Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Ruby Star Dilemma

I’ve been moved into my sewing studio for some time now, but the place is still definitely a work in progress. There is still some clutter going on, things that need to be moved out and furniture that needs to be replaced with something smaller and more functional. But it works for now. Since my studio is basically a repurposed detached garage it also doubles as a storage space for us. We had a plan to hand curtains to hide the storage, and originally I was going to make plain curtains in a natural color out of either linen or Kona cotton and put a patchwork panel in each for a pop of some color using some of my favorite fabric.


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Then, one day I had a gift certificate to Sew Modern burning a hole in my pocket. I went in with the intention of buying a neutral colored solid and came out with the most delicious splurge. In a moment of weakness I bought up some of my favorite Melody Miller prints. They didn’t have enough of the Ruby Star Spring Insect print to do all four panels I would need for my curtains, so I bought up what they had left (enough for two panels) and then enough yardage of the coordinating Ruby Star Spring Bloom fabric in Springtime for the other two panels.


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Then it took us forever to get the curtain wire hung, but finally last week it we did it. I hung the panels just for show and measurements before I started hemming them and asked my husband to take a look. Sigh. He thinks they’re too busy. Granted, the space is a complete disaster right now (please don’t judge) so I am sure all the clutter is affecting it. So I tempted to take down the Bloom panels and just use the Insect panels with two panels of a light, matching linen. The other option is to just do plain linen panels with large strips of the Insect fabric running through. Or maybe it's just as simple as moving the panels around. What do you think? I need some help before I start cutting.

9 comments:

  1. I worked like that for years in a cluttered garage. When you love to sew, it does not matter. Those pretty curtains should cheer you a lot...

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  2. I think they're just fine as they are...and I love them!
    Thanks bunches for sharing!
    Toni
    www.lifeinapinkbunnysuit.com

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  3. Do you share the space with him as a working area or is it all yours? If you're the one spending the time working there, it's "your" space, and thus (IMHO) your decision. If it's a shared workspace, I'd try to tone it down some, personally with some plain linen, probably with the wide stripes of insect and some narrower ones (perhaps at top and bottom) of the bloom... that's just what I think, though...

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  4. Do you share the space as a workspace with your hubby or is it "your" space? If you don't share it beyond storage, I'd say it's your choice (IMHO). If you do share it, tone it down some. I would do the wide stripes of Insect on neutral linen/solid around eye level with narrower stripes of the Bloom near the top and bottom... that's what I think...

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  5. I am going to throw in a different option that may be a labor (and maybe money, if that's an issue) saver, as I have seen others do this as curtains in the home. I haven't tried it yet but I have seen it on several blogs: canvas painter's drop cloths. Since they are a neutral color, perhaps you could dress them up with strips or panels of your lovely favorite fabric. Good Luck! --Becky C.

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  6. I love the way the two center panels look like french doors (at least they do to me) and seem to open up the space. I think if the wire were pulled tighter and the curtains were as flat as possible (therefore utilizing less fabric!) it wouldn't look as cluttered. I'm usually a big one for gathering curtains at least twice the space measurement, but in this case it doesn't showcase your fabric very well (IMHO, sorry!) Look at the flat panels that IKEA sells - narrow and very flat. That's the look I'm talking about. Love your space, by the way!

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  7. I like your idea with the fabric. I don't know if you have an ikea near you . They have some fabulous and cheap products to hang curtains from. There is a wire system which you can mount supports in the center of your curtain lenthg and they have a track system. Both can be hung from the ceiling. I think the systems start at $10-$12 dollars nd don't go up too much from there. Friends of mine have used them and they functioned wonderfully. Here is a link to the page for curtain hanging. Choose the curtain wire tab for the products there and track systems for another alternative to hanging curtains from the ceiling. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/living_room/18891/

    Susan

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  8. Sarah Craig has my same idea. Look at this ikea page for mounting hardware for the ceiling. It is inexpensive and looks great. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/living_room/18891/

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  9. I'd leave the insect panels as is and might do plain ones on the sides. If you keep them all as separate panels you can switch them out when you want. Especially if you use those clip curtain ikea systems.

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