Easy Peasy Curtain Tutorial!

I've made some of the curtains hanging in my house right now, and I've been meaning to make a curtain for the teeny tiny window above my washer and dryer in the laundry room.

See, it used to look like this and it's a weird size. It made this room seem so bare...

So, to get started you're going to have to install your hardware and measure the width of the hardware. Also remember to measure the depth, as they tend to vary (if you're using a straight rod, don't worry about this measurement). Mine measured 27" wide plus 2" for the depth.

So, to figure out the width of curtain needed: width (27") + depth x 2 (4") = 31" wide.

Now measure from the base of the window hardware to the bottom of the window. You'll want to have enough length to cover this window, even though it'll all be gathered in the end. My window measured 34" in length. I made my curtains 38" long, just for good measure.

Now that you have the measurements for your window, let's get our materials:

I originally picked out the tan batik, added the blue batik in for an accent, and you need a muslin or plain fabric for the lining.

What amount of these fabrics you'll need will depend on your window size. Just remember the measurements and get enough fabric to cover that area.

I grabbed the last half yard of the tan batik, so I didn't have enough for my original plan... But, looking on Pinterest this week (yes, I'm addicted) I saw a curtain similar to this style and I loved it!

What you need to cut:

Measure the height of your hardware. Make sure your top 2 strips are wide enough to slide over the hardware with seam allowances taken into account. Cut the 2 strips the same width and make sure they're wider than the width needed in the end.

Whether you decide to use two fabrics like I did above, or use one, make sure the combination is wide enough for your window.

Piece the two sections together, the top 2 strips will be the top section, the bottom 3 strips will be the base section. Once pieced, trim your top section to the width needed and trim the base section to the height needed.

Cut a top section and a base section out of the lining fabric measuring the same as the pieced sections.

Also, from the accent fabric (the blue) I cut 2 strips 1" wide by WOF for the curtain ties.

Pair the top lining and sewn pieces together, right sides together.

Begin sewing along one side of the segment starting at the seam, sew towards the top of the section.

Sew to the corner, stopping 1/4" from the edge.

Leave the needle in the down position and lift the presser foot.

Turn the fabric 90 degrees aligning the edge with the presser foot.

Put the presser foot down and continue sewing along the top of the fabric.

Sew all the way to the corner stopping 1/4" from the edge.

Once again lift the presser foot and pivot the fabric while leaving the needle down.

Sew all the way to the seam, back stitch or lock in a few stitches and now repeat the steps above with the base section.

Align the base section and it's matching lining fabric right sides together. Sew all the way down one side from the top, along the bottom, and up the other side. Leave the top of the base section open.

On both sections, trim the excess fabric from the sewn corners as shown above. Turn the fabric right sides out, make sure the corners are nice and square, manipulate the seams if you must to get the seam at the edge and press.

Turn in the unsewn edges of the top section 1/4" and press.

Lay the base section right sides up. Align the curtain ties on either side of the center between 1/4 and 1/3 of the way from the edge. (I aligned mine with the sewn edge, so the ties would blend in a bit) The ties should extend beyond the top of the base section about 8-10".

Align the raw edge of the top section with the raw edge of the base section.

Pin all of the layers together, I pinned through the curtain ties twice so they wouldn't shift while I am sewing. Sew along the edge, but be careful with the curtain ties, you don't want to sew the end accidentally. Press this seam towards the base section.

Change to a thread that coordinates with your fabric. Just above the accent strip, stitch in the ditch along the entire width of the curtain. This will be the edge the hardware will rest upon when the curtain is hanging.

The stitching should blend in so when the curtain is hanging, no one will notice...

Last steps! Lay the curtain down, wrong sides up, with the curtain ties extended (both ends, the bottom of the ties are hidden in this photo since they're not as long as the curtain.

Begin folding up the curtain from the base.

Fold up the curtain to the desired length you wish to see hanging in the window. I like to make this style 1/3 - 1/2 of the original window height. Since we made the curtain much longer, it will fill out the ruffles nicely.

