A Curtain Making Weekend!

My to do list for before Christmas has gotten a little shorter over this past weekend. One of my big projects included sewing curtains for five windows! Now if you really know me, I'm pretty clueless when it comes to sewing and I wasn't very excited about the project but I was really ready to get it finished. I looked and looked for curtains but of course I couldn't find any fabric around here I liked and nothing was close to the size I needed. We live in an old house with lots of character and there are several different sized windows. So this meant I had to find fabric somewhere for this project. After LOTS of searching I came across a long curtain panel from Pier 1 imports that David and I agreed on. So 2 panels with lots of cutting and measuring I was able to make full curtains for 3 windows and valances for 2 more. It was kind of funny at the beginning because I couldn't even remember how to wind the bobbin!!! I also couldn't find the manual that came with the sewing machine my husband bought me quite a few months ago. I was almost ready to give up. I was searching the computer for good detailed pictures of what to do and bless my husband, he found the manual for my model of sewing machine on the net and I was good to go. Luckily I remembered how to do everything else. I've only sewn one tank top when I was 12 and a couple little stuffed toys just for practice. That is all I have ever done so I was pretty pleased with myself when I completed this project. Here's one of the windows:

{new curtains}

My mom is the one in our family who is very talented with a sewing machine. She made our family's stockings. They are an absolute treasure! You won't find another stocking even close to what my mom creates. She's so imaginative when it comes to sewing and watercolor painting... she can even write children's books... I'll have to share more about that another time! My mom made a stocking especially for Kaelyn so she had it in time for her very first Christmas last year. Photo below. Can't believe how much Kaelyn has changed since then. We're looking forward to how she reacts to the holidays this year.

{Kaelyn Christmas 2008}