Scalloped Aprons for BFFs

Aprons:  Essentials for the Kitchen!

Victoria-Rose is modeling the apron made for her dear friend Jessica.
It has the daisy print on one side and a white/black print
 of little chickens on the other.  She broke her ankle in two places
roller skating this summer!  The cast is off now.

Mother's Apron

Mother wore an ample apron

to cover her clean dress.

She'd tell you that's what it was for,

if you asked her, I would guess.

But that apron had more uses than

I could even count.

It brought in eggs and vegetables

and could hold a large amount.

I've seen her use that apron

to wipe her dripping brow

as she labored over the big range

that' s just an antique now.

Her apron could bring giggles

in a game of peek-a-boo

with her newest, sweet grandbaby

as she hid her face from view.

When the kids were hurt or crying

we'd run to find her lap.

She'd wipe the falling tears away

with a bit of apron flap.

That apron dusted tables

and chased away the flies.

It did just fine as oven mitts 

to take out bubbling pies.

But the greatest of the treasures

that old apron could hold,

was the endless love from Mother

abiding in each fold.

Author Unknown

I love aprons.  I wear them at home in the kitchen and when cleaning and I wear them at school in my kindergarten classroom.  I come from an apron wearing family.  My grandmother wore very serviceable aprons and my mother had both 'working' aprons and 'company' aprons.  I feel in charge and ready for anything when I tie one on!

I made a couple of aprons recently as gifts for my daughter and two of her friends.  All three were reversible.  Unfortunately, I neglected to take photos of the one I made for Victoria-Rose's friend Wes.  I adapted a simple butcher's pattern for him to include the adjustable straps and ties of the pattern I used for the girls' aprons.  The fabrics used for Wes were as 'manly' as I could find in my stash:  a dark mottled blue for one side and a constellations print for the other.

This is the apron for my Victoria-Rose.  She chose the old
fashioned floral prints for her apron.

Pattern:  Bake Sale Apron by the Cabbage Rose

Fabrics:  Florals quilting cottons and mini gingham from stash

Chicken print: "Country Touch" Wilmington Prints

Sweetheart Pocket!

Love the feminine details of the scalloped hem

 and sweetheart neckline and pocket!

This was a fun and easy sewing experience.  

I see a few new aprons in MY future!

Are you an apron wearer?

Project Run & Play Sew Along: "Greenery" Skirt & Detachable Aprons

 I will be linking this post to the  Project Run & Play Season 13 Sew Along Contest HERE.  Don't forget to check out the other inspired outfits after reading this post.

I travel about 30-40 minutes to and from school everyday depending on the time of day and traffic.  Mornings are reserved for prayer and planning of the school day.  Afternoons I allow myself to sew in my imagination.  I think about the fabrics in my stash and dream about what to make with them.  Last week I couldn't get the fabrics I used in my entry to the sew along contest for Project Run & Play's "Greenery" theme out of my head.  There were just some smallish pieces left but they were begging to be used.

My thoughts:  "Well, hmmmmm.....there might be enough to cobble together a skirt for Chloe, my little six year old friend.  Now...how to make it special?  I know!  I could make an apron skirt, better yet, I could make it detachable.  Wait!  I could make the apron reversible! No, wait a minute... I could make more than one!"

Oh my, I couldn't wait to begin!

Fabric remnants and a vintage table runner from my stash of 'rescued' linens.  

 I didn't have enough of the Hawthorne Threads "Botany" fabrics to make the waistband of the skirt but my Heart Sister Jana had given me a piece of green fabric that went perfectly with the theme.  I also found a linen table runner in my stash that was perfect to use for one of the aprons.  I had some beautiful antique glass buttons to use on the skirt from my friend Jackie's mother's button box and some green ribbon that would pick up the darker green of the lime leaves in one of the prints.  I was ready!  Now what to do for the other side?  Applique!  Easter is right around the corner.

Chloe with the vintage table runner apron buttoned onto the skirt with antique green glass buttons.
The skirt can also be worn without the aprons

Applique side of the vintage linen apron with a 'chocolate bunny' and 'candy eggs.
I hand stitched ecru French lace with green floss around the perimeter of the vintage
 hand embroidered side of the apron and added little
 green flower buttons in the corners.
  I used the "Kate" scalloped apron pattern from Violette Fields Threads to make the apron with the shell colored background and the limes.  I used some green gingham to make the waistband on this one.
More buttons from the stash added with pink and green floss to decorate a purchased white shirt to go with all three 'looks'.

Chloe said that she loved all the aprons but really loved the vintage hand embroidered one the best.  I love that she loves the embroidery!
 We had fun doing this photo shoot!

I leave you with this sweet photo of Chloe and her baby brother Hudson.  I enjoyed making this day dream a reality.  I hope you liked it, too!

Last One: Hope Chest Inspired Shower, Part #9

Summer Kitchen Set For Kelly

Apron modeled by my beautiful daughter Victoria-Rose.

Last summer I hosted a Tea Party Shower for my wonderful niece, Kelly.  I made many things for a special themed gift:  a very large laundry basket filled with things that would be normally found in a Hope Chest.  You can see the Tea Party itself HERE and a post with links to all the other gifts I made HERE, if you are interested in seeing the other goodies.  This is the last of the catch-up posts on the shower gifts.

This apron was the beginning piece for this set and served as the summer color scheme for the other kitchen things.  It was made using at least three different patterns and changed about to suit my 'vision'.

All the fabrics were from Shelley Detton's "The Garden Club" collection.  These little birds are just so cute!

I love the bow in the back  of the apron and those deep rick rack trimmed pockets!

