Full Apron in Fall Colors

A bit retro (happy birthday!) full apron made in Autumn colors.

I made it for a Birthday swap on Flickr. Each month one person gets presents for their birthday from everyone else. What fun to have your birthday be all month! CosbyGryffin said that she likes fall colors, orange, mustard, purple, green and red. When she said she also likes to cook I thought I'd take a dive right in and make an apron.



When I thought of my fabrics I thought of the Metro Cafe utensils since it seemed like it was full of the evening colors of fall. The sun setting low on the horizon with melting golds, oranges and mustards, with aqua creeping in on the edges of night. Perfect. I thought of the Alexander Henry Farmdale mustard fabric to be the accompaniment with an accent ruffle of orange. Don't quite remember what that one is. Might be a halloween fabric?



I like to keep all the seams neat and covered in something like an apron. I think it lasts longer, possibly, and since you might get peeks as you move around the kitchen I like it to be finished.



The top is fairly straight forward with the bottom curved out to meet the waist band. That seems to help it fit better and balance the weight of the gathered skirt.



Just a basic strap for the neck. Two long pieces of fabric, folded over a quarter inch on each side and sewed around the edges. You just tuck the two pieces of the strap up against the already sewn together inside out of the top. I like to do a little top stitching to finish it off and help strengthen the straps.

Here's how the back looks



The seams are folded a quarter inch, then again. The ruffle and mustard are sewn on with the mustard piece a bit longer to fold over then seam in the back then get top stitched from the front. Sort of a faux french seam.



I like the ties less than 2 inches wide and fairly long. That way you can have a big bow in back or loop and tie it in the front. That'd give a nice accent to the metro cafe brown. Also, lets be frank. When you're gifting an item to wear and are not sure the size and length of the receiver it's good to have some leeway :)

Happy Birthday!

Sewing Summit Swap!!!

Woot! It's almost time for the annual Sewing Summit. It's held in Salt Lake City, Utah and will be in September this year. And most importantly there is a secret swap going on! You should come join us on Flickr if you'll be coming. Sewing Summit Secret Swap on Flickr #sewingsummit .
Because I haven't made my swap item yet I'll share a pic of western Utah coming from the Nevada desert.

I Spanked the French Knots

I'm working on some embroidery. I learned how to do the basics in a summer school class my grade school offered. Haven't done much since then. I picked it up again a few years ago to work on a pillow cushion. And I'm still working on the same one :) Here's the thing, it's a graphic design that is repetitive and done in only satin stitch. So it takes a long time. Well it mostly takes a long time since I can only so one small section without getting bored. Or my hands getting tired from my death grip on the hoop.
I've moved on to work on other things and I bring That One out occasionally. This one is fairly small, it'll end up probably about 4"x5" or so. I sketched out lots of designs until I got to this. Yes, this also has satin stitches, but! they don't have to be uniform which makes all the difference.

While I was brushing up on embroidery I looked at a lot of pics and sites online. I was surprised at how many people are scared of French Knots. I thought, hmm, maybe I should be scared of them, it's been a while since I've done them. So I looked at a few tutorials, each assuring us to "not be scared" they're "not that horrible", "only loose a couple fingers", "or an eye". Kidding. But it just all made me more nervous. Until I told myself to just calm down. If I could do these at about 9 or 10 years old they really can't be that hard. They totally aren't, they're just as easy as all the other stitches.

I French Knotted to my hearts content. And then decided I didn't quite like the colors I'd used so I got out my small embroidery Ginghers (they are small, my fingers are not gigantic I promise). It made me sad to see the knot carnage. It'll look better in the end.

Super Covert Robin

I am a good person who puts things in safe places. Like hiding my Covert Robin's address and email from myself for more than a week after I received my gift. But I finally found it in its safe place! So I get to email my person Gigi. (Hi! Waving my hand). I got a fabulous city tote. This is my very first made for me bag ever! It was like getting a birthday/Christmas present! It came wrapped in a bow and everything. I super love it. The green lining is so great with the outside and is light so it's easy to find things.

I got it the night before I left on a week long trip to California. Now this bag was born in the East Coast and traveled all the way with me to the beach on the West Coast. How cool is that! It was a great beach bag. The handles are the perfect size for my hands. I'm pretty sure every one that saw me was jealous of my awesome bag. Here it is enjoying the sun!

Thank you so much Gigi! We could try quilting together this year :) And thanks Imagine Gnats and everyone over at Covert Robin and the link for all of the gift givers/recipients here Mon Petit Lyons. 

Tula Pink 10" Fabric Swap on Flickr

Hi all! You may or may not know that I love Tula Pink fabric. Pretty much everything since Parisville I've been obsessed with. The details are incredible. There's a fabric with cameo's where the ladies hair makes ships!  Then these Dusky Tears are ships as well (sorry about some of the crap pictures. They're coming from my phone in my rush to post this before realjob. I'll see if I can edit in better ones later.)

Then there's Prince Charming that has a damask type of fabric with frogs. And see that this classic clamshell shape is actually snails? Then there are the rain drops.

Parisville and Prince Charming fabrics are still available in fairly limited quantities at places like HawthorneThreads, Quilt Home or Fabric.com. Tula has a new line out that's called Salt Water which is quite charming and even lovelier in person than any photos I've seen online. The octopus!

There are great basics as well like these small plus hexies

 Oh and you mustn't forget about her Birds and the Bees line. It has real birds and bees with trees,  purple/blue squirrels and cosmic dust! There is also the Nightshade line that was especially made for Halloween. These are Apothecary Jars in lavender

And the Sisters

There is loyal following of her fans out in the world and she even made a site for me us. It's the I Heart Tula Pink site! You can get exclusive deals and kits, fabric and goods. Why am I pimping Tula today? Well there is a Tula Pink Fabric Swap over on Flickr. So far there are about 23 people signed up to participate for the next round and we could use a few more. People have even been able to get their hands on lines before Parisville that have been out of print for years. From youngest to oldest: Plume, 
Neptune, Flutterby, Nest, Hushabye and Full Moon Forest.

In case that graphic link doesn't work click here for the Flickr page. You can sign up for a spot and peruse the fabrics, by line, that have been used already. Come join us!