Friday 25 April 2014

It's curtains! and Me Made May 2014 pledge

Four weeks ago I posted a photo on Instagram of me working on a pair of curtains for the nursery - well, they turned in to a bit of a saga but that's them finished and up now.  I used this tutorial which I found useful although I had real issues with the fabric not staying straight.  You can see it in the photo.  I used a blackout lining but it doesn't go right to the edge of the fabric due to the process of attaching the lining to the curtain fabric so there's a gap where the light comes through.  I tried using spray starch and even used my hair straighteners as a desperate measure once they were up - it didn't work! They do look very nice though we'll still need to get a blackout blind.


I just love the fabric! I got it from M is for Make, they don't have it anymore but they do have the same fabric with bears which is equally as cute.


I've decided to take the length of time it took me to get these curtains made as a sign for Me Made May - I need to rethink my pledge this year.  Last year my pledge was to wear something I had made or refashioned - clothes or jewellery - every day for the month of May.  I just don't have the time for much sewing at the moment and I know that I would be disappointed in myself if I set a pledge and didn't do it.  Instead I thought I'd do something more useful to me this year -

I, Kathryn Hannan of Kathryn's Busy Town, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14.  I will wear or try on everything which I have made and anything which doesn't fit will go to the charity shop or the refashion pile.  I will also keep a note of what I do wear every day so as to give myself a sewing plan for the very limited sewing time I now have.


me-made-may'14

I really hope this will spur me on to do more sewing as I really need some smart but easy to wear clothes, that is things that are comfortable for playing with a baby, but also potential outfits for when I go back to work. A tall order I know but as I don't work in a particularly corporate environment I think it can be done.

And last but by no means least, I just realised that today is my 3 year blog anniversary!  I'm off to have a celebratory glass of wine, or two!

18 comments:

  1. Yay to finished curtains even if they caused you some headaches. So glad you are doing mmm and that you have a pledge that really works for you.

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    1. oops sorry for all the late replies! thanks kirsty, still need to write up about MMM and catch up on everyone's blogs!

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  2. Great that you finished the curtains. They are adorable! How about sewing some velcro to attach the lining?
    I'm looking forward to seeing you on MMM2014. You have made a very useful pledge, and your sewing plan is practical with lots of room for creativity. I don't work in a corporate environment too and most of the time I can get away with wearing simple tops with skirts or jeans.
    And happy blogiversary!!!

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    1. velcro might work at keeping the curtain sections together, thanks for the idea Erin!

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  3. Happy blogging anniversary! And congratulations on finishing up those curtains. (They seem like they should be such an easy project, but they're really not!) They look very cute, though, and I'll bet Harris will love them as his visual awareness grows!

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    1. Thanks Morgan, yes I wanted something nice & bright for him as he gets bigger and more aware of his surroundings.

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  4. Happy Blogiversary. I really love the fabric you used for the curtains, very cute. Your pledge seems really sound, I'm dithering about taking part because of other commitments, your approach is a really good one :)

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    1. Thanks Jacq! hows everything going with you?

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  5. Congratulations of your anniversary!! These curtains are so gorgeous and I love your Me Made May pledge, it's really got me thinking.

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  6. Curtains always look like they're going to be easy but they're a huge job! Well done! I'm doing me-made May too, yay! wishing you luck with pledge. I need to go through my wardrobe too :)

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    1. yes you're right Carolyn, I'll certainly not be making curtains again for a while!

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  7. Happy Anniversary! Curtains are not as easy as they look that's for sure. I think many of us are using MMM as a way to rethink our wardrobes. Looking forward to seeing your outfits!

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    1. Thanks Margo, I enjoyed seeing your MMM!

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  8. Those curtains are too cute. I'm going through my wardrobe as part of MMM14 too. I've already reassigned two MM tops to bed-wear as they were early makes with less than perfect stitching! They can at least be worn there till they fall apart which might not take that long!

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    1. I got rid of quite a few me made items by the end of MMM too - I thought I'd be more sentimental about it but it felt quite liberating!

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  9. There's nowt wrong with your curtains. The problem is that curtain poles stand quite far out from the wall. A track will hold the curtains closer to the window, but even then you sometimes need a blind - just a good excuse to get a nice brightly coloured blackout blind to put right in the window recess!

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    1. Thanks Jessica, I'll need to have a look for some brightly coloured black-out blinds now!

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