I have a serious hatred of miniblinds. To me, nothing says "dingy college apartment" more than those horrible offwhite shades. So, even though I don't have a sewing machine and haven't made anything since I was a kid clothing my teddy bears, I became determined to make curtains for all the windows in my apartment. I found everything I'd ever want at St. Theresa Textile Trove in Cincinnati's College Hill neighborhood, where I spent $75 a few weeks ago—and that was after a 50 percent off coupon.

So far I've bought the fabric for my living room and bathroom (though the fabric I got for the bathroom would look really nice in the living room, and the living room fabric would be very pretty in my bedroom), and I just finished sewing the bathroom curtain last night. I'm doing it up pioneer style, sewing by hand by the light of my CFL bulbs. I think the first one turned out great, but it took me a week to finish just that one panel. I'm hitting up thrift stores tonight to try to find a sewing machine.