My Near Mishap with the Curtains

Finally! The Swedish lace curtains are hung…Yippee! However,…I came really, really close to cutting the finished material in the wrong place, about eight inches too short. Gasp! I had sewn the top casing and ruffle, and had carefully measured for the placement of the hem. But in my enthusiasm to finish, I got confused when it came to the final cut. Fortunately, I decided to put my scissors down and measure one. more. time. Catastrophe avoided!

Handwoven Swedish Lace curtains by Karen Isenhower
Swedish lace curtains, at their best when sunlight shines through.

Decisions come every day, big and small. How do you make decisions? Luck, make a guess, have a feeling? Luck isn’t dependable, guessing is risky, and feelings change with the weather. Like my near mishap with the curtain fabric, we could be one decision away from a huge mistake.

If we pay attention, Lady Wisdom’s invitation is heard at every decision point. We face decisions that are far more important than where to cut the fabric. There are plans for the future, and crossroads in life, as well as daily choices. Wisdom creates building blocks for future decisions. One wise decision leads to another, and then another. And before you know it, you have sunlight streaming through the fabric you’ve created.

If you are interested in how the fabric was made for these curtains, you may enjoy this post, and other posts in the category, yardage: curtains.

May your decisions be secured through wisdom.

Decidedly,
Karen

14 thoughts on “My Near Mishap with the Curtains

  1. So true! And I’m so thankful for God’s grace when I mess up. The curtains are beautiful. Where did you hang them?

    1. The curtains are hanging in the two long, narrow windows at each end of the front of our house. Both are “personal” spaces that we use every day – the window in our bedroom closet, and the window in the laundry room.

      God’s grace is essential, because we all make serious mistakes. Yes, I’m thankful for grace, too.

  2. What a beautiful, tangible reminder to take time to listen before I plow ahead with what I think seems right….

  3. Oh, Karen the curtains are absolutely gorgeous! I really enjoyed the post about almost making a huge mistake with the scissors. I can really relate, having done things like this many times. Years ago, a really wise person taught me to think aboout these kinds of occurances not as mistakes, but as an oppurtunity to thank our minds for doing the right thing.

    1. I’m glad you like the curtains, Leigh. It’s a learning experience either way. If I had made that wrong cut, who knows… the curtain may have ended up with a ruffle at the bottom to make up the length. 🙂
      We should never pick up scissors when we’re tired, excited, or in a hurry…

    2. Did you happen to post any details or perhaps the draft for these curtains.? Can you tell me what fiber and sett you used? I have found myself as the volunteer to weave curtains for 7 Windows for our guild studio. This will be a huge undertaking. Honestly I’m not sure my selvedges are good enough but I will try a temple and roll them over if I have to. You have done beautiful work. Thanks for sharing.

      1. Hi fellow weaver, You can find the draft for these Swedish lace curtains in The Big Book of Weaving, by a Laila Lundell, p.114. They would be a beautiful choice for the windows at your guild.

        I used 20/2 cotton, and 8/2 cotton (for the lines around the “windows”). My sett was 8 ends per cm (~20 ends per inch).

        The most challenging aspect for me of weaving these curtains was keeping a light beat.

        Happy weaving,
        Karen

  4. Gorgeous curtains! The subtle pattern is just beautiful. Don’t you think the process of making beautiful things better prepares us to pause and listen to to “Lady Wisdom”?

    As you know, I recently experienced how important it is to stop for a moment and listen in order to make the right decision. Your post just reinforced this message. And I am already experiencing that one wise decision leads to another.

  5. Your curtains are fabulous. And I like your reflection om decisions… I usually make decisions very fast, am focused on problem solving. But with age I’ve come to reflect more often. Stop, before I make up my mind, listen, see what happens. It’s a new experience that includes learning. I think that’s one of the reasons why weaving is so good to me, I cannot rush. That is so good 🙂 Enjoy your wonderful curtains.

    1. I appreciate your kind comments so much, Iréne. It’s fun to end up with something useful and lovely to look at.

      You and Elizabeth make a great point, that weaving (or knitting, quilting, wood carving…, making beautiful things) does give us a wonderful opportunity to be comfortable with going slow. A lot of thinking is required. It is a constant learning environment where we are actively paying attention to what our hands are doing.

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