Archive for the ‘sew it’ Category

With Mother’s Day just a few days away, there’s still time to make your Mom something special.

A beautiful apron can be made in just a few hours, you can find fabrics and patterns to suite every style, and they are so useful.  Even if your mother doesn’t cook, there are aprons that are more decorative than practical, or even aprons for crafting or gardening.  I think every mother would love an apron.

This year I’m making a short little apron with pockets for the garden for my mother-in-law.  I am still toying with the design, but it will definitely have pockets to hold pruners, a trowel, and gloves.  I know when I’m done, I’ll want to make another for myself.  No more moving on without a tool and then looking for it amongst the flowers later.

Aprons are one thing I’ve made a lot of and I wanted to share a few of my favorite patterns.

The first is all the patterns in the book Retro Aprons by Cindy Taylor Oates.

Even though this book is a few years old… and there are hundreds other of apron patterns out there, I still keep coming back to this book when I’m making an apron.

It has two lovely half apron patterns.  I love this one, which is so pretty it could worn as an accessory to an outfit.  I love the Fig Tree fabric from a few years back that I used to make this apron.

The Retro Apron book has two very practical full apron patterns.  This apron pattern is one of my favorites by far.  It is comfortable and the large pockets are so useful.  I’ll put mine on in the morning and forget to take it off.  By the end of the day, the pockets have collected pennies and lipgloss from sorting laundry, Legos and toys from off the carpet, and other assorted items that need to make their way home.  For such a practical apron, I still think it’s flattering… there’s no gathered waist to make you look frumpy.

The other thing I love about Retro Aprons is how easy and straightforward the patterns are to make.

Even though we’re talking Mother’s Day gifts, don’t forget about  Little Retro Aprons for Kids patterns too.  My girls love wearing their aprons that match the ones I made for their American Girl dolls (also in the book).

My other favorite apron patterns are from Barbara Brandenburg.

Her Flouncy Little Apron pattern is pure delight to make and wear.  What mother would feel special putting on this apron?  You could even complete gift by adding a matching Ribbon Flower Pin like I did.  Flower pins are also a quick and easy project.

Barbara Brandenburg’s Sassy Little Apron is also wonderful.  This is the apron my Mom often wears and absolutely I love it.  Barbara has also recently come out with this pattern in plus sizes and one for kids.

There’s something so perfect about giving your mom an apron for Mother’s Day.  It’s an iconic symbol of motherhood… and though it may have lost it’s way for a time, aprons are back and better than ever.

Now if I can just get that song from She’s Having a Baby out of my head.  I think I’ll be singing it the rest of the day.

And I’ll be perfect in my own way
When you cry I will be there
I’ll sing to you and comb your hair
All your troubles I will share

For apron strings
Can be used for other things
Than what they’re meant for
and you’d be happy wrapped in my
Apron strings

You’d be happy wrapped in my
Apron strings

I’ve slowly… very slowly gotten to work on my son’s quilt for his bedroom.  The hardest part has been coming up with the pattern I wanted to use.

Ben liked a bull’s eye pattern… but I wanted something just a bit more rustic… maybe to tone down the very bright fabrics going into the quilt.

The inspiration came from the book, The Quilts of Gee’s Bend.

I could spend hours pouring over this amazing book.  The quilters of Gee’s Bend are remarkable artists, made even more remarkable by their humble resources.  You might say they are “Make it Do” artists- their fabrics being repurposed from bits of old dresses or jeans, even an old banana.

Last week my mother, Leslie and I got together to work on the design.  This quilt is called “Housetop” by Mary Bennett.  It is a four block variation.  And it was just what I was looking for.

We got to work making the pattern for the quilt- 4 different 15″ blocks, 12 blocks all together. Unlike Mary’s quilt, our quilt will have a sashing and border.

And now to test out our theories on the blocks.  If it didn’t work, if they didn’t look right, we’d simply start again.

After putting together 3 blocks, I think were on the right track.

With such large easy blocks, this quilt shouldn’t take long, even for me.  I can hardly wait until it rains this week (which it’s supposed to do on Wednesday) so I can sew to my heart’s delight.