Thursday, January 12, 2017

The Porch Has Been Valanced

I can't tell you how many years (yes, years) I've been looking at the windows on our enclosed back entry porch and thinking how much better the whole (small) area would look (softer, cozier, more welcoming) with valances across the top of the windows.


Last time we were in the big city, I went into a Jo-Ann Fabrics store that had recently opened there and found this fabric I couldn't pass up.  Just the thing for the valances.


Here's a Before shot  of the porch windows.
(Taken on a very frosty morning.)


And the After picture.

This little touch makes me happy every time I see it!


This is also the time of year that I put up this sign next to the door into the house proper.  Maybe it's just me, but I get a chuckle every time I imagine someone going across the kitchen floor with snowshoes on.  Ga-lump-shuffle, ga-lump-shuffle, ga-lump-shuffle . . . 

33 comments:

Susan said...

I love that fabric!!! What a difference a small change can make. You are going gangbusters!

Michelle said...

So pretty! Cute sign, too. You'll laugh at part of the post I'm working on now; apparently "snowshoes" is advanced vocabulary around here....

Erin said...

The valances are adorable, and the do indeed look so welcoming and warm it up! Is that the super-cool indoor/outdoor firewood bin?

Mama Pea said...

Susan - Before I went looking for fabric, I figured out just how much I would need for the valances . . . and added a smidge. Had the right amount with that smidge left over. Now how I wish I had bought another yard or two of it! I like it that much. Durn!

Mama Pea said...

Michelle - Thanks! When life gives you snow, use snowshoes?? ;o}

Mama Pea said...

Erin - Yep. With lid closed in the first two porch pics, but "loaded for bear" in the last one 'cause we've been in such a period of cold, cold weather. Brrr.

DFW said...

Very pretty fabric & it did warm the porch up nicely. Is that knotty pine?

Sue said...

It's those little touches that sure "warm up" a space. Beautiful fabric.
I love to go to JoAnns-though it makes me regret my inability to sew. Such great fabrics!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I love your fabric and the curtains as so pretty. my nearest Jo-Ann Fabrics store is an hour drive away, but I stop in when I can.

Mama Pea said...

DFW - Thank you! Yes, I've always loved knotty pine and we have a lot of it in the house.

Mama Pea said...

Sue - With your ability with watercolor painting, I wouldn't worry about the inability to sew!

Mama Pea said...

Anonymous - An hour away? I'll trade with you. We have to go 2-1/2 hours to get to ours!

Lisa B said...

Oh my goodness MamaPea coincidences abound. I took my Dad to fabric store Monday. He brought me that same fabric. He loves cardinals. I asked him what he wanted made. He said it would look good in curtains. Little scarey the similarities here. Still pretty fabric and does "finish" the windows I think nicely.

Sandy Livesay said...

Mama Pea,

I love your fabric selection! Birds are one of my favorite especially cardinals.

Hugs,
Sandy

Mama Pea said...

Lisa - Omigosh, that is a coincidence! Please be sure to post a picture of the curtains when they're made. The more I see that fabric, the more I like it.

Mama Pea said...

Thanks, Sandy! I often wonder why we don't consider the Blue Jays as pretty as the Cardinals. Is it just that the color red is so much more . . . what? Prominent?

Saundra said...

Mama Pea, I too have used that fabric. I love it. Made valances for my kitchen & used the companion fabric to make placemats. Still tying to decide what room to honor with the rest of the bird fabric.
Like others, I too, think your valances look great on your porch windows. Anything you sew looks great. Sandy

Mama Pea said...

Sandy - What a popular fabric! Who knew? I didn't know there was a companion fabric. What does it look like?

Thanks for your kind words!

Saundra said...

The fabric is available on-line from Joann's.
http://www.joann.com/legacy-studio-quilt-fabric-winter-birds-berry-
vine-words/11854726.html However, I have a 2 1/2 yard piece, a 3/4 yd. piece, and several large scraps. I'm not going to use them & would be more than willing to send them to you. I've been purging my craft closet & was going to take it to the Goodwill. Send me your address at asl40loman@gmail.com if you like. A small thank you from me to you for the pleasure I get from reading your blog. Sandy in CAlifornia.

Mama Pea said...

Sandy - You are soooo generous! I've sent you an e-mail and we'll see what we can work out, okay?

Mark said...

The valances do look great. Cardinals, both males and females, against a winter scene are one of my very favorite images of winter. It never gets old.

And I love the sign. Snowshoeing is not a common thing in NE Indiana, but the image is still good and it is definitely hilarious.

Fiona said...

They are absolutely lovely!

Goatldi said...

Mama Pea love the look you have achieved! Makes it more part of the home than a transitional space . Saundra with that info you may have started a run on Jo Ann's online. I would love some for comfort quilts.

Leigh said...

Great fabric! I wouldn't have been able to resist either. I used to have a terrible weakness for fabric, fiber, and yarn. Still do, I just try not to indulge anymore. :)

Mama Pea said...

Mark - Although we do occasionally see cardinals way up here, they're not a common sighting. Pity as they are so lovely! Well, now I have them on my porch anyway. ;o)

Your snow probably doesn't stay long enough to make snowshoes necessary. If it's anything like the winters we used to experience in Illinois, wait a day and the snow will melt!

Mama Pea said...

Thank you, Fiona!

Mama Pea said...

Goatldi - I'm making pot holders with some of my left over scraps. The fabric would make lovely pillowcases, too. Look out Jo-Ann Fabrics, here we come!

Mama Pea said...

Leigh - Other things have taken precedence for you right now. Who knows? The fabric, fiber and yarn bug may strike you again!

Nancy In Boise said...

How Cute! Love the fabric...

Mama Pea said...

Nancy - Thanks! I really like it, too!

Anonymous said...
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Lisa B said...

Oh no I was mean and steered Dad away without buying any. If I let him he would have brought home everything he saw.

Mama Pea said...

Lisa - Well, you're a big ol' spoil sport!