UPDATE TO DROP CLOTH VALANCES

I just finished laying out the fabric for the last four windows. I ended up using 2 drop cloths at $7.99 each, and 5 yards of cotton duck from Hobby Lobby at $8.99 a yard, less my 40% off coupon. That makes valances for FOURTEEN windows under $50. Not bad considering the valance I liked at countrycurtains.com (Parisian Note Lined Pleated Valance) was $69.50 FOR ONE!

DROP CLOTH VALANCES

Not long ago I looked out the door at our 3 season porch and was horrified to realize it had old lady curtains. I began researching ideas for new window treatments, and started a board on pinterest called “sunroom ideas”. I found several people have made curtains and drapes out of paint drop cloths. The porch has 14 windows, plus a door, so the idea of large amounts of fabric for small amounts of money was appealing. I went to Harbor Freight with my husband and found 4 foot by 12 foot canvas drop cloths for $7.99. Drop cloths are quite a heavy fabric, so it isn't necessary to use double the width of the window, like you would with a thinner fabric.

I love the look of the rustic off-white weave, but I was concerned about sewing through several layers of heavy fabric, and that it would be too plain. I found some cotton duck at Hobby Lobby with a gray French theme and the same background color for $8.99 a yard, and used a 40% off coupon. After a little experimenting, I decided to make box-pleated valances, similar to some I found on countrycurtains.com called Parisian Note Lined Pleated Valance. I decided to wash all the fabric before beginning. The sunroom’s combination windows let the dust in, so the valances will need to be washed now and then, and I didn’t want the fabrics to shrink at different rates. I decided not to replace the existing curtain rods, in the interest of saving that expense, and spray painted the finial ends a hammered bronze to update the look from the shiny gold. With the way the curtain rods are hung, and the fact that there is more than one window size, I was forced to custom size each valance to each window. The four foot width of the drop cloths is wide enough for most of the windows, so I started with trimming off the existing hem and cutting a 14” piece to make the first valance. I left the side hems in place and allowed a half inch seam allowance for everything. The trim fabric is a one way design with an 11 inch repeat. I cut 11 inches off and then made a four inch strip for the rod pocket, and a seven inch strip for the hem trim. This makes a valance that hangs 16 inches.

 1. I began by ironing the hem trim in half the long way, wrong sides together. Then I folded in the raw edge that will be on the front 1/2 inch and pressed it. I pinned and stitched the hem trim to the bottom edge of the wrong side of the valance, leaving 1/2 inch on each side to fold in the raw edges. After ironing and pinning the front side to the bottom of the valance I stitched through all the layers on the front.
 2. One window width is 37 inches, and I want two pleats, so I divided the measurement in 3. I measured and marked 12 inches in from each side. I folded the fabric in half, and measured and marked six and 1/2 inches in from the fold. The fabric between the marks forms the pleats. This valance ends up with 12 inches of fabric, 4 inches for pleat, 13 inches of fabric, 4 inches for pleat, 12 inches of fabric.

Using a soluble marker, draw a line 3 inches down from the top edge and stitch the pleats, right sides together. After stitching the pleats I measured the width of the valance to double check that it was 37 inches wide. Iron the pleats in place. For a more crisp pleat, you can edge stitch the folds. I edge stitched the inside folds. The drop cloths are not a "crisp" fabric, so pressing and using some starch helps hold the pleat folds.  
3. Iron the raw edge of the trim fabric that will form the bottom edge of the rod pocket. Stitch the other edge to the top of the valance, right side of the trim fabric to the wrong side of the valance. Iron the trim and seam allowance up, then stitch along the edge of the trim, through all the layers. Pin the casing in place, press to the front of the valance, then stitch through all the layers on the bottom edge of the rod pocket casing.

This project is an intermediate level, and assumes basic sewing skills. There is really as much measuring and ironing involved as sewing.  Give drop cloths a try for your next window project, especially if you have a lot of windows to cover. I'm thinking up additional projects to use the leftover fabric on. And let me know how your valances turn out.

BABY SHOWER FUN!

I am so excited to be hosting a baby shower for my husband's nephew and his wife's long awaited baby girl! We are all so happy and excited to welcome this precious sweetie. Wednesday my grand-daughter and I baked cut-out sugar cookies with Paula Deen's cookie recipe. Some of the reviews stated it was difficult to roll out, and tended to crumble. I have to agree. Maybe refridgerating the dough overnight made it too cold. The taste of the cookies was worth the hassle. We decorated with home made powdered sugar glaze, white and pink of course! We are serving Wild Rice-Chicken Salad, fruit, biscuits with jam and honey, and the cookies for dessert. We have "Price is Right" and "Name that Kid" for games. I purchased 10-12 items at Target and the guests will guess the price. Closest guess without going over will win a small prize. For "Name that Kid" guests will have to name the children in famous families. Person who gets the most right will win a prize. We served "Lemonade Punch" easily found at AllRecipes.com, contributed by "Baggy", and it went over very well. I used Yellow Tail merlot and frozen pink lemonade. My lemonade ice cubes didn't freeze hard enough, because there wasn't enough water in them. I tried freezing the concentrate in an ice cube tray, and it doesn't work. Comments included not too sweet, and there were requests for the recipe.

