Projects - Kitchen Window Treatment

I did a little refresh on the kitchen recently. After seeing lots of block print fabrics featured in home decor, I decided to update the kitchen window treatment with a block print fabric. I shopped online and found a print I liked that I thought would cheer up the windows in the kitchen. Then, I ordered just enough to create a faux Roman shade for the two windows. I also ordered a nice print to use for trimming out the edges.

My fabric came from Spoonflower and I paid full price. I was not compensated by the company in any way. The fabric I chose is called Handblock Medallion 6 Blue on Whitney White Fabric. The contrast that I used for trim is called Indigo Blue Painted Chevron Herringbone. I ordered a length of both fabrics that was two yards in length. The fabric was 58 inches wide. I neglected to make photos along the way. So, I've created some diagrams to illustrate as best I can.

To begin, I measured the width of the window and added an inch. Then, I trimmed the selvage edge off of one side and cut the medallion fabric that width, plus one inch to allow for seam allowances. Next, I cut the fabric in half so that I had the same length for both windows. Then, I gave both pieces a quick pressing to get the wrinkles out. 

I trimmed the selvage edge off one side of the herringbone fabric, measured and cut 2 pieces that were a seven inch width and the full length of the fabric. These two pieces would form the trim for the sides of the shades.

Then, I measured up seven inches and cut a strip of fabric that was the full width of the fabric. And repeated that process so that I had two seven-inch strips that were a wee bit wider than the width of the medallion pieces. These two width pieces would form the trim for the bottoms of the shades.

I folded the two lengths that would form the side trim in half with wrong sides together and pressed. This resulted in two strips that had a folded edge on one long side and two raw edges around the other three sides. Then, I folded the two widths in half with wrong sides together and pressed. This resulted in two widths hat had a folded edge along one side and two raw edges around the other three sides.

Now it was time to assemble the shades. I placed one of the folded strips on the left back side of the medallion piece and the other folded strip on the right with the folds toward the center of the medallion piece. The cut edges of the medallion piece and the folded pieces were flush with one another.

Then, I stitched down both sides using a half-inch seam. Next, I pressed the seam allowance toward the front of the medallion fabric. Then, pressed the herringbone fabric over to the front of the medallion fabric.

Then, I stitched along the fold of the herringbone fabric. The stitching is 1/8th of an inch from the folded edge. That encased the raw edge of the seam inside the trim.

The next step was to trim out the bottom of the shades. So, I lined up the raw edges of the widths of the herringbone fabric to the raw edge of the bottom of the in-progress shade, leaving about an inch overhang on each side. The herringbone strip is on the back side of the shade-in-progress.

I stitched the bottom trim to the back of the shade-in-progress using a half-inch seam. Then, folded and pressed the seam allowance toward the medallion fabric and folded and pressed the trim piece toward the center of the shade.

Next, I stitched along the folded edge of the bottom trim 1/8" from the fold. Then, I folded the raw side edges under twice to encase the raw edges inside and stitched those edges down as well.

At the top, I created a rod pocket by cutting a four inch strip of the herringbone fabric. I laid this strip atop the shade with right sides together and I stitched a half inch seam, making sure to have at least a one-inch overhang on each side.

Then, I folded the side edges over a half-inch and then a half-inch again and stitched that edge down to enclose the raw edges.

Next, I folded the raw edge of the rod pocket under a half-inch and pressed it. Then, I folded the rod pocket strip over to the back and pressed the seem connecting the rod pocket and the shade down to have a crisp edge with none of the herringbone fabric showing on the front. 

I stitched the folded raw edge down to create the tube on the back to hold the curtain rod, stitching 1/8" from the folded edge. Then, I stitched a line across the shade from side to side one inch above that. This gave me a nice little header above the space where the curtain rod would slide through.

This method left me with no raw edges and a smooth completed finish. After that, I determined how deep I wanted the folds of the shade to be. I sewed a small plastic ring at the fold near the edge of the shade for each 'pleat' that I wanted folded up. Then, I sewed another plastic ring on the opposite side near that edge and another ring in the center. Finally, I cut a short piece of cording and tied the rings together to form the folds. I ran the curtain rod through the rod pocket and hung the shades.

I decided I liked the look so much that I also wanted a faux shade above my sink. However, I didn't have a wide enough piece of the medallion print to fit the window. So, I took the piece that I had and matched the pattern to form a strip wide enough to go across the window. I finished the sides and the bottom the same way I had for the large window shades and hung it on a tension rod pushed between the cabinets.

The window treatments seemed to finish off and add a cheerful note to our updated kitchen. Even the mister commented that he really liked the new look!

Projects - Lamp Project

Don't we all have projects that we postpone until we have plenty of uninterrupted time to complete them? 

I have such a plethora of projects that have been postponed. I am starting to tackle some of them one by one. It is such a fabulous feeling to have space to work, to have time to focus and dedicate to completing projects, and to have the luxury of walking away from them or pausing and coming back to them.

One of the first projects I've tackled is to transform a lamp. 

Several months ago, I picked up a lamp from a local fellow who sells items that he picks up in storage facility sales, home cleanouts, at the end of estate sales. He advertises to sell STUFF. I follow him with a social media account and have picked up some treasures. The lamp and shade for $10 was one such treasure. 

