Shields at Fifty Percent

Inspirational song: Visions in Blue (Ultravox)

I had a choice, when we moved in. I had the opportunity to make the back bedroom upstairs the master, and to make the front bedroom that faces the street the sewing/dressing room. I seriously considered it when I learned how much cooler that rooms stays than the front room. But I had already painted the front bedroom dark taupe, and I couldn't convince myself to repaint so soon. So we kept it as the master, and we tried a couple different furniture configurations. We have got the basics settled, but we discovered a few major drawbacks. The streetlight shines through the blinds undaunted, right into our eyes all night long. We intended to plant a big weeping willow or something equally fast growing and shady between our window and that light, but after a conversation with the brewmeister neighbor on that side, we nixed that plan. The neighbor wants to grow hops for his own personal beer brewing habit right next to his garage, and if we plant that tree, it would throw too much shade on his garden. Another problem with that front room is that it faces the very busy street. There is noise, and there is a distinct lack of privacy. Even with the blinds closed, I felt on display. I crawled in bed to take off my tops with my back to the window (I usually leave the small lamp on for a few minutes before I sleep.)

Two weeks ago, we bought fabric that was pegged for curtains, and I cut it out right away. I sewed a few seams, and then I put it away while I made the Gaara coat. I've been putting it off for a few days, while I took care of all of my other projects. Today I finished every other thing I needed to do right away, and I spent all afternoon and evening on the curtains, getting one window's worth finished. I thought I was being super careful with my ironing and measuring, but once I got the first pair hung, I found that I made the lining a little too tight. Ah, well. That's too bad. I'm not going to mess with it for a while. Like maybe ever. I walked outside and looked in to see how good the coverage is. Oh, so much better. It's probably a good thing I didn't know how exposed I was until I had curtains in place. The inside feels much cozier as well. One of these days I will actually have the whole room pulled together. But for the next couple months, this is good enough.