Frogs and Dragonflies

Late last year (while I wasn't posting here,) I converted our guest bedroom into a room for Pata. I spent days inventing elaborate themes but I realized that if I chose anything too complicated, I'd never finish it. So instead of repainting the walls and transforming the full-sized bunk bed into a castle/cottage/coral reef, etc., I limited myself to what I could finish in a month's time: repainting a wardrobe, making new curtains, and hanging some pictures. (Except that in the end, it took more than a month, but only because the pieces for the last of the curtains lay in a pile on the dining room table for a few months while I avoided them.)

Window in Pata's room with the straggler curtain on the right

The color scheme was inspired by curtains I saw at Ikea that combined red gingham with green, which I thought was interesting visually. Frogs appeared as a motif in the same product line, and I decided to use them as well. I had planned to use a larger gingham print for the bands at the top of the curtains, but was unable to find any in time, so I settled for the smaller print. The gingham and three spools of red, green, and white thread were all that I purchased to make the curtains. Everything else (including the lining, which isn't visible in the photo) was repurposed or left over from past projects.

Curtains for the French doors

I made a matching set for the doors, though they were actually the first that I sewed, (because they were easier, of course.) After I hung them, I thought it would be a good idea to add another firefly to each panel, but working on the more detailed window curtain disabused me of that notion.

These are the first appliques I've ever done. I drew the patterns as simply as possible and sewed them on with my machine, using the satin stitch. The larger appliques were difficult because I had no way to fix them to the curtain other than with pins, (I suppose I could have basted them on, but I wonder if that would have made much difference. Having never found regular interfacing here, I decided not to waste time looking for anything as fancy as adhesive interfacing.) My hands and wrists got a real workout holding everything smooth while I sewed. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed sewing them because they made me feel excited about being able to express my creative impulse. (Even if they are rather naive in style.)