Reasons to Preserve your Photos with Heritage Makers: 1. No mess! You could cover an entire table with papers, embellishments, glue, pens, pictures, and still not have everything you need to complete the perfect page. With HM you can sit on your couch with your laptop and create all you want. 2. No need to go back through the years of scrapbook pages to fill in the story gaps you left because you didn’t want to handwrite the story and the computer wasn’t handy. Journaling is just as fun as the rest of it now! 3. No more trips to the photo store to resize, recolor, or reprint pictures. You can do it all with the mouse. What took 3-5 pages of scrapbooking can now fit into 1 or 2 page layouts! 4. All-inclusive pricing. Club HM includes all the embellishments, alphabets, paper, etc. that you will ever need. You have a scrapbook store at your fingertips. A lot less waste. And it’s cheaper in the long run! 5. You won’t get bored. Every month Heritage Makers adds new art and templates. The tutorials in Heritage Makers and the opportunities to learn new techniques and features are amazing. 6. You can fill gaps in traditional scrapbooks with digital pages from Heritage Makers. You can drag and drop into a template those events that didn’t warrant extra time to scrap. You can do a page in minutes and it looks fab! 7. You can make multiple copies of books, and your children will have a sense of history in storybooks that will last a lifetime.

Valentine's Day!

Don't send the same old cards this year! Create your own using Heritage Makers powerful publishing system "Studio". I've been playing around with a template, but you can also create your own, completely from scratch. "Studio" is like having a scrapbook store at your fingertips!
Check out my web-site for more ideas! www.heritagemakers.com/susan

My Next Career

Last April I was reading an article in Woman's Day Magazine called "Have a Party, Make Money." I wasn't really interested in a "party plan" direct sales business, but one caught my eye. It was a profile of a personal publishing consultant for a company I had never heard of called Heritage Makers, a company that allows clients to make their own professionally bound "storybooks," digital scrapbooks, cards, canvases, posters and photo gifts.
I went to the company's web-site, and the more I investigated, the more intrigued I became. I didn't do anything about it for a couple of weeks, but I couldn't stop thinking about the idea of helping people getting their pictures off of their computers, and into beautiful keepsake books and other items.
It's been about 2 months since I signed up to be a consultant, and I really feel like I found my next job. The challenge right now is finding time to work the business, as well as getting my own projects published. It looks to be an awesome hobby, with plenty of potential to earn money doing something I really love.
If this sounds like your dream job as well, check out my web-site and join my team!
www.heritagemakers.com/susan

Heritage Makers - Father's Day Card

Heritage Makers - My Newest Hobby and Career!

I'm No Martha Stewart...

...but making valances is a project anyone with very basic sewing skills can tackle. There are several reasons you may decide to sew your own curtains or valances. You may have odd sized windows, or a specific decorating scheme that you can't find just the right window treatments for. You may not necessarily find them cheaper than buying ready made, but you will end up with a unique look that you won't find anywhere else.

For a standard 15 inch valance, I start with two 27 inch lengths of fabric. This will give a 44 inch wide window double fullness. Make sure your fabric is cut square. I use a cutting board and rotary cutter to line the fabric up straight and square, and I use a yard stick to run the rotary cutter against.

Hem the sides first. I can't stress enough how much your iron is your friend when making curtains and valances. Trim any selvage from the two short ends, then iron a two inch hem. Fold one inch against the fold, creating a one inch side hem. Repeat this process on the other side, and the other valance piece. Stitch this hem down. There is no need to back stitch this hem, and I just sew one piece after another, not bothering to cut them apart until I'm done with this step.

For the heading iron down 6 inches on the top of each piece, then fold 3 inches against the first fold, so you end up with a three inch double heading. Stitch the fabric down, and then sew a second line of stitching one and one half inches from the folded edge. I put a piece of tape on my sewing machine to line the edge up and make it easy to sew a straight edge.

For the bottom hems, fold 6 inches and iron, then fold 3 inches against the fold to create a 3 inch double hem. Stitch the hem in place.

I find it quickest to sew these assembly style when making for multiple windows, doing all the side hems first, then all the headings, and then all the bottom hems. I like to use spray starch of the fabric isn't as stiff as you like.

If your curtain rod isn't a standard cafe style rod, adjust the rod pocket size. I can make a valance for a standard sized window in less than an hour.