Make sure the folds are all roughly the same overlap and length.

Once you're happy with the length you've achieved, fold down the top of the curtain ties and fold up the bottom of the same ties. If there's any excess (and I'm sure there will be) just fold it into a nice little bundle and put a pin through the ties. Repeat for both sides.

Sorry, I didn't show the pin, but my camera died. The reason I prefer to use a pin for this step is simple - until you get the look you want, you may want to change the folds. Just simply unpin the curtain ties and re-adjust. You can sew this once you're happy if you want, but a pin will work just fine...

Attach the curtain to the hardware, mess with the folds and turn them into a full ruffle and TADA!!!

It really has added some needed color into this room without being too loud. Plus this window faces the west so if I'm doing laundry when the sun is setting, now I might not be blinded anymore!

Plus an added bonus, this window looks out onto the original corn feeder for the squirrels. Once I hung the curtain, I looked out to see a munchkin snacking away.

The curtain blocks what it needs to, but doesn't hide my view completely which I love. It's still perfect for squirrel viewing. (:

And there you have it. Easy. Peasy. Curtain. All in all including taking the pictures and cutting the fabrics, this took me just over an hour to make and hang. Not bad. It's an easy way to add a little personality to your home, even on a budget! Seems much more sensible than the curtains at the department stores. Have you shopped lately for pre-made curtains? They're ridiculously priced! I think that' why I've made 3 curtains for this house... There may be more to come, the world may never know!

If you have any questions on this tutorial, feel free to leave a comment here or e-mail me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com. I know with this one I kinda left you out there a bit more on your own than I have in past tutorials, but this one is soooo specific to the window you are trying to spruce up, I can only give you guidelines.

Once you master these basic steps, you can expand on your curtain skills in the future. You can find all sorts of ideas and styles by doing an image search online. Either that or sign up for Pinterest and become completely addicted like myself!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I'm soooo glad I finally made this curtain and hung it today! This window has only been bare for the 2.5 years we've lived here so far, and I've been wanting to do this for years. No joke. It's a small accomplishment, but it's something! Hope to be back soon with all sorts of wonderful. I'll have updates from Shipshewana soon!

And the winner is...

Congrats to AnnieK who said:


"Candy Coated Dreams is my favorite, I love the bright, multi-color blocks, which don't look too busy, all together, because of the symmetry of the design."

Thanks Annie. I will be sending you an e-mail in just a minute. Please send me your snail mail address and I will get this in the mail for you very soon!

Thank you all who participated. I'm going home after work, packing my bags and heading up to Shipshewana for a couple days. I'll try to take pictures and post about some of the lastest MODA goodies. I can't wait to se what quilts we're hanging in the booth this time!

The Joys of Winter...

Or whatever you decide to call this menagerie Mother Nature is giving us...

My week has basically consisted of trying to get back on my feet and healthy again, however it seems this weather has been prime season for colds for just about everyone I know. Ben's sick, the guys at work are sick, their wives and kids are sick. And here I sit crossing my fingers at them and telling them to get better, but GO AWAY!!!

So as much as I'd like to say I got so much accomplished this week and I'm feeling all hunky dory... Not so much. I'm feeling much better, but between work and fighting off everyone else's colds and germs, I'm learning my limits this week and they're not allowing me to do much.

I did get some little odds and ends done in the quilting room this week, but no long arm quilting just yet. However if I keep nursing myself back to "normal" I plan on having a very productive end of the week.

So, most of the week has been kinda lazy:

 Paco decided to steal my chair and take up the entire thing with his nest and the dinosaur toy. (It's his FAVORITE, watch a video of him too excited to grab onto it and run here)

 Duncan crashed on the couch the one day, He didn't move an inch when I took these.

 Doesn't that face just make you wanna grab it and give it lots of kisses?! Love this dog!

 Speaking of Duncan, when I was sewing earlier this week I looked over and this was how he was laying on the floor. Ouch! This does not look comfortable at all!

Even the squirrel had to take a small snooze after his snack.

