Curtain Con Artist

I returned curtains to Walmart yesterday.  You know, the ones that have been hanging in my living room and dining room area.  4 sets totaling just under $80!  I couldn't possibly keep them with the new paint color:

See?  They are almost looking green, here.  They are RADIATING!  Ugh.  It was, honestly, keeping me up at night.  I just couldn't stop thinking how bad they looked and how I could get around them without forking out another $80 for curtains....because, I just KNEW Chris wouldn't go for that one.  So, I thought...well, I cooouuulllddd try to return them.  (And no, I am not telling you how many years long I have had them.)  Walmart accepted them, once I found the exact set in the store.  They refunded me store credit...just under $80. (!!!)  At this point I was already feeling victorious!

So now, with funds to buy new curtains--I checked out their selection.  Yawn-inspiring, let me tell you.  Nothing seemed to stand out to me.  In my mind, I wanted some long, rich, charcoal curtains and the closest thing they had was stark black.  And then I remembered I am now the proud owner of a sewing machine and this particular Walmart still had a fabric section (I hear some don't anymore).  I started doing some mental math--errr opened up the calculator on my phone (who am I kidding?) and decided after converting the dimensions of my former curtains to yardage, I would need about 22 yards of fabric. Ouch.  That is a lot of fabric, right?  Especially for me, a pre-beginner seamstress.  However.  HOWEVER!  I found three bolts of the same fabric in the clearance section for $1.50 a yard.  And it is a beautiful, thick, wrinkle-free fabric!  I definitely felt the love from the fabric gods.  I also took this as a sign that I wasn't going to H for returning those curtains.   The sweet lady working at the fabric counter even offered to cut the fabric into 8---2 5/8 yards panels for me.  This all got even sweeter when the price for all 22 yards was $31.52.  Basically, I made a hefty profit getting new curtains.

This morning, I broke out my machine and my rich, charcoal fabric and was rip-roarin' to sew.  I tied the fabric in a big knot at the top and hung it over the curtain rod, just to see what it would look like:

My heart sank.  I REALLY didn't like it.  The one panel would be multiplied by 4 on each window and the darkness was sucking life out of the decor.  It was just too dark for the space.  There was no way of getting out of this one.  I started hemming the sides and brainstorming what I was gonna do with all of this fabric.  And then I tried to convince myself that I could like it.  Or maybe I can change all our colorful pillows and painting and mirror to more a black and white scheme.  No.  No, that wouldn't work.  I like color.  I started sewing up the other side, when I realized what I was looking at on the reverse of this dark, charcoal, life-sucking fabric:

The same heavy, rich, designed fabric--except lighter.  A LOT lighter.  I quickly slung it over the rod to see if my prayers had once again been answered:

And they were.  Of course.  It couldn't be more perfect.  Subtle and soft.  Slightly darker than the walls.  A wave of relief swept over me because I knew I didn't have to live in dark agony.  I conned that fabric twice!  Once into fabric and then again into the right color of fabric.  Stay tuned for some seriously amazing curtains.