The French don’t really do curtains; most windows have shutters, which keep out the dark or the sun, help deter intruders and maybe help insulate against the cold. But they’re not exactly pretty from the inside, so some people have nets or voile curtains.

I decided I’d like “proper” curtains in my living room; I spent a long time visiting fabric shops near and far, but couldn’t find anything I liked, or even anything that would do at a push. Then last April, while I was in Harrogate with Kieran and the kids, I called into the fabric shop in town; they had just what I’d been looking for. Would it be the right shade of green? It’s always difficult to carry a colour in your head, but I was fairly sure it would work. I quickly calculated how much I’d need and bought 12 metres, along with header tape.

Fortunately, when I’d booked our flights, the best deal was a family ticket, with a generous luggage allowance, all of which we hadn’t used. A visit to Primark provided an extra cabin bag that was big enough to hold my fabric.

Back home, I ordered lining at my local fabric shop, then I got busy with other stuff and sort of forgot about the curtains (boring to make), until I had a big (and very much needed) clean up in my workshop last week and was reminded of them – the fabric was taking up far too much space anyway.

They’re big curtains, the window being almost floor to ceiling and 3 metres wide, but by pushing the sofa out of the way, I made enough space to work. Once they were nearly done, Kieran came round to fit the pole that had been lying in the hall for months. I went looking for rings, but all I could find locally were rather bulky and cost 30€ for ten! I’d need 32 – no way was I paying that! Amazon came to the rescue and even delivered on Sunday, so since then I’ve hung the curtains, pinned the hems, taken them down, stitched the hems, pressed them and rehung them.

It feels much cosier in here now.