The squirrels have been eating well, I love watching them just about every day. The new feeder we got has been a huge hit, but they still can't resist the temptation of a regular old corncob. So far no mini squirrels to report, but it's still early in the season. I really hope I have more squirrel babies in the tree again this year!

Well, this week I'm off to Shipshewana for a fabric show and working. Oh, almost forgot - next weekend is the vendor's weekend at the Lake Farmpark Show. 15 vendors, 200+ quilts, 1 location. It's a great place to be. This year it runs Friday - Sunday, 9 - 5 each day. If you haven't been to the show yet, stop on by this weekend and get some shopping done at the same time!

So that about does it for today, tomorrow I will be back to announce the winner of the giveaway (you can still enter through tonight by clicking here) and I have a wonderful tutorial planned for you. Lots and lots to do this week, so I'm off! Have a great week!

Thank You Sale

I'm slowly getting back up to speed, so in the mean time since I have no new quilting to show off, I'd like to offer a sale on the new shop:

It's now been up and running for a little bit and I think it's time to say Thank You to all of you!

From now through Saturday (February 25th) enter THANKYOU into the discount code at checkout to receive 20% off your entire order!

So, to start shopping just click on the icon at the top left of the page and it will take you directly to the store.

Oh, and one more thing... please leave a comment here with your favorite Ruby Blue pattern and why you like it so much to enter for a chance to win that very pattern for free!

Thank you again, you all make my "job" so much fun! Hope to be back soon with more quilt-y stuff!

Recipe Update - Kale

Remember awhile ago when I posted about my new found love, sauteed kale? (Recipe here)

Well, last night Ben was cooking dinner - the staple of a roasted chicken with a side of kale... He was in the kitchen for quite awhile and I was a bit curious what he was up to, but I didn't think much of it.

Finally he comes and sits down in the living room with me and watches a few minutes of TV... Then he turns to me and says, "I want to try something new with the kale, do you mind?" Let me mention his record of experimenting in the kitchen is much better than mine, so I said, "Go ahead."

O. M. G.

He had made pasta earlier in the week and mixed in a partial container of those new Philadelphia Cooking Creams (he mixed the Garlic & Herb with some regular tomato sauce for a wonderful dish), well the rest of the Garlic & Herb Cream was left, so he mixed it in with the kale for a mock version of a creamed spinach.

Once again I say O. M. G.

Just thought I'd mention that little tidbit with all of you kale lovers out there. It was wonderful. But the wort part of it all was the moment it hit me like "Why didn't I think of that?!"

Hope you enjoy it. I've been laid up on the couch most of the week with my chest pains again (nothing major, just an inflammation issue) so not much quilting has been going on over here. I'm hoping to recover quickly so I can get back to quilting and I have several customer quilts lined up that I can't wait to get my hands on.

Have a great weekend and I'll be back soon with more!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I got this sign on one of my trips to Shipshewana last year as a surprise gift for Ben. I think it pretty much sums it all up:

Feel like shopping?

It's official!

 I now have my own online shop complete with every Ruby Blue pattern!

To get to the shop, just click on the link to the left!

Machine Quilting

Early last week I quilted these two quilts for Sue.

 She met me at the Shop one day and showed both of these stitchery quilts she made for a local raffle. This first Christmas quilt, she actually blended 3 quilt patterns to make this one quilt!

 I love the stitchery...

 And the fabrics she chose. One this one she wanted some key points to be quilted, but other than that, to quilt without taking away from the stitching. I think I got a mission accomplished on that one.

 This second quilt also has stitchery on it, but a completely different theme. Sue also asked the same of this quilt - she didn't care what thread or design I quilted, it just had to be done.

So I chose to quilt loops and bubbles all over the quilt playing off of the polka dot fabrics used. It also gives a lighter feel to the quilt, perfect for a kid!

Thank you so much, Sue, for letting me quilt these for you!

Farmpark Quilts 2012 Show Preview

So without further ado, here's a small preview of the quilts hanging at the show this year:

 This quilt was made by my friend Janet. She wanted to try some fabric painting, and combined with her quilting, this is just stunning in person.

