Roman Shades Final Pressing

I removed all the pins yesterday and ironed my toile Roman shades and I am thrilled by how nice they look.

Now I can really appreciate how fine they are. I have never attempted sewing such complicated window treatments from scratch and these are exceptionally well made. The toile is lined, there is a clear plexiglass rod in a channel between each pleat, and the rear rings are attached at the top of each rod casement. I padded my ironing board with a thickly folded flannel sheet and I was able to iron the draped folds without a crease. I had to work quickly for fear of melting the rings.😱

I am patient and just worked one step at a time. I have never understood exactly how Roman shades worked but now I do. Today I'm going to wash the windows on the inside of the two doors and then I will be ready for hanging. Stay tuned. 

All of my snow has melted and there is bright sun and blue skies today. My area was spared the ice too but it's cold outside. Have a nice weekend and be careful where you walk if old man winter was not kind to you. xo

Still Working on a Sewing Repair Project: Roman Shades

I bought these two Roman Shades in a lovely toile fabric at the Fireman's sale in 2019 hoping I could use them. This year I felt I could tackle the project and I am almost at the finish line. I just have to try and iron out all the wrinkles and get my handyman to help me hang them on the French doors that open to my balcony overlooking the rear of my property.

I love this country print in black and cream.

A closer view of the last panel that ends in black grosgrain ribbon that has been box pleated. This panel had the same print on the rear side that was badly sun faded so I made a white panel to cover that damage for each shade.

Here is that back panel in bright white. I had to replace 50 of the "O" rings that had cracked and split from sun damage. The ones I ordered are UV protected and that shouldn't happen again. All of the two middle rows required replacement but only several of the two outside rows. I can't tell you how many times I stabbed my self with a needle doing this part of the repair.

Top looking down showing the pull cords and the wrinkles.

The cord pulling mechanisms.

A closer view of the bottom panel with the last pleat flipped back. I am almost on the home stretch. The worked in front of the TV in my living room for the sewing of the rings. Then I moved to the farm table in my kitchen to work on restringing the cords. I actually worked there when I put pins on all the pleats to hold them in place before I did anything.

Yesterday I set up my ironing board at the end of the farm table to help me with with the design and cutting out a sewing pattern for the rear panels. After I cut and measured and ironed all the seams under, I went to the attic to sew the margins. I ended up having to use a stapler to attach them because the fabric layers were too thick to hand sew. What an adventure but I am pleased with the outcome. I worked off and on for the better part of at least 10 days and it's been a great winter project. I am bothered by the blinding sun I get in the summer from sunup until early afternoon and these will be a big help to keep my living room cooler. I have a glare problem in the winter and the two glass doors let out a lot of my heat. I will probably raise them as much as possible for morning glare and maybe drop them completely at night to prevent heat loss. I'm just taking this one step at a time to see what works. I will post photos when they are hung. xo

Clothes Brushes in My Collection

These brushes are near my clothes closet in the bedroom I use as a dressing room. It has taken years to put together and I am finally satisfied. The one on the far left is my latest acquisition and my favorite. It has a long wooden handle that will reach behind me to brush off my clothes from one shoulder to the other. The long soft bristles pick up any hairs that might be there. My mother used to brush me off whenever I asked her and now I have the perfect brush for doing that myself. The brush beside it has stiffer bristles and is made by "Stanley". It's good for pilling on sweaters and dust on suede shoes. The tiniest one has very stiff bristles by "Coach" for shoes and handbags too. The long brush next to the tiny one by "Mohawk" is sometimes used with the dustpan for floor spills. The two at the top have natural Ebony handles and pure bristles. They are made by "Royal" in Japan. My mother spotted them for me at an estate sale long ago.  

Now you know what to look for if you want to expand your own collection of clothes brushes for good grooming. It is very foggy this morning and very warm with a soft rain. The rain will continue all night with warm temps above freezing. There might be some ice on Saturday morning. Take care if you are in the path of this winter storm. xo

Inside My Cottage

Just a random shot inside my cottage on my way to the kitchen for more coffee and an English muffin. I can't even watch any more weather reports. My phone says we are having rain all day Thursday and Friday starting after midnight tonight. Maybe all the snow will melt before it gets cold again and turns to ice over the weekend. If the dreadful winter storm is in your area, be safe. Just stay inside if you can. I am extremely fortunate to be able to do so and I can always find something to do. xo

A VALENTINE CARD to Make DIY Free Pattern

Hello February. My month of no holidays is over and there is plenty of time for making Valentines. I found this free download and I love it.

Free Valentine Pattern

Printing PDF instructions here full size.

I have always loved "hand in heart" Valentines. 

Send to someone you love. 

❤️xo❤️ 

1938 Box of White Chalk: Clever Packaging🤡

Isn't this fantastic packaging? 

It made me smile when I saw it on Instagram a while back. @anonymousworksinc It's a wonder this 80+ year old box survived in such good condition to make us smile on the last day of January. xo

Firewood Quote

I've never heard this firewood quote.

found on Tumblr

The Henry Ford quote is more familiar.

Image found here.

Saturday Snow: Not Too Bad

View from my pantry window.

View from my Living Room window.

I am going to wait until the flurries stop this afternoon. Then I will shovel my front walk and clean off my car. I don't have to go anywhere and there will be bright sun all day tomorrow. It is cold and windy and would probably blow back if I do my walk too quickly. I did all of my errands yesterday requiring a car trip and made a new pot of soup. That's about it for my Saturday morning. Be safe and snug if you are snowed in too. xo