#29 - It Takes a Village

There are just some projects in life that take a village to accomplish.  When I lived in the states and had about anything I wanted at my disposal I looked at that concept for big projects.  Since moving to Spain that idea has been transformed.  There are lots of everyday activities that require a village to accomplish.  My kitchen curtains are one of those projects.

My windows are an unusual size and shape for Spain so I couldn't just go buy curtains.  And although I am not a great seamstress, I can usually sew a straight line, so making my own curtains seemed to be the solution.  But, I had no sewing machine and I had no idea how to make curtains without a pattern.  Hey, at least I knew where a fabric store in Madrid was!

So my kitchen curtains required a village!  Marsha, my friend who lives in Florida (yep, the other side of the ocean) is a great seamstress, so she was my first contact.  She wrote out every tiny detail that I needed to know in regards to buying the fabric and sewing the curtains.  I searched the used websites for a sewing machine, but didn't find anything that fit my budget (which was close to nothing) and I posted on facebook to borrow a machine.  But nothing.  Then I was at a girl's night out and mentioned my project and Dorreen (the mom of a classmate of Hannah's from last year that I had only met once) offered me her 2nd machine.

Scott ventured into Madrid with me to buy fabric (and found coffee while I wandered the stores).  Michelle, in Greensboro, cheered me on via Skype.  Determined to have curtains before we host the SEND Christmas party on Saturday (yep, 44 people coming to my house for lunch - thank goodness it is a pot luck!), I buckled down today and decided no sleep until they were finished.

Sure enough - they are finished - well, almost.  They need to be ironed (I keep blowing the fuse when I iron and the heat runs, so think I'll wait until the rest of the house is awake before I iron anymore) and Scott has to cut two of my rods to make them smaller - but in essence they are finished.

I love when a project comes together and I love when I can look back and see how it took a "village."  One of the greatest lessons moving to Spain has taught me is the blessing of not being self sufficient, all the time.  Thanks to each of you who helped me!