The Curtains that almost never were

See these lovely curtains?  You'd never know the back story on a project like this - or believe that these curtains survived a 4 year old's scissors and eye for a "project" (like his mama), a series of marital miscommunications (real life), and just the general time dilemma which is always a huge factor.

I have a very, very bad tendency to need to be geared up for a project.  Oh my goodness, I wish I was not this way.  I wish I could waltz into a room with 15 spare minutes and be productive on the project I want to be productive on.  Instead, I end up cleaning a desk, picking up toys, or noticing that the ceiling fan blades haven't been dusted in a good 6 months.

On Memorial Day morning, I woke up and decided to get going on my curtains.  I walked past a kitchen that I should have cleaned the night before, keeping my eye on the curtain goal.  I cut, measured, ironed seams, and got them "sew" ready.  Half the battle, done.  In the middle of doing all of this, a precious 4 year old woke for the day and he came in and watched me, chatted, and played with my pins.

After the day got going, I was headed back to sew the curtains and - guess who I found, scissors in hand?  Yep.  A good 6 inch gash taken out of my diligently prepped project, in multiple places.  I think my heart really did stop. I felt so many things in a millisecond - anger, major frustration, tears, sadness, desperation.  Okay, so I can be dramatic.  Calvin's first response was "Mom, I was just getting some fabric, you don't need all of this; this is so much fabric!"  Bless him.  I pulled from waaaay down deep and did not get angry, but I did send him immediately to his room.  I surveyed the damage.  Thank goodness it was out of the side and not the middle. 

The left panel of my curtain is 7 inches wider than the right, but that's okay.  In motherhood, I've been surprised at how quickly a temper can flare, frustration can erupt.  I am so very glad that when I look at my happy curtains, they can remind me of a moment when I showed Calvin grace and love, instead of erupting in anger.  (Believe me, I have so many examples of the wrong way to respond.)  I do love these curtains, though. In our old house, our kitchen was lime green, yellow and coral; I miss that level of color & I'm glad to bring it back in a more, ahem, grown up way.  I've never made curtains before and 90 inches of fabric (lengthwise) is a lot. I took a tip from my favorite house/ design blog (Young House Love) and "cheated" the window...i.e. hange them higher and wider to give you the look of an even bigger window.  Here's their great post on choosing the right curtains....so helpful.