Back to the drawing board.....part 1

While our kids were busy helping their dad prepare for the hurricane that is now supposed to arrive sometime around Tuesday or Wednesday, I was in the studio working on drapes for the living room.  

After we built the house in the early 1990's, we invested in vertical shades that worked very well for quite a long time.  In fact, they worked until the grandchildren got old enough to play with the pull strings.  At some point, the system just didn't work anymore: it would stick, some of the blinds were missing, and none of the blinds would twist open.  It was getting old and hopeless.

I really liked the burgundy color and purchased fabric and the backing to make some drapes, then began the search for a system that would follow the shape of the our bow window and still open.

Fast forward at least five years: I still had not found a system that would do what I wanted.  Every system I found had some sort of support that blocked the drapes from opening.  Last year while in Houston for the International Quilt Festival, my sisters and I went to Ikea.  

Voila!  Ikea had a system I loved!  Called the Kvartal system, it did not follow the shape of our bow window, but there were some sections that curved to form 45 degree angles.  I purchased what I thought would maybe work and brought everything home.  My husband is brilliant!  He took what I purchased and made the system that was in my head!

Did I tell you that my husband is brilliant?  I made the drapes, attached them to the top and bottom pieces and hung them in place.  It worked but not well.  The problem, it turned out, is that the top and bottom drape pieces are straight but the system is curved.  Darn!  Back to the drawing board.

It all looks good here, but this is not going to work, after all.  It's just too hard to move the panels.  I haven't given up....it's just a matter of putting my brilliant hubby back to work!