Category: Dining Room

Sewing Curtains is Sew Not Fun

Published on by Our Humble Abode7 Comments

I don’t know why, but I’m not a fan of sewing curtains.  No wait, I do.  Large pieces of fabric, lots of measuring, even more pinning, and ironing are all involved.  That’s not to say I don’t like the result, it’s just getting there that I don’t love.  We decided to leave the curtains with our first house, which means I’ve sewed curtains recently.  Until this weekend, we have been curtainless in the living and dining rooms, moving our heads to escape the glare of on the tv.  Nothing like a Lost marathon to light the fire to get these done.  Oh, and I finally formulated a plan to cover our ten and eight foot wide windows.

It all started with a trip to Home Depot, where I bought all the curtain supplies.  Ben and I decided on a less conventional rod system, which meant I had to figure out a way to hang the curtains without removing the rod.  More on that later.

Anyway, this started out with two 9 foot by 12 foot canvas drop cloths, washed with vinegar added to soften the fabric, and cut in half to make four 6 foot by 9 foot panels.  I always start by sewing the sides of curtains.  After doing that to all four panels, I got started on the tops.  Here’s a little trick I like to use to make sure things are as square as possible.  First, I line my hemmed edge along a rug.  Then, I pull the top over enough to fold it over. Starting at the center, I carefully fold the fabric over, keeping the edges of the fabric flush with the edge of the rug.

Then I cut off the excess fabric, including angling the corners to cut the bulky seams.

For a clean, finished edge, I fold the fabric over again, using a line in the rug to keep this even, too.  Of course a measuring tape would also work.  Haha.

Here’s where the easy removal without taking the rod off comes in.  I considered buying curtain clips, but decided not to because I didn’t want to buy five or more packages to work with the extra wide panels.  Instead, I started by sewing ribbon tabs, just like I did for the boys’ curtains.  Of course the tabs aren’t removable, so I sewed only the top of each.

Ben has heavy-duty snaps left over from his leather working days, so I used those on the bottom of each tab.  Each snap consists of four pieces;  two posts (on the left and right), a male, and a female piece (real names, by the way).

After punching a hole in the ribbon tab, I poked the post through, then set the female end on top.  Several taps with the setter and a hammer pushes the post down, clamping the female piece in place.

To mark the other piece, I folded the ribbon back and made a dot where the snap sat.

I found the easiest way to make the holes in the fabric was with an eye hook, screwing it through.

The post goes on the outside of the curtain, with the male piece on top.  Tap it in place and snap together.

I’m really impressed by how strong the snaps are.  Seven hold up the weight of the curtains just fine.

I actually like the ‘studded’ look the snaps have on the front of the panels, too.

Just a little dose of edge/industrial.

Now that we’ve got them hung, I need to measure and hem the bottoms.  I suppose I should iron the panels while I’m at it, then time for a full reveal.  Guess I know what I’m working on today.

Cut Out Map

Published on by Our Humble Abode16 Comments

Personal art is something I love having in my home and something I really enjoy making.  Last year, I made a cut out map of Savannah, Georgia, where Ben and I honeymooned.  Patricia from PVE and I traded art, and she requested a map cut out of New York.  Well, I’m at it again, this time with our home town.  It started when I decided to clear some of our junk from the basement.  After hanging the Savannah cut out in the living room, I looked around at our bare walls.  Specifically, these matching bare walls on either side of the dining room doors.

Wanting to prominently display my hard work, I decided to make the Savannah cut out a set.  I complied images from Google maps to map out our town.  After piecing the pages together in Photoshop, I adjusted the size until I had my design perfect.  To save ink, I made a street overlay, which is just a new layer that I trace the lines over.

If you want to make your own cut out, it would be easier to take your map to a print shop (even Kinkos, now FedEx Office), enlarge it to the size you want, and print it on plain paper.  Basically, I’m lazy and cheap, so it is easier for me to make the overlay, divide it into 8 by 10 print sheets and tape my papers together, like this:

I use that printed design as a template by taping the edges on top of my nice paper.  Then I cut.  And cut.  And cut some more until my fingers hurt and my hand cramps.  If that doesn’t make you want to try this, I don’t know what will.  Haha.

