My perfect kind of day was today!  We had a beautiful rain, it was wonderfully cool, I had the day off AND it happened to be my birthday, so ultimately I also got to go out to dinner.  I usually start the day just making sure I count 6 heads, duck heads that is.  Today they were having a blast, all wet and muddy and on worm patrol.

OH, and let’s not forget the tomatoes!  They are likin’ the rain too and are starting to turn.  These are beefsteak, big and beautiful!

I LOVE to sew on a rainy day!  For all of you who sew out there, let me show you what I worked on today and maybe it will be something you might whip up too.  I first saw this curtain about 5 years ago in our local quilt shop hanging in their back window.  Of course, I studied it and ran home to create it from memory.  And then my squares sat in a box for a few years until I remembered to get them out again (very important to remember where all those lost projects are!).

This is how cool it will look when it’s finished, but would you believe this is a page from a book I picked up at the bookstore where I work.  Believe it or not, the original design is from one of my favorite artists, Kaffe Fassett.  What a treat to find a design I already had begun!

These are my own rough directions.  I am lucky to have box after box of various scraps of fabric.  Use lightweight cottons for the large blocks and a gauzy pale fabric for the smaller squares.  I made the large blocks 4 1/2″ square and the smaller blocks, 2 1/2″ square.  The whole piece ends up having a very “unkempt” look, so I freehand cut most of the blocks rather than using a rotary cutter.

Eyeball the gauze on the larger block.  No need to measure and be too accurate.  Remember, you’re going for that rough charm.

Topstitch the small block onto the large block WITHOUT turning under edges.  Stitch about 1/4″ from the edge.

When you’re finished the square will look like this…..

And the back is cut away so that the light can glow through. 

To get the back cut out I pull the two pieces apart….

Snip the back…..

And then cut around the back, close to the stitching.

Now make lotsa squares.  Really, as many as you like until you get your desired size.

This is what I have so far.

Made especially for my big girl, Kendall, who is going to put the whole thing together.  All I have to do is send her the squares, what a deal!  I think it will be a fitting curtain for her new rustic surroundings.

I’ll end this post with my forever helper.