Monday, April 8, 2013

Curtains!




The Well Dressed Bed....

I was Procrastinating, Dear Readers, so what I have to show you this week is not at all what I had Intended to be working on! But since the results of my Procrastination were SO pleasing to me...... I couldn't wait to share them with you! Some of you may have noticed that I have not mastered the art of making Curtains for my dollhouses.... and this is in part because I love the way windows look with no curtains... and so my attempts are mostly just lace scraps pinned over the windows! And while I like my windows to have no curtains.... I think all beds should have them! I can blame it on my Medieval Tendencies.... because when you think about it, Historically they put curtains on the beds Long before they started putting curtains at the windows!So it is that I have from the very beginning envisioned the bed in The Folly tucked into that nook and draped with sumptuous curtains! I even knew exactly which Fabric I wanted to use.... and I was pretty sure that somewhere in all my "supplies" I had a beaded fringe that might be perfect for the trim!
And because I was procrastinating, I thought I needed to find that beaded fringe.... 
just to see what it would look like with the fabric... 
It took a while, but I DID find it!

 
 Here I am "Testing" the fit of the fringe 
on the quickly thrown together "Test" sample of the fabric,
and because I was just testing things, I didn't take many pictures of the process.... 
It was just slow and careful stitching of slippery fabric to wiggly beaded fringe, 
after all... just "Test" stitching... 
to see if it would work the way I hoped... 
The stitching was very slow and took much of the afternoon....
(This is that glitter strewn gauze that I use so often for my "Smoke effects" in my fireplaces...
 and the glitter pieces for candle flames....)
You can imagine my surprise when the beaded fringe turned out to be EXACTLY the right length!!

So then I had to do a "Test" of how it fitted in the opening for the Bed Nook......
Just thumb-tacked in place temporarily....  
And, of course I just Had to see how it would look pulled back to either side....


So I quickly wrapped a fine piece of gold thread around the curtains 
and attached it to the thumb tacks...
And then I thought we should see it with the lights on... 
even though it is the middle of the afternoon.....

Aaah..... that is Really looking Just the way I had Imagined it would!!!

Even though it is just Temporarily pinned in place...... 
because the bed still isn't even made up....
Can you imagine sleeping there?

And I had to take more pictures the next morning.... 
because the sun was shining into the room.....
Would you close the curtains when you slept...?

And let me bore you with some more pictures.....
I was procrastinating.... so I had to play for a while.....
and added some trinkets to the mantle...
(the books are some of Dark Squirrel Victoria's Divine creations...!)

And then Joanna heard there was work being done on The Folly.....
So she had to come and have a look....


She noticed the decorations right away.....

I has been such a long time since she visited at The Folly....

She really couldn't remember whether the curtains had been there before.....

But she was fairly certain she would have remembered such a Gorgeous Fringe...!

And the mattress.... as old as it looked... 
she was sure it hadn't been there when she last stopped by...
It was surprisingly soft for such an old mattress!

But after so MUCH Procrastination, Dear Readers, 
I Did finally get started on the project I had been intending to work on! 
And what was that, you ask?
Curtains, of course! 
Tiny Bed curtains for the Pagoda bed in the Tree House! 
But it already has curtains, I hear you say.....! 
Alas, those are just the lace Under-curtains.....
I really wanted it to have embroidered silk curtains... 
And I wanted to use that green silk.... 
in particular I wanted to have the gold fringe edging of the silk be the edging for the curtains!
Which meant carefully figuring out How I was going to embroider the silk!

Here you can see I have basted the green silk to a piece of muslin.... 
so the whole piece can go into an embroidery hoop.....

And if you look very carefully you can see that I have added some stitched guide lines.... 
so I know the area I am to embroider within....
And then I dug out my Treasure worth almost more than Gold itself.....
I inherited some of my Grandmother's sewing things....
These are Antique Wooden spools of Silk Sewing Thread!!!


In a lovely assortment of Rainbow colors.....

And because I have not Embroidered anything in Quite a few years....
I am just Testing....
(Which really means making it up as I go...)
Starting with a vine in green silk... using a simple back stitch....
 
I started with the curtain that will face the back wall.... 
so I have room to make mistakes...

And I added the flower "branches".....

And started on the flower blossoms.... 
in red, mauve and coral.....
Using a simple satin stitch....

It is supposed to end up looking like "Crewel" Embroidery... 
a style often worked in wool and having varied and exotic flower and plant forms...
So I am just making the shapes up as I go.....

One flower after another.....

