulls Eye quilt pattern. I free-form cut circles in four diameters. I appliqued the smallest circles on the next bigger size, using black thread and a blanket stitch. I trimmed the back of the bottom circle carefully cutting inside the stitching (this reduces bulk). I appliqued this resulting double circle on the next bigger size, again using a blanket stitch and again trimming the back layer of fabric inside the stitching. This was sewn on the biggest and final circle...blanket stitch, trim...you get the drill. The resulting circular set was stitched to a black square...blanket stitch, trim.... The fun part comes when you get a bunch of these made. I kept my color palette to primary brights, but I used many different prints in each color. This gave a very scrappy look, which I was going for. Anyway, once you have the number of squares you want for your runner, cut each square in fourths. Because the circles are hand cut, and because when I sewed the circles on top of each other, I wasn't too concerned with exactness, they were all a bit "off". When I shuffled the colors around and sewed fourths together to make a whole block again, the circles were even more delightfully wonky. Sew those squares together, and you have a top ready to quilt. A hint that I would give would be to try to start and stop your blanket stitch in the same area for all circles. When you go to sew the final circles on to the black squares, line up the "starts and stops" somewhere that you are going to cut into anyway. No worries about securing those starts and stops of the blanket stitches because now that is all taken care of in the quarter inch seam allowance. Clear as mud, right? Don't know what I am going to show you tomorrow. Today we spent quite a while looking at bathroom fixtures for the new cabin addition. My head is spinning with possibilities! I think we have most everything decided upon. I am most excited about the bathtub that is going in the bathroom on the studio floor (oh, my gosh, did I just say "studio floor" like it was the most natural thing in the world???!!). I felt like Goldilocks when I tried out the fit of the tub...it was "just right!" Now, how can I sew enough stuff to pay for this?? See you tomorrow! Jerilynn

She Likes Circles, Dots and Swirls

Yep, put a dot on it and it will probably end up in my shopping basket. If I were a raccoon I wouldn't be tempted by shiny stuff but I would be picking up anything that I found that was circular. Can't understand why red isn't everyone's favorite color and why anyone wouldn't like a dot or two in their life. You have already seen the Penny Rug Table Runner and the Penny Rug Handbag. Well, today's photo is the Big Bottom Bonnie Bag made out of selvages. I have seen quilts and other bags made out of sewn together selvages and, of course, what really caught my eye was the whole dots of color that appear on the edges. How clever to post what color is used in the printing of the fabric. I wonder who thought of that idea? I have seen some selvages zig-zagged together, and some stitched on top of a base fabric, such as a muslin. I just straight-stitched mine together because I knew I was going to iron on a fusible fleece to the back for the Big Bottom Bonnie Bag construction. This bag not only has the outside zippered pocket but I had a little piece of the fun selvage fabric left over so I made an additional little pocket on the pocket. For extra treasures, I suppose. I love the lining fabric I used, of course. Red and dots. What could be more perfect? Today is a beautiful day. Trees are having their last party before the winter snooze fest and they show up quite well against the bright blue sky. Pork steak and dumplings and homemade applesauce on the menu. mmmm Next week's weather looks good, too. More circles tomorrow...Jerilynn