March 9 2011 Newsletter

I'm flying to New Mexico today to tape programs for "Creative Living with Sheryl Borden". Read about this amazing "How-To" series that has been airing on PBS stations since 1977. I 've been working seven days a week since the beginning of the year on these programs. I know both I and my husband will be very happy when the taping is complete and life can return to its usual busy (but not crazy busy) pace.

The second article is about making a self-valance shade. I wrote an article on this shade in 2003 for Sew News magazine. This style continues to be very popular.





Taping of New PBS Programs

I am in Portales, New Mexico this week. This is the third time I’ve taped segments for the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) KENW-TV program “Creative Living by Sheryl Borden”. Sheryl is an unbelievable hostess who is currently in her 34th Season of one of the longest running “How To” television programs in the United States. The programs are taped live. I really don’t know how she does it. I guess years of practice means that every segment is flawless.This photograph shows me and Sheryl the last time I taped programs in April of 2009.

I fly from Denver to a near-by town in New Mexico. I bring along as many shade samples as I can fit into two very large suitcases. I have a tight travel schedule this year so I’m going to set up the night before the taping. We tape three to four segments in a two hour period. Each segment runs for 5 to 10 minutes. My problem is always that I have too much material to cover in each 10-minute segment!

The program is produced by the students in the Communications Department of Eastern New Mexico University. What a fun way to earn a degree. As you can see from the sign greeting visitors, Portales is a quaint place with lots of friendly people. I haven't met any of the grouches yet, but I'm looking. The Creative Living series is carried on more than 118 PBS stations in the United States, Canada, Guam and Puerto Rico. My programs will be broadcast separately over the next 18 months. Even if your local television station doesn’t carry this program, you can still see my segments on YouTube. I receive a DVD from the Station several weeks after taping. I then send that off to a local media guru who translates the programs into a format that I can upload onto YouTube. The new videos should be available by mid-April.

Mounting Board for Self-Valance Shade

A popular Roman shade style available in catalogs and big box stores is banded with a “self-valance”. The self-valance is usually required on these manufactured shades to cover up the lifting hardware. It is such a great look that I get lots of requests for instructions on how to make them. You can see photographs of the shade BS of Camden, Arkansas made for her grandson in the Galleries. I first came up with a very complicated method to attach the valance to the top of the shade. Another customer, PH of Lafayette, Louisiana, took one look at my directions and came up with her own, simpler method.
PH wrote: “I ended up putting the shade up as normal on the front door. I made a valance and sewed the corners so they were square (boxed). [I have instructions for making this type of valance on my web site.] I attached this valance to another 1x2 board and then just screwed it right into the other one. It worked perfectly.” I prefer to make the board first. Then you can attach the whole thing to your wall or window (or door). Attach the shade to the flat board and then put the valance on the projected board.