it's curtains for you

My sewing machine gets used for the occasional craft project or costume, but 90% of the time, it is either hemming pants (I'm small!) or stitching custom window treatments. I love being able to choose exactly the right fabric and style for curtains or even just tailor store-bought drapes to the perfect length. Since we bought our house a couple years ago, I've outfitted almost every window in the house. I'm particularly fond of the dining room. The simple muslin lets in just the right amount of light, and the inside-mount tension rods show off our pretty craftsman trim.

For some reason, I never got around to finishing the kitchen windows. But, after a few weeks at home with the honeycomb blinds in there, I just had to do something: valances to cover the blinds, a short cafe curtain for a smidge of privacy, and a little ruffle for the back door. I found a super easy pleated valance tutorial from Living Solutions Interior Design which required only a little sewing and a staple gun.

Yes, that door ruffle is slanted because the door is slanted because nothing in this house is square. It's just one of the idiosyncrasies of an older home that I find endearing more often than annoying. Sloped floors, weird steps between rooms, crooked everything... all fine. One thing I do NOT love about this house is our annual ant infestation. Yesterday started so nicely. I vacuumed and mopped the whole house and had just finished hanging my new curtains when I spotted it: the beginning of ANTpocalypse 2015. This year wasn't nearly as bad previous years when the ants discovered my half-empty ginger ale carelessly left overnight on the coffee table. I was late for work that morning and quickly texted my boss, "I'm going to be late today, my living room is covered in ants." (Fortunately I noticed the auto-correction to "my living room is covered in pants" so my coworkers don't think I'm a laundry-avoiding slob.) A faint scent of Raid lingers today, but I think the worst is over. Now I have to clean the floors all over again!