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WIP: Quilt Curtains

I have a number of projects in need of progress photos-- and maybe I'll take some in the next few days.  In the meantime, just to keep the old blog from going into hibernation, I'm here with a couple of photos from just one work in progress.

I believe I have mentioned before that I wanted to make a pieced curtain for our kitchen door's window-- and a matching/coordinating one for the window over the sink.  Well, as is my wont, I took for-ev-er working on it, but I'm finally, finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  The scrappy binding is sewn together.  All I have to do now is press it in half and then apply the binding!  Everything else is done!!!

I originally thought of using only the front ("quilt top") and a backing (which in this case is part of a recycled cream-colored sheet), with no filling in the "sandwich"-- but when I held it up and looked at it, I wasn't sure I liked it being so thin.  Also, I wanted to quilt it (albeit simply) and thought batting would make the quilting stand out more.

In the end, I elected to use some batting left over from the string quilt (my first completed "real" quilt, if you recall).  It's 100% polyester, which I've since heard some really bad things about-- namely that it can eat through cotton fabric over time, essentially by scrubbing and wearing away at it as the blanket is used and washed through the years.  I may try to avoid 100% polyester in the future (once I use what I already have, which is one more roll, I think)-- but for something like a curtain, I think it won't be an issue.  (Besides, this isn't exactly an heirloom...)

I hope the batting won't make the finished object so thick that it looks weird to use as a curtain.  It would also be nice if it didn't block out all the light... That window is already fairly dark, because it's on the north side of the house, with a sizable area of shade cloth just beyond the door.  I like to keep the curtain pulled "shut" most of the time, for privacy, but I don't want my kitchen to feel like a cave.

If it's awful as a curtain, I can always just use it as a mini wall-hanging, instead.  ...But I'm making it clear right now that if this doesn't work out, I may never make a pieced curtain again.  This has been a long, drawn-out, and not-always-fun project.  I'm ready to work on a good old-fashioned blanket, again...

So, here's a photo of larger of the two, after pin-basting, but before quilting and trimming:

Quilt-Curtain (WIP)

As you can see, I used a bazillion pins.  I don't think you're "supposed" to use much fewer than this, though.  And though they are a real pain to put in (and I mean physical pain-- not just psychological!), they do make everything stay nice and flat and stable, when you're quilting.

I'll show you another photo taken at the same time, if you promise not to look too closely and notice all my mistakes...

Quilt-Curtain (WIP)

Let's just say that there's a lot of room for improvement in my piecing skills...  I'm not careful enough, I guess, but I'm not sure I have it in me to be careful enough to make a "practically perfect" quilt!  That's another reason I wanted the quilting to stand out on this project-- it seems to camouflage a lot of imperfections (in my ever-so-humble and inexperienced opinion).

Well, I guess that's about all I can find to say about this project for the time being.  Once I get the two "curtains" bound and washed, it will be the moment of truth-- time to hang them up (using curtain rings with clips attached) and see if they look alright.  If not, the larger of the two can be a small wall-hanging, as I mentioned before, and the smaller can be a small table-runner, I guess.  At least I have a plan B lined up... ;o)