My plan was to use it in the basement bedroom on the bedside table between the twin beds. Shortly after purchasing, I saw a blog post that inspired me to take on a little DIY project. Rachel at The Ponds Farmhouse had transformed a similar lamp to create a dupe of a Ballard Design lamp. I decided to follow her example and update my rather simple lamp. 

I began with a spray on primer coat for the lamp. Then, followed Rachel's instructions exactly.

I searched online and found a lampshade for about $14 at Hobby Lobby and my project is complete!

It has wound up in the basement den because I thought the space needed something of substance. That means, I'm on the search for another lamp for the bedroom. Here is a look with it lit up in the space.

I'm pleased with the project and hope that it is just the start of loads of fun and successful ventures.

Return to the Keyboard

Well, today marks my return to the keyboard. I've been away for quite a while - technically, I've been away for far longer than one might recognize because there for a while all I did was post happy birthday wishes to members of the family. That served as a way for me to be sure I saved some pictures and marked a special day - mostly for myself! Then, even that sort of faded into the shadows.

You see, my job as a curriculum designer and educator really took on a life of its own. I was so devoted to getting the work done that I kept at it far longer than was expected of me. Unlike the advice I gave to teachers with whom I worked, I didn't walk away and leave tasks for later because teaching is not really a matter of life or death. Nope. I would take on a project and work with it until I got done. I did look for 'stopping places' some days but generally, I just stayed at the computer until the job was what I considered as finished. I let the perfectionist in me take over and I just had to see it through. 

I would get frustrated that more and more is expected of educators but, rarely, is anything taken away. So, we hand them a full basket and send them out to educate. Then, we hand them more things to put into that basket until it is piled so high and so full that they cannot see beyond it. Yet, we never seem to tell them that something else could be left off or ignored. I truly understood why so many teachers left the profession after just a short stint. It is overwhelming!

Finally, this past year, I knew that age 65 was on my horizon. I knew that I could stop then if I really wanted to do so. No matter how much I loved education and teaching and sharing my love for learning, I had grown tired. So, I went into the new year in July with the idea that the 2024-2025 school year would likely be my last as a professional educator. I was smiling and looking forward to June. 

After a couple of weeks, I was asking myself if I thought I could make it till the end of the semester in December. It was even more overwhelming than ever before. There was more to do and, again, nothing was laid aside. I quickly decided that I would strive to see through to the semester end and kept reminding myself that it would come sooner than I could imagine. With each passing day, I grew more and more tired and bedraggled and felt as if I was struggling to take on the next project. So, without saying a word to a single soul, one day in early September, I filled out the form stating my intention to retire. I took a week to think about it and then one afternoon I submitted it. After a few days, I got a message from our school district's Human Resources office telling me that they had  notification from the State Department that I planned to retire and asking me to call as soon as I got a chance. So, I did that afternoon.

Within a matter of hours, the ball was rolling and my retirement date was official. I had always dreamt of simply closing my computer and walking out of the school building quietly after letting my supervisor know that was my last day. However, that plan did not work out. As it turns out, there is too much red tape and too many hoops to jump through for retirement to be that simple and if it could be done wrong, I did it wrong.

First, I was required to get my supervisor's signature on yet another form to indicate my intention to retire. So, when I turned in that form, I explained to the HR representative that my last official work day would be on a Friday but the following week would be the Thanksgiving break, so, I wanted the Friday after Thanksgiving to be my last day. The representative put down the Friday after Thanksgiving. So, I didn't get the extra week that I had planned.

Next, when I heard from the Social Security office, they informed me that I had earned more than was allowed for me to immediately begin drawing my SS check. Of course, I knew that there was a maximum allowed for earning in a year and still drawing SS. However, I didn't realize it would apply to somebody who was just beginning retirement. So, I wouldn't even get my first Social Security check until February. So, I might as well have waited until the end of the semester in terms of drawing the money I'd earned, after all!

Then, in early October, I reported to my supervisor that my last day would be just before Thanksgiving. I had planned to just keep working and walk out on the last day as I'd earlier hoped. However, I got a call from human resources to firm things up. I asked about rolling the sick days I had left over to add to time served. I was told that for every 20 days I would be granted a month added to my time served. The young woman checked and reported that I had nineteen and a half days - not enough to roll over. So, I decided to begin mapping out how to use those nineteen and a half days and started scheduling the time off. 

In the meantime, I also learned that my atrial flutter - an afib where my heart was beating twice as fast as it should have been. So, some of those days involved a scheduled procedure where my heart was shocked back into rhythm. When the team of folks I worked with noticed me scheduling frequent time off, they became alarmed about my health. So, I realized I would not be able to quietly walk away from the job and announced my retirement.

So, if I could err in mapping out and working up to my retirement, I certainly did. 

The good news is...

No!

The great news is that I retired the week before Thanksgiving last year and on Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I experienced a procedure called a cardiac ablation. As far as we can tell, it was quite successful and things are ticking along well.

Sometimes, even best laid plans do go as, well, planned. Retirement is a wonderful place to be and I am wallowing in that wonderfulness. I encourage any and everybody to embrace the opportunity as soon as possible!

After avoiding the computer and a keyboard for quite some time, I'm hoping to return to posting on a semi-regular basis. I hope to see you here!