Stained Glass Applique

Last weekend I discovered a new product at JoAnn's called Stained Glass Appliques. It is a repositionable self cling window decoration. I have an elongated octagon window in my entry way that I wished was stained glass, so this product sounded perfect. I chose a package called Vineyard Rose, and an extra package of 6 feet of black caming lines. After using coupons at JoAnn's, it came to less than $20.
Installation is simple. Real stained glass is not an exact craft, so if installation isn't precise, it's not critical. I used a tape measure to center the main part of the applique', and if you are a perfectionist you could put a piece of tape to mark your distance from top or sides. The directions are literally peel, position and press, finish with caming lines.
I picked up a second package of caming lines, and I'm very happy with the results. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but the inside is amazing.

The Cross Country Trip

When my daughter, Becky, got a job offer while home on vacation, I quickly volunteered to help her pack and move from Los Angeles to Minnesota. I flew out and we packed for 3 days, the truck came for her stuff on Friday, and we had Saturday and Sunday for good-byes and her last church jobs. Sunday she woke up with apparent food poisoning. There was no way she would be singing and/or playing organ at church. We still had hope she would recover enough to attend a farewell dinner at the Hamburger Hamlet. As the day wore on, even that had to be scrapped, and I was depressed to think we'd have to delay our Monday morning departure.
Monday morning she was feeling better, but we ended up leaving closer to noon, than the 6 AM start we had originally planned. At least we were on the road. Nothing appealed to me at lunch in Barstow at the Big Boy, but I ate a sandwich, and left most of the fries. We spent Monday night in Cedar City, Utah, and I only ate about half of my orange chicken bowl from Applebees. I figured it wasn't good to eat heavy that late, but it still sat in my gut like a lead ball.
Tuesday morning I woke up vomiting. This was definitely not the mother-daughter experience I was hoping for. We stopped at the Wal-Mart, stocked up on barf bags, Alka-Seltzer, etc., and hit the road. Neither of us could eat much, so we lived on Sprite and ice chips for the next day or so. We made it to Denver by Tuesday night. It was late, so no dinner, and Becky wasn't sure if her tummy was upset or just hungry.
Wednesday morning we managed toast and scrambled eggs. We got our earliest start so far, about 9 AM. Was great finally being out of the mountains where the driving was less stressful. We made it to Des Moines by early evening. I discovered it's not easy eating a bland diet on the road. We picked a Country Kitchen, thinking surely they would have chicken noodle soup. The soup choices were calico bean, cheesy broccli, or baked potato, which I ended up choosing.
We were within about 4 hours of home, and it was 8 PM, so we decided to go for it. Our saving grace was an audio book I had on my iPod. It couldn't have been timed better. We had been listening off and on the entire trip to Chill Factor by Sandra Brown. It's a "whodunit" that keeps you guessing until close to the end. The end of the book came as we made the last turn half a mile from the house.

Rhubarb Leaf Birdbaths

Several of us got together a few weeks ago to attempt to make those very cool birdbaths from concrete. We each found some large leaves. You need to pick your leaves right before beginning your birdbath. We had a bagged concrete product that we added water to make the consistancy of brownie batter. We each had a rounded pile of sand, which we covered in plastic wrap. I'm not sure this was necessary, because the leaf goes on next, face down with the veins up. Next, we placed concrete on top of the leaf, about an inch thick. The edges are smoothed, and you just follow the shape of your leaf, so that it forms an upsidedown "bowl" over the mound of sand. The concrete needs to cure for at least a couple of days.

We got together the following week to paint our creations. One bag of concrete goes a long ways. I'm looking forward to trying it again next summer. I wish the darn gophers, moles, etc., in my yard hadn't killed my biggest rhubarb plant.

Becky's Favorite Cookies

Becky will be home on Saturday for an almost two week visit, so I made a batch of her favorite cookies this morning. It's an old family recipe that I've never had anywhere else.

BANANA OATMEAL COOKIES

1 1/2 C. flour
1 C. sugar
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 C. shortening
1 egg
2 mashed bananas
2 C. oatmeal
1/2 C. chopped nuts

Cream shortening and sugar, add egg, mix well. Add dry ingredients, then alternate banana and oatmeal, and nuts last. Bake at 400 degrees, check after 10 min.

Men's Fingerless Gloves

Here's a pattern I created for men's fingerless gloves. I gave three pair as Christmas gifts. I used Lion Brand Woolease for two pair, and a blend of wool and microfiber for the third.

Materials: Worsted weight yarn
Size 8 (5mm) 32-inch circular needle

Using circular needle, cast on 44 sts. Divide sts in half, 22 sts each on front and back; make sure you don't twist when joining.
Work in K1, P1 rib until piece measures 2 inches.
Work in stockinette until piece measures 5 1/2 inches from beg.

