Faux Roman Shade Valance

I've been working on window treatments for another of my neighbors (this makes the third one).  She has a three window bay and a large double window in the eat in portion of her kitchen.  She has white horizontal blinds but was looking for something else - she had some very small triangle valances hanging, but they were really too small for the windows.

So I took her one of my window books and left with her for a couple of weeks.  She decided that she wanted a relaxed roman shade look - but just the faux valance - not a full functional shade.  So we measured the windows (and remeasured) and I told her how much fabric she would need.

She found a Colonial Williamsburg inspired print in red to use - it's really a lovely fabric, I think,

We decided that the shades would be board mounted - meaning the treatment is attached to a board rather than using a rod of any sort.

So my first task was to get the boards - because I had to cut for the return (sides of the board) and I needed to make sure I had the right measurements.

Here is a list of the supplies:

Boards - I used 1x3 by the required length ( I bought 3 - 3 foot and 1 - 6 ft)
Saw - or get them cut to the correct size at the hardware store (I love to get the saw going!)
Fabric
Lining Fabric
Matching Thread
Roman Shade Ring tape
Electric stapler

If I were making fully functional roman shades, I would use loose rings, but for a faux, I find the tape to be better.

One thing I don't like about making window treatments for other people is that I don't have a place to hang them to see how they will really look.  So I'm always worried until they are up at the customers house.

Here is a photo of the valance for the larger window - it has the gathering at the middle as well as the sides.  I think she's going to like them (and I hope her husband is able to put them up ok!)

On to the next project!

Happy Sewing,
Susan

How is it March already?

In case you can't tell from my blog, I didn't have much ambition early this year.  I had a real case of the winter blahs - especially from about mid-February on.

So, the last post I did was on my quilts that I got back from the long arm quilting.  What's happened since then?

Well, I did a show in late January - Art Studio Clearance Sale - at the Lausche Building at the Ohio Expo Center (State Fairgrounds) in Columbus.  I did manage to clearance some old inventory, so that was a good thing.




I did some quilt piecing.   After I got the quilts back from the long arm, I decided I should make another.

I found this set partly started in the closet - I'm pretty sure I made a purse from some of this and there were some leftover pieces.  This one is lap size - about 55" square or so.

I found a pattern in a magazine that I thought I would like, picked a fat quarter bundle from my stash, and made one.   This one is also lap size - about 60 x 62 or so.

I did like the pattern, so much that I made a second one.  This one is twin size - it's so bright and colorful!

I also made a new valance for a friend of mine - she was redoing her dining room, among other things.  She has a large double window.  She liked the style that she had, but just wanted a new fabric to go with her new paint colors.

 And I did a lot of cat snuggling it seemed.

So really, it seems that perhaps I didn't completely have the blahs, I just didn't write about it here!

I'm working on some new things this weekend, so hopefully I can get back to writing on a more regular basis.

Happy Sewing!
Susan

Consignment

A couple of weeks ago I posted that I am now consigning some items to a new local shop - Sweet Salvage Shoppe.  In the first couple of weeks I had a few sales - and I took more items over on Saturday to create a larger display of my items. 

One idea that I had, is Father's Day is coming up soon - so I took a selection of my 'manly' box pouches over and she was going to do a sign and gather a few other items to put with them. 

She is also working on a more cohesive display of my items - I meant to stop by this afternoon to see what she's changed, but I forgot.  So this is a picture from last week - several of my purses are on top of the stack of luggage.

I'm pretty excited about this venture - when I first started my business I rented space in a craft mall - it didn't work out very well, and that particular shop ended up closing not too long after I got out of it. 

I was a little leary of going down this path again, but this is a local shop (about 3 miles from my house) and the owner is a person that I've known for a while, and consider a friend.   So for her, and myself, here's hoping that business booms!

Along with my purses and accessories, I also have some pillows and window treatments that will be there. 

And I'm thinking about Halloween and Christmas - maybe this year will be the one where I use up the stash of holiday fabric I've been accumulating!

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Dining Room - Additional Photos

Since my photo of the new window treatment for the dining room was so dark, I took a few more pictures once it got dark last night.  They turned out better.

 Here is a better picture that you can see the beaded trim,

This is an angled photo of the jabot.

Happy Sewing,

Susan

Project Complete!

Yep, after about 8 years of prcrastination, I've completed the new valance and sheers for my dining room windows. 

The color in the photo isn't very good - how do you take pictures of a window with light coming in at you?  Maybe I'll try again once it's dark to see if that's any better.

The valance is three pieces - the pattern calls it 'scalloped swag with jabots'.  There is beading along the bottom of the center piece and inside and bottoms of the jabot pieces. 

The pieces are mounted on a board and the husband was nice enough to hang them up for me (I hate getting on a ladder or step-stool eve - two steps is my max).

The sheer I just slightly gathered widthwise, and then I folded the bottom up on either side to  make it as if it were a partially pulled up roman shade.

I think the procrastination was because of the sheer - horrible fabric to work with in my opinion.  The valance pieces were very easy to do.

Now I can feel ok about making new curtains and pillows for my great room to go with the new couch.

Happy Sewing!

Susan

At Last - Or Better Late Than Never?

We bought a new couch for our great room.  I didn't think there was anything wrong (really) with the one we had, but the husband wanted to get one - so I broke down and we ordered one at the end of December, and it finally was delivered yesterday.  If you follow me on Twitter you know that when it was delivered I wasn't too sure it was going to fit like we'd anticipated - it's a small sectional and wider than the couch we were replacing.  Shifting some other items around (mainly switching one of the end tables for a smaller one) got it all in and so we are adjusting to the change.

Of course, a new couch made me need to look for fabric for new curtains, new throw pillows, etc.  I didn't find anything that I liked (well, not enough to pay the price for it), but it reminded me that many years ago I bought fabric to replace the window treatments in the dining room.  The dining room is the only roon that I didn't make.  I've lived in this house about 13 1/2 years and I've made several variations for the master bedroom and bath, but not done the ones for the dining room.

As you can see from the photo (yes, that is Layla on the dining room table - bad kitty!) currently I have curtains with coordinating scarf swags across the top and down each side on a decorative rod.

I'd wash these again, but I think the curtain will fall apart if I do.

Stay tuned for the new look!

Happy Sewing,

Susan

More "Special" Projects

Not that I really needed new valances in our bedroom, but hey, I got the fabric 50% off original price, then an additional 20% off that - so why not?

Not that I have fabric to make new valances and sheers for the dining room windows that I've had for something like 10 years (actually I think it's more like 6), and I still just have it - not completed valances and sheers.

But I do think they turned out pretty cute!

The color in the photo is a little off - the walls are a sage green.  The valance is purple flowers on a tannish background with green leaves.  It's an upholstery weight fabric, and I dug in my trim box and found a matchiing purple and tan cording.

Of course, now I need a new dust ruffle....

Happy Sewing!
Susan