This is one of those projects that has been on "the list" since before Emerson was born! I'm so excited to be able to finally check it off! I ordered the fabric (Amy Butler Midwest Modern Optic Blossom Linen) when I was ordering fabric for the nursery, but it sat for months before I could even think about measuring and cutting and sewing.

Our bedroom is in the attic of our house and it only has two windows, one on each end. When we moved in, there were tension rods on the windows and cafe curtains. We hung blinds for more privacy and to keep the light out, and took down the tension rods, but the windows were pretty bare. Not many people come upstairs to see the naked windows, but I knew I wanted to dress them up a little. But because the wall sticks out by the window closest to our bed, and the other window was by the stairs, it didn't work to hang regular curtains.

I did a little research on Pinterest (where else, right?) and found a tutorial for fixed roman shades by Kelly over at Keeping Up with the Manns. It seemed doable, so I measured the windows, sent Adam to Lowe's for a couple of 1×2 boards and got to work. If you don't have a newborn I would say you could tackle this project in a Saturday afternoon. With a newborn, it probably took me 2 weeks worth of naps and another 2 weeks to have Adam cut the boards and hang them!   I told a friend that I think the hardest part of any sewing project is cutting the fabric. She asked what I used to cut and I told her I have a cutting board, but it's only 36-inches long and some nice Fiskars scissors. She said a rotary cutter would make my life much easier. Does anyone use one? I need to keep an eye out for when they're 40% off at Joanns!  If you look closely, you can see that the ends aren't perfectly straight, but I was doing good to get the pattern to line up with the folds! This was one of those projects where I double and triple checked the folds and carefully pinned and repinned everything before sewing. I knew I didn't want to have to rip anything out! And I definitely recommend sewing from the bottom folds up. After the shades were sewn and the boards cut, I wrapped the top of the curtain around the board and used my staple gun to secure the fabric to the board.We attached the 1x2s a couple inches above the window frame using 2 "L" brackets. Adam drilled the brackets to the wall a couple inches in from the edge of the window frame, and made sure they were level.

Then he drilled into the board.

Emerson supervised. Check out those rolls and his rosy cheeks! Obviously I've been spending way more time feeding and loving on him than I have on home projects. I'd say it's worth it!

I love how the gray and yellow fabric goes with our bedding! It's not matchy matchy, but it works.

Has anyone else taken 7 months to finish a project? Or sewn curtains? I realized I've sewn curtains for 3 rooms of the house now! Next up, the guest room. We'll see how many months it takes to finish those. I haven't even ordered fabric yet!