Shape thumb
Rnd 1: Work 16 sts, place marker, M1, work to end of first needle
Work 6 sts, M1, place marker, work rem 16 sts.
Rnd 2: Work 1 rnd even.
(Rep Rnds 1 and 2) 3 more times. Then work 2 more rounds even.
Divide hand and thumb

Work 19 on front needle, bind off 7; bind off 7 at beginning of 2nd group, work rem 19 sts.
Work even for 1 rnd, joining above thumb opening.
Continue to work in stockinette until piece measures 9 inches.
Work in K1, P1, rib for 4 rounds. Bind off in pattern.

Let me know how yours turn out!

Nunsense 25th Anniversary Tour Starring Sally Struthers

Saturday, November 8, 2008 we saw Sally Struthers in Nunsense at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, IL. The seven extremely talented women cast as nuns almost allowed us to overlook the ridiculous plot and a forgettable musical score. Miss Struthers as the Reverend Mother is hilarious, and has perfect comedic timing. The play includes plenty of jokes to make the most of Miss Struthers background. Jeanne Tinker, as Sister Mary Amnesia, brings down the house with "I Could've Gone to Nashville". The performance we saw earned an immediate standing ovation. Don't miss this 25th Anniversary Tour starring Sally Struthers.

Knit One Save One

Here's a public service opportunity for knitters and crocheters. Check out this web-site for details:

http://www.savethechildren.org/programs/health/child-survival/survive-to-5/knit-one-save-one.html

This sounds like a great way to put our knitting needles to work, and what could be more important than helping babies?

Minnesota State Fair

The "needle" portion of this blog pertains to knitting.  I've been knitting for nearly 4 years, and it has indeed become a passion.  This year, very spur of the moment, I decided to enter a couple of items I knitted in the fair.  I just tried felting this summer, so I entered two felted purses.  One of the purses didn't even warrant being put on display, however the other earned a third place.  It was a combination of a couple of designs I put together.  The "fair isle" design I found on-line, and the basic design of the handle and shape were in a purse book.  Today I went to the fair, and it really is amazing how many beautiful items were on display.  Afghans made with tiny needles that had to take countless hours.  Felted mittens with embroidery details.  Sweaters made from many colors and intricate patterns.  I'm not sure if I'll enter again next year.  We'll see...

30 Years Ago....

30 years ago this month my husband and I were excitedly awaiting the birth of our second child.  30 years ago our baby was born and died on the same day.  To say it's difficult to lose a child you desperately want is an understatement.  The hardest part was everyone else's life appeared to be going on as usual, when our whole world had been pulled out from under us.  

Shortly after arriving at the hospital, I found out the baby was breach.  It was touch and go whether my doctor would let me attempt to deliver normally or if I would need a caesarean.  At the time I was terrified of the surgery of a caesarean, and thought that would just be the worst thing.  After the baby died, I thought how ridiculous my fear of surgery was.  

I relived the birth nightly, like a bad rerun, for many months as I fell asleep each night with my hands on my stomach, no longer feeling the comforting movements of my lost baby.  

He'd be thirty this year.  My children have never known their brother.  

As I try to make some sense of this, I often wonder what God had in mind.  Why my baby, who was so very wanted.  Why not someone who is suffering, and ready to die.  Sometimes I wonder if my son would have had a difficult life, and God spared him so he could go straight to heaven.  

My faith helps me believe he's in heaven right now, and I hope he says a prayer now and then for his family here on earth.  I'm looking forward someday to really getting to know my son...

Thoughts About Abortion

I intend to use this forum for a lot of different purposes.  Things that frustrate me.  Injustices.  One of my "causes" is protecting the unborn.  I realize how easy it is to be pro-life when you have never been face to face with an unplanned pregnancy, but a little over 2 years ago my daughter was in this situation.  She returned from an internship in another country pregnant.  Long story short the father wasn't interested in being involved, but my daughter chose to have her baby.  

I would never have predicted she would end up in this situation, but here's a news flash.  Birth control isn't 100% effective.  How easy it could have been to make this inconvenient problem go away.  No one would have to know.  I'm so proud she never seriously considered terminating her pregnancy.  She lived at home with us, and month by month she got bigger.  We became a regular threesome, my husband, my daughter and myself.  We attended church every Sunday, and frankly sometimes it felt a little weird.  

My grand-daughter was born a couple of weeks early, and I was blessed with being present for the birth.  It was the most amazing experience, even more amazing than the birth of my own children.  Ava is nearly two years old, and she is a miracle; so like her mother at that age, and having her live with us is just so special.  We can't even imagine how she has changed our lives for the better.

So here's the thing that bothers me.  I feel that society is telling women they aren't really killing their babies, they are "postponing" them.  But if my daughter had chosen to have an abortion, Ava would not have been postponed, she never would have existed.  And when I look at my beautiful grand-daughter, I can't even imagine her not being in our lives.