At first, the boys colored next to me while I worked.  When they get bored, I’ll take a break to play with the kids or clean up the house and come back to it.  Honestly, I don’t know how long this took because I worked on it when I felt like it and when if was convenient.  Maybe six hours total for a 14 by 18 design?

Once my design is completely cut out, I carefully peel back the template.  Because I already had one framed map, but not another frame to match, I bought two 22 by 28 inch plain wood frames from Hobby Lobby for 35 bucks thanks to a 50% off sale.  Not the prettiest frames, but spray paint can fix that.

While at HoLo, I bought two sheets of mat board to cut a new mat for each frame and a sheet of dark gray paper to back my map.  And here’s the newest art addition in our abode.

With Savannah flanking the other side of the doors.

Eventually we’ll need a dining table to make the space look more like a room.

For now, I can admire new art in a substantial frame and mat.

V loves to point out some of the roads and knows where our house (and the old house!) are.  Which means he approves of the art.

What art have you made lately?  Cut out designs?  Perhaps a painting?  Feel free to share, I’m always needing art.

Over the Weekend

Published on by Our Humble Abode9 Comments

Weekends are great.  Ben is home and we can get some house work done.  Nothing happened in the bathroom because we have a few other projects to deal with.  Currently, the mountain house has a geothermal system, but the compressor is broken.  Furthermore, the previous owner insisted on installing the unit in the garage.  We (and the installers) prefer it in the utility room (the rooms are back to back).  Last week a geothermal guy gave us a bid for a new unit and moving it in the utility room.

Where am I going with all this?  We ordered the unit and are waiting for it to get here.  In the interim, Ben had to pull out two old water heaters and install a new water heater to make space in the utility room for the geothermal.

Here are the two old water heaters.  The big guy in the back was used in conjunction with the solar panels to heat the pool water.  When we re-roof, Ben will pull out the non functioning solar panels, making the heater obsolete.  The littler one is a standard water heater, but we loved out tankless one at the other house.  Running out of hot water when you’re half way through your shower is never fun.

Ben installed a tankless Rheem heater from Home Depot (this one, if you’re wondering), which was part of our bathroom buying binge.  Once the new heater was running, Ben started the process of removing the other two tanks.  Disconnecting lines, emptying the tanks, and  shimmying the heavy things through the door and into the garage.  We’ve got so much more space in the utility room now.  And we’re ready for the new geothermal, just in time for AC season.

While Ben was working on mechanical problems, I was working on design problems.  Every last light fixture in this house is gaudy and overly traditional for our taste.  Like the large, you better duck or you’ll hit your head light fixture in the dining room:

Is no longer, though the glued in medallion still is.

I couldn’t take it any longer.  It had to go, even if we didn’t have a replacement light.  If you’re wondering, the folding table is what I’ve used for my sewing projects, like the striped curtains.

And a smaller, not quite as low but still low chandelier over the breakfast nook table:

We launched an attack on those fixtures over the weekend.  It all started when I found this at a thrift store for six bucks.

No, it’s not real copper.  Just steel painted a copper color.  I liked it, especially for the price.  So I bought it, thinking Ben would hate it and knowing our thrift store has a 7 day return policy.  Surprisingly, Ben actually liked the fixture.  Sure it’s a little beat up, a few scratches and dents, but for $6, I can work with it.

I did what most self-respecting DIYer would do.  Hauled out my spray paint.  Before I could start painting, I filled the socket with a paper towel to protect the inside.

While outside, between coats, I discovered a cute colony of hen and chick succulents.

Along with a few teeny tiny hostas.  Seriously, these are small.  The largest leaf is about 2 1/2 inches long.

Both the hostas and succulents are planted around this large rock.

For reference, the door in the background leads to the wet bar of the pool room.  Along the back edge of the patio, I found what I’m assuming to be Day Lilies, though they look more like grass clumps right now.  But there are old flower stems, so I’m hopeful we’ll have some color (and life!) back there soon.

You’ll have to wait to see the refinished light because I’m waiting for paint to dry and I’ve got nuts and bolts to buy.  I’m excited to add a modern/industrial touch to the house.

How was your weekend?  Did you do any landscaping?  Or spray painting?  Or changing of light fixtures?