Solid Silver Diyas our Consulting Gift from India

Already quite a while ago I've promised a dear friend from India, to show our Solid Silver Diyas, that we received as a precious gift while doing Consulting work in India for then Pond's India.
So Finally I made some photos...

Not easy to find the ingredients for making photos!
For me that is FLOWERS with the object and good light.
Here you see our Camellias in a Baccarat vase and the two solid silver Diyas in front, complete with some incense cones.

Very tricky to make photos against the light from a window on the south side.

You can see the gazebo through this window from our living room.

Love the scent of these incense cones, this is Jasmine.

Or Sandalwood!

Taking this beautiful solid silver Diya somewhere else without direct sunlight.
There are 5 openings for such an incense cone.

Here are the solid silver Diyas on their own.
You noticed that I've not polished them before making photos.
This only becomes obvious when looking at the photos later!

One more photo against the closed indoor shutters from our arched living room window.
Yes, inside our home we do have a lot of fine gifts from India and we treasure them!
Having done Consulting in India for over 10 years, the country has a special spot in our hearts and we loved not only its delicious food but also its culture.

Have any of you ever traveled to India?

Related links:

{Did YOU Ever Touch Baby Elephants?} | previous post by me about our work period in India
{Our DEEPER Reach In Bedroom Closet} | previous post by me showing more gifts from Pond's India.

Green Tea in Mandalay Chartreuse by Mason's

By now you know my love for fine china, tea and fragrant flowers...

All the ingredients come together for some BLISS in winter time!

Green Tea in Mandalay Chartreuse by Mason's just click the link to see items in this pattern at Replacements Ltd.

Presented on a hand crochted DMC thread table topper, a gift from a dear friend.

The Daffodils are the 1939 Sweetness, an heirloom variety that is highly fragrant.

Do you enjoy a daily tea ritual?

Related links:
{Daffodils in a Vase on a Dark Day...} | previous post by me showing Mandalay Chartreuse by Mason's
{USEFUL TIP: Peppermint Tea for Anti Bloating} | previous post by me showing Mandalay Chartreuse china
{TIP New Purpose for Cigarette Holder} | previous post by me showing Mandalay Chartreuse items
{Fragrant Paperwhite Narcissus flowers in early December} | previous post with Manday Chartreuse vase

Christie's Mandalay by Masons

It Looks Like Spring

We have had such lovely spring weather here in the Heart of Georgia...

Sunny days and they make all the difference!

The white pansies in our Fiberglass Window Boxes from Flower Framers of Cincinnati have been blooming all winter...
Our Pot Plants are being brought out from the green house, back onto the Patio.

Today around 4:00 PM it was 24°C or 75°F

Husband Pieter made this photo at breakfast time. That's our view from the kitchen bay window.

The other Japanese magnolia, Magnolia x soulangeana is now in full bloom.

A huge pine tree once fell on it and split it in half but it is still surviving and doing its best!

Through the rose arbor and with perfect sunlight.

The beginning of our wood trail is good visible here

The back of our home with the crocheted curtains hanging in our veranda.

It felt so warm that our felines were looking for some shade...

Speckie-girl to the left and Barty-boy and Spooky-boy next to the Italian cypress.

Tiggy-tiger claimed her spot under the palm tree...

Hope you too are enjoying some spring weather or end of summer for those living in the Southern Hemisphere!

Thank you for visiting on this perfect Valentine's Day.

Gone With the Wind used Kirsch Rods in 1939 - Team Vedder Finished Ours

Yay, on February 11, I had my second half of the newly sewn Ripplefold curtains hanging on the Fascia Wood Kirsch Rod!

So very proud of Team Vedder!

Lots of research I did before finally daring to order this Fascia Wood Kirsch Rod in white, with the snap carriers already pre-installed. Also the additional length of Ripplefold snap tape, for sewing onto my existing curtains.

Already in 1907, Charles W. Kirsch founded the Kirsch Company in Sturgis, Michigan.
kirsch.com

In 1939, Kirsch Rods were used exclusively in "Gone With the Wind."
Hah, and on July 6, 2012, I did read a blog from blogger friend Ginger, under the name of Savannah Granny: Ripplefold Curtains Tutorial, Pin It! and I have saved that link ever since... It was coming closer to home so to speak, as she lives only 2 hours away from me in the state of Georgia!

But HOW to figure out how much fabric was needed for such a Split Draw Ripplefold Drapery System?
I found this on the internet but it did not reveal much.
Ginger's tutorial was not helpful as she had a curtain in one piece...
Only on BRIMAR Hand Drawn Fabrication Chart I found my answers...
So I figured out that I had to order for 80% fullness and went ahead to place my order for the 78 inch Kirsch 2 inch Estate Fascia Wood Ripplefold Rod!

Non returnable and it is after all over $ 300...
We got ours from Designer Drapery hardware: Kirsch 2 inch Estate Wood Trend Ripplefold and it arrived by UPS on the 8th.
They also delivered the Ripplefold snap tape under item # 9003.

So off came our Rayon Cotton damask curtains with Rose pattern and I started taking the tape and everything off.
I'd bought them on March 5, 1998 from Britex Fabrics in San Francisco, California.
Still LOVE their quality in a soft cream color!

This was the inside. Don't think that with those hooks on, it would have been possible to launder them.

After sectioning the curtain with my serger, I did launder them however!
I had dry cleaned them only once and was not very happy with the result.
Now they looked like new!