 My other friend Leslie made this quilt. Typically Leslie makes HUGE California King quilts, but this one is a bit toned down from her entries in years past, but I still love it and would take it off her hands if she would let me! :)

 I have to start with saying I LOVE this quilt! Carol, the lady who taught me how to hand quilt made this one. It's beautiful from a distance, but when you get close up:

 She echo quilted 1/8" around each of the applique designs. And hand quilted at that! I know she worked really hard for a LONG time on this quilt and I'm super excited she got a blue ribbon for it. She really deserved it!

 My friend Darlene happens to be one of the biggest Ohio State fans I know, do you think it influenced her color choices? Maybe if you check out her blog I Quilt Scarlet and Gray, you'll see all of her other Ohio State inspired projects.

 I couldn't help myself, this is the Best In Show by Sue Wilson. It is spectacular! She had it machine quilted in Alaska! Some of it was computerized, and some of it was free motion, but the detail is incredible:

 I am so glad this won the award this year, you can just sit and stare at it for hours. I walked by it several times Thursday night and each time you look at it you notice something new and breath-taking. It's just plain gorgeous!

 My friend Ruth created this wonder... All of those little squares finish at 1/2". She always seems to make teeny tiny things, and I'm catching the bug! Ruth was actually the one who inspired me to design General Jack with it's tiny pieces. At first I was worried they would be too small, then at our Quilt Guild meeting later that week she showed a panel of these... Worry gone!

 Oh, and did I mention they are all hand pieced? Ruth sits watching TV at night and has a basket of small scraps sitting next to her waiting to become another masterpiece.

 Here's Mom and her massive quilt! (She's sssooooo going to kill me for using this picture, but owell!)

 And my General Jack - with a Second Place Ribbon!!! I know many of you had been asking, so here's the grand news! But I think the coolest thing of all about the show this year, at least personally is:

 Mom's quilt and my quilt are right across from each other. How cool is that?

 So here's me and my quilt... Thanks for the picture Ben! I can't wait to bring this quilt home! I just love it, not that I play favorites (but this one's right at the top of the list!)

 It's interesting to attend the reception each year and see what everyone entered. My friend and fellow hand-quilter Jan made this beauty. I saw it from down the hallway and loved it immediately. Then I read the name attached to the quilt and found out it belonged to Jan! How awesome is that! I think she did an amazing job with the design and the colors!

 My friend Carol (another one, there's lots!) made this quilt at a workshop with her friend Carol. She loved the design and we played with fabrics and placement for a long time with this one. Carol decided to hand quilt this and the deadline to turn in the quilts to the show was approaching... the hoop she was using wasn't exactly doing a great job. So I let her borrow one of mine and she got the job done with time to spare. When she returned my hoop back to me it also had some African fabrics wrapped around it. Like fabric FROM AFRICA!!! Carol and I have a love for batiks and texture that we play off of often. Thank you Carol for the fabrics, I will cherish them, I swear! (I'll post pictures later)

And last but not least my friend Mary Ann made this adorable log cabin. She machine quilted this herself on her domestic machine and she did an awesome job! She came up with the neatest feather design for the center, and she used 2 different threads perfectly. One is a darker variegated thread matching many of the colors in the quilt, and one is a cream like the lighter fabrics. I will try to get a more detailed shot next time I'm out at the show, she did a wonderful job on this one!

So that's the sneak peek. This year's show has a little bit of everything. Compared to years in the past, I think this is the best show yet.

Last year there were a ton of French Braid Quilts, but may guilds in the area held workshops for that style... The year before there were several duplicates, which there's nothing wrong with, but... This year I cannot think of any one quilt that is a duplicate. With 200+ quilts, that's incredible. It's unheard of actually.

This year there are fabrics for all styles, big quilts, small quilts, bright fabrics, traditional, batik, Civil War, primitive, you name it. If you have the opportunity, the show has just opened and will be open through March 20th I believe, you should definitely take an afternoon and go check it out!!!

So what do you think of the quilts you've seen so far?