Next up is a tea cozy that I made using the bird house panel from the fabric line.  I added trims and hand embroidery to both sides of the cozy. 

Crocheted dish cloths in complimentary colors.  Washing dishes wouldn't be so bad with these, right?  

Three kitchen towels were added to the set.  Two were easy.  I embellished two towels purchased from Home Goods.  One was trimmed with lace and ribbon and the other with fabric and rick rack. 

 The most time consuming item of this entire set was the dish towel on the left.  It was hand embroidered from a booklet of transfers purchased at JoAnn's.  I used colors of  DMC  floss that coordinated with the Shelly Detton fabric line, and trimmed it with some pink loop trim from the stash and a border of the material.  I put the border on both sides of the towel.  I did purchase this cotton towel and the quality of the material was fine but it was off grain.  I ended up tearing off all the seamed edges and re-hemming it.

A close up of the embroidery.

Because I did not line the towel and it would be seen from both sides I tried very hard to make the embroidery look pleasing from the backside as well as the front.

Last, but not least, I made Kelly a set of bowl bonnets identical to a set I made a friend earlier in the year.  They are reversible and come in handy when taking covered dishes to pot-lucks, etc.

 

I hope you enjoyed seeing the things I made for sweet Kelly and that it has inspired you to create some things for yourself or for someone you love.  Perhaps you could begin with a simple project to make with your daughter, granddaughter, or a special young friend that would be used in her future.  You would be creating something useful as well as making memories that would last a lifetime.

May your day be filled with the blessings that come from the little things in life.  Enjoy!

Edited to share at the Sew Darn Crafty Linky Party:  HERE and to  Super Mom-No Cape's  Stitchery Link Party HERE.  Check out all the amazing posts in their parties.

The Hope Chest Inspired Shower, Part 3: The Spring Kitchen Set

 

From A Light in the Attic  by Shel Silverstein

 

I think that everyone likes to see and to use things in the kitchen that make them smile... something to lift their spirits when performing the routine tasks of keeping an orderly and clean kitchen.  I wanted Kelly to have some little home-made love that would make her smile as she went about her new life.  This set started with pinterest pins of denim aprons.  They have always made me think of Kelly. She has always loved a good jeans outfit.  One of her favorites was a fancy denim skirt, blouse and jacket set we bought her when she was about six years old.  It was very fancy with ruffles and laces and she wore it all the time.  

While I was trying to come up with a jeans apron that reminded me of that little denim outfit, I was in Home Goods and picked up the pink towels you see in the picture above.  I was inspired by Kathleen of Miss Abigail's Hope Chest to try a little crochet edging.  I have several crochet books and know the basics but reading the patterns for specific edgings is a skill I am still acquiring.  Sooo...I made one up!  I had to use an awl to pierce the fabric over the thick hem to get my thinest crochet hook through at regular intervals and then did a a single crochet into each hole.  From there I did a row of double crochet and then chain stitched lacy loops that were attached with a slip stitch at regular intervals again.  I think it came out pretty but I really would like to learn to do some of the edgings in my books! I appliqued the butterfly from some scraps of fabric that coordinated and then added a band of the same fabric and some ribbon to the other towel.

 

The apron was made without a pattern.  I just used the backside of a pair of old jeans and bound the side edges in a blue and white lace.  The bottom has a ruffle of pink lace and two fabrics. 

Several of my pinterest denim pins were of totes/bags made of recycled jeans and they got me thinking of a reusable 'gift wrap' for this set for the Hope Chest Shower.  I took another pair of old jeans and just cut off the legs and sewed up the seam.  I added some little charms, tiny  bits of hand embroidery, more of the blue and white lace and some handles.  Done!

Kathleen, of Miss Abigail's Hope Chest has posted lovely crocheted dish cloths several times on her blog.  She even has tutorials for them and when I get a little help with reading the directions, I will be making some of those beautiful sets.  In the meantime, I was inspired by her to make a set of very simple pink dish cloths using single crochet and cotton yarn.  The border edging was just made up of chain stiches and slip stitches.

The cloths are straight and not wobbly, I promise.  I just had them tied up with the ribbon and they became creased.
 

Thank God for dirty dishes;

They have a story to tell.

While others may go hungry

We're eating very well.

 

With Home, Health, and Happiness,

I shouldn't want to fuss;

By the stack of evidence,

God's been very good to us.

Author Unknown

Catching Up Part 3: Gingerbread & Snow-lady Aprons

 I am still catching up on posting some of my December 2013 sewing/doings!

These cute little aprons were made using the Simplicity 1954 pattern.  I made the three sizes included and sized one down for a size 2 child.  They were fun to make for children's gifts and the recipients loved them!  Chloe, A.K.A. 'Alice', the beautiful model from my last post, loved her Gingerbread apron once she put it on.  (Getting it on her was another story!  She is three...enough said.)  Chloe wears a size 2 so her apron had to be sized down to fit her.  Chloe's mommy loved the apron so much,  she decided it was a pinafore and had her wear it to preschool with cinnamon colored leggings.  Adorable!  Just look at that sweet smile!

 I loved the look of the aprons so much that I wanted to try the snow-lady view but had no little one left to sew one for.  So....I sized it up to an adult size!  Here it is being modeled by my lovely daughter.  I wore it to school for our class holiday party and also on Christmas Day.  If anyone is interested in the dimensions for a grown-up version of the aprons, please just let me know in the comment section.

This apron was my inspiration for the pinafore part of my Winter Wonderland PR&P sew-along submission.  You can see more of the pictures HERE.

I'd love to know if anyone else has made these aprons.
Have a wonderful weekend!