The trick for preparing for those Ripplefold draperies is to measure and adjust the tape while the Rod is still on the floor, within easy reach!
Instead of reaching above your head, way up on the wall or ceiling...
For the Master Butt the distance between one snap and the next is 1 inch so you have to cut the tape and sew it together again.

You have to snap the tape on, or at least count the carriers on your rod so you know exactly where to cut off your tape.
To the right you can see how much extra I  left on for the sides of the curtain, beyond the last snap.
Left shows both centers where the Butt Master is!
My 50 year old quality scissors from Italy...

While I prepared for the sewing, the other half of Team Vedder, did hang the white Kirsch Fascia Wood Rod with the Butt Master for the left panel visible here.
You also can see the carriers with the openings where the snaps will be snapped in.
They fully rotate!

This shows the right panel's Butt Master with Ripplefold Carriers.

On the side, it got hung and this is before husband Pieter did paint the brackets.
Oh, on the ends there are also decorative wooden stoppers!
It only is a half round wooden 2 inch rod, backside is flat!

Okay, around 2:30 PM on February 10, Team Vedder's installation part was done...
Now only waiting on my sewing to snap them on!

After first neatly pressing the panels, I started sewing on the snap tape with the use of a zipper foot!

On the sides of my curtain panels, I did fold the fabric back and stitch it, as shown here.

After turning and pressing it, I now started stitching with a regular foot, the side seam of the drapery panel. 
I had pressed that too, for having a smooth stitched seam.
You can tell I've been using pink chalk... for marking the fabric.

 Now I can start putting the snap tape on at the end here. It could have been cut a bit longer but it's double and thus okay.

Just folding the tape over and stitching here the bottom part of the tape.
Of course, on the inside of the curtain!
Again, using a zipper foot which you can use left and right side.

Tada, by 8:15 PM on February 10, I made this photo with one panel hanging!

Showing you here the left outer side of this left panel, with the overlap. 
It nicely folds back, creating a perfect 'S' wave.

Kirsch Ripplefold Helpful Hints Kirsch Training video shows clearly the Master Butt, how to work the snap tape. Keep in mind that over the years those snap carriers have been improved also. In this video you needed to spin them around for finding the 'one' side in which to snap the tape.

Ours did have both sides available, so no need to worry at all! 

They come a bit hard off though but when I measured the tape at the Master Butt carrier side, I used a small screw driver for prying them open and that worked easy!

After all, you don't need to take them down for laundering every month.

How to set the folds by forming 'S' shapes in the drapery is being shown perfectly in this video: Wave Fold Drapery - How to hang for theperfect look even if this is NOT the Ripplefold snap tape being used but I learned from it!

At 2:30 PM on February 11, both panels got hung!
Okay, a 100% or even 120% would have been even better but keep in mind that I had already those curtains and that was the limit; using the fabric width I had.
Letting them dry after the moist pressing I did, and for those 'S' waves to settle a bit more, I took this photo today.
On the side on top of the cat-scratch tower, I have again a vase with Ehrlicheer daffodils that were blooming today.
So happy this is being done and it is simple and easy for taking off and back on.
The Hepplewhite shelf to the right still needs to be moved a bit away from the drapery.

This is how the Master Butt shows in the center at the right panel.
Maybe these photos might help someone in measuring and sewing such Ripplefold curtains, using a Kirsch Rod. 
A kind of a tutorial...

Pieter did fasten this cord glider to the wall, on the left side.
It's functioning well.
All in all, I'm very much satisfied and happy that this alteration project got completed and off our list of things to do!
Grateful for Pieter, that he still is able to do this!
In March these Rayon Cotton Rose draperies will celebrate their 19th Birthday at our home.

Thanks for your visit and have you been completing a project lately?

Related links:
{My French DMC Rose Filet Lace Crocheted Curtains} | previous post by me showing the Rayon Cotton Damask Rose Curtains

Our Japanese Magnolias in Full Bloom

Due to some extremely warm days in January we had our Japanese Magnolia, Magnolia x soulangeana in Full Bloom on January 27!
That was Mom's 2nd anniversary in heaven...

Strange as they usually would bloom on her Birthday, February 12!

Here they are already shedding their petals, on February 4!

But because of some dark weather I could not make photos...

Photo is taken from the neighbor's side, over the Vinyl Picket Fence towards our home.

This is taken from our side towards the road.

It is not entirely blue skies but enough light in-betweeen.

Looking at our veranda and kitchen bay window area.

Our patio is not yet filled with all planters, they still remain in the greenhouse.

Love this Vinyl Picket Fence!

This photo I also used for new header...

Oh, how I love those Blooms!

Here you see the fully open bloom and the more closed ones.

Petals are falling...

This is perfect, the color against the Southern Magnolia as a back drop.

Sad that for only about 2 weeks you can enjoy them!

That is, without frost as they turn brown and floppy...

Had to share these beauties with you.

We do have a second tree which is a lot later and not as good as one year a huge pine tree fell into it, splitting it in half.

But it survived and we get some flowers every spring.

After heavy rains and thunderstorms on the 7th of February, this was the view on February 9, from our veranda.
By the way, these 3 windows need to get a new Fleur de Lys crocheted curtain later.
Only 50 hours...

Thanks for visiting!

Related links:

{We at least got SOME Magnolia Blossoms} | previous post by me