Although I did make myself a rough sketch as guide....
To keep the stitching at the right scale.....
Each curtain will be two and a quarter inches long....
But because I Procrastinated so long in starting... 
It is a long way from done!
But I am really NOT sorry that I was procrastinating.... 
especially when at the end of the afternoon as the sun was setting, 
It reached all the way across my house and shone into The Folly.....

A slice of sunlight just hitting the Window Perfectly.....

Casting the beaded Fringe Aglow....
Oh, I LOVE that magical light!!
And even though they are not Finished....
Neither the Tiny Embroidered ones, nor the Sparkly Beaded ones....
Yes, I  do think Every well Dressed bed should have Curtains!

21 comments:

  1. Hello from Spain: beautiful curtains. It would be wonderful to sleep in a bed like yours. Keep in touch

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  2. Wow...how sweet, you made lovely place!
    hugs
    Magda

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  3. The curtains around the bed are nicely made and the whole scene has a beautiful atmosphere. I love the wallpaper you used!
    But now to the embroidery....wow; I admire your stitching skills and your design, it will be magnificent when it's completely finished.

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  4. Beautiful curtains for both projects, but I especially love the embroidery you are doing. I look forward to seeing the finished curtains.

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  5. Those bedcurtains are gorgeous, Bets, as Liduina said: it has a beautiful oriental atmosphere.
    Your embroidery work: what a design and such a tiny stitches!!
    Hugs, Ilona

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  6. As always, simply charming. Jealous of your collection of vintage silk thread.. Lol

    Best Wishes,
    Vicki

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  7. Hello Betsy,
    Your bedroom and everything in it is the stuff happy dreams are made of. the bed curtains are wonderful. i lvoe the fabric and could just imagine being under them and feeling like i am under the stary night sky. You always manage to create magic. I love it. I cannot wait to see the Pagoda room with the bed curtains., It is off to a wodnerfuls tart.
    Big hug,
    Giac

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  8. Can't wait to see the curtains for the pagoda bed!!:):) And love the curtains in Folly! The spools with silk threads are very photogenic.;)

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  9. I'm speechless. It's all so lovely, particularly the emerging embroidered vine. Wizard!
    Love,
    Mom

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  10. I use to think so too, Bets, about bed and curtains and I did have curtains (real life) but in tropical Singapore, unless you want to wake up in a melted mess merged in liquid with your bed, it is just way too warm and not practical. Even mosquito nets which is so lovely hanging over the bed can caused you to wake up soaked in sweat.

    But where you are, DEFINITELY! Especially lame-ish fabric with golden fringe/ tassels. The really artful kind of curtain though must be the embroidered ones and if they are embroidered with antique silk threads, then whoever is sleeping in that bed must feel truly blessed to be sleeping under an heirloom piece.

    Your curtain is going to be an exquisite heirloom piece. No doubt about it!

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  11. OMG - breathtaking... both in their own unique way. You are amazing, the effort you take in details is stunning. And I really can't wait to see the finished embroidery with this oh so valuable silk!

    Greetings
    Birgit

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  12. Oh wow, I´d LOVE to sleep there!!! It has a wonderful "magic" athmosphere and I adore your embroidery work (and patience!)
    Greetings, Sandra

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  13. that fringe is just the right size and perfect for that wonderful bed.


    Hugs
    Marisa :)

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  14. Hi Betsy,

    How magical, your curtain looks so beautiful over the bed, it looks so inviting....romantic too.

    How fortunate to have your Grandmother original silk threads, they are so pretty especially with on the wooden spools, I think you should keep them on display....or perhaps you already do?

    You are doing a beautiful job of your embroidery, it will be so pretty when you have finnished.

    ML Fi xx

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  15. I would love to hide behind those curtains and make there my own little space! It looks really great!!!

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  16. Don't you love it when serendipity is on your side, like having 'just enough' fringe? So often it's the other way around --for me at least. Your sewing skills are commendable, Betsy and BONUS for being able to use your grandmother's silks.

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  17. This bed is very comfortable. I like the curtains.
    Bye, Faby

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  18. Oh Betsy!

    How I envy your curtain making skills! I have still to brave the sewing needles, so my houses remain curtainless and bedlinenless (are those both real words?!).

    I love the beaded fringe on those sparkling curtains, and the embroidery is beautiful! such a lovely shade of green for the silk too!

    I look forward to seeing more soon!!

    Andy xxx

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  19. What a lovely read that was and your procrastinating really paid off! The bed curtains are just right and the embroidery is looking just grand.

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  20. Such a lovely beaded fringed curtain. It was worth searching for. Your embroidery is lovely! That is quite a memento you have from your grandmother!

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  21. Oh, I love those bed curtains in the Folly--how lucky to have enough to finish it. I still have some threads on wooden spools I inherited from my mother--that brought back many memories.

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