Curtain Call

As I prepare for friends to visit from out of town in a couple of weeks, I was forced to go to a very dark place...well, actually, it's fairly light, but covered in "projects" and their paraphernalia. The loft area in my apartment is where all things C are stored (and also where guests stay on the trusty blow-up mattress). When we were moving, my husband joked that the three c's were left, so it was up to me to pack; Crafts, Cosmetics and Candles. I LOVE to go to craft stores. I really like the look of a finished product, and I actually enjoy being in the midst of a project that's going well. The part I don't like? Probably the most crucial; beginning it. I have bags and bins full of fabric, yarn, paper and other supplies, the finished products of which would most likely boost the GNP of a small country.

With the plethora of projects from which to choose, it becomes overwhelming when trying to decide which to start first. I've decided I'll do at least one project a night, with other projects occupying Henry's nap-time. Sunday, I made a blanket for my friend's baby shower, which is slated for next weekend. This means I have to have the gift completed, wrapped and delivered safely to Idaho by Friday at the latest. I had everything but the binding, which I purchased at my local craft store. While J watched the ever-entertaining Aliens, I tied the quilt, H napped and then I put it all away when he woke up...the last thing I need is a toddler with scissors and pins within reach.

That night, I sewed one side of the binding on at a time, carefully turning the corners to make perfect points. It was running along smoothly until I looked down and noticed that I'd stabbed a pin through my finger, resulting in a spot of blood on the white satin binding! Well, I was already on the third side, so I guess it'll get Shouted Out before I send it on, because I am NOT ripping out the binding for a pin prick of color. J remarked, with his almost noiseless laugh, that I was just putting blood, sweat and tears into the project...when will that boy ever learn?

Well, I got to about 10 inches from the end and the binding ran out, so that project is on hold until today when I can buy another roll of it.

Last night, I decided to make the curtains for our bedroom; the fabric for which I purchased over two months ago. This project went really smoothly, and J walked in from work just in time to see me perched precariously forward attempting to screw a curtain rod in, with my burgeoning belly preventing me from getting as close as I needed to the wall. Crisis averted, he finished hanging them for me.

All in all, two months of having fabric sitting around is not bad considering I still have fabric tied in a neat little bow from a quilt store in Montana for an Underground Railroad quilt that I purchased over five years ago! What? I've been busy. Plus, after my last quilt debacle, I think the queen sizer will have to wait until I can afford to have someone else quilt it together.

Ahhhh...the craftavaganza continues.