Emma's Window Phase 2

I have Phase 2 of Emma's window project compete. Phase 2 was to build a valance to house a curtain rod. You might be thinking to yourself...Why not just hang a rod like any normal person would? That is a valid question 1.) I always make things way more complicated than they need to be (I blame genetics) 2.) When they designed the window in her room they didn't take into consideration that you need to have a third bracket in the wall to support the weight of the curtain(8 ft. long), but there is no where to mount this bracket (unless you put the curtains up to the ceiling). With big thanks to my dad and to my brother in law we got it done. Now to begin Phase 3: Sewing Curtains.

Detail View

I was using my dining table wrapped in paper to paint the valance on.
When I was finished Emma was more than excited to color on it.

Top Secret Project Complete!

I made my first quilt! I had thrown a baby shower for a friend (Michelle) last summer. After the shower I had kept all the fabric we used and told her I would make her something with it. Here is that something. I am very happy with how it turned out. I hope she likes it as much as I do. I definitely learned a lot about quilting from making this one and I am looking forward to making another.

Here is the front of the quilt. I got the idea from a quilt I saw on a blog, but changed it to fit the size of the quilt (45ishx60ish) and the number of patterned fabric I had. The three patterned fabrics were the ones used at the baby shower then I just added the neutral for the sashing and the espresso for the binding.

Close up of the quilting on the front.

This is the back of the quilt. I had to seam two pieces of fabric together to get a piece big enough... not easy to do with this pattern (at least for me).

This is a close up of the binding and of the tag I made. Hand sewing the back of the binding took waaaay longer than I thought it would. By the time I was done I got the hang of it... it should go quicker next time. For the tag I used the neutral fabric and placed it in an embroidery hoop then sewed it using embroidery thread with colors that match the fabric.

Emma's Room

Since Emma has been old enough to sleep in her own room we've noticed that the windows in her room make it either extremely hot or cold depending on the season. The arch on top of her window also lets in so much light during the day it is almost impossible to get her to nap in there.


This is part 1 of the solution. We cut out a wood arch and painted it. The side facing the exterior of the house is just a medium neutral brown color. It took me forever to decide what to paint on the other side. It eventually came to me 'what would Emma want if she had the words to tell me?'.
Emma loves owls and is obsessed with the moon, so this seemed perfect. Part 2 of the solution includes putting a shelf under the arch that extends the length of the 3 windows and putting trim on the shelf to conceal a curtain rod(or track). Part 3 is the making of the curtains.