Autumn Sassy Apron exchange

Sorry it's taken a while to post this one! I haven't had anyone to take a photo of me wearing my lovely new apron til now! The last couple of weeks have been quite hectic: busy writing up some stuff for my PhD, organising a trip to Tasmania in October. I'm heading to Launceston for a weekend long karate seminar and then taking the rest of the week to explore the south of the state, unwind/recover and eat delicious food.

I received my apron from the lovely Amy last Saturday. It had been sitting at home for a few days before I was able to come and pick it up. Oh boy, what a surprise! Amy was asking on her blog which side people liked better, and I can say I love both sides! It's a beautifully made apron, I love the colours and it fits so well too. I've already been wearing it around in the kitchen heaps. Amy was unsure about the pot holder she sent and included an extra potholder and towel (also adorable - I think acorns are so cute!), but I think the one she made s perfect and I have been putting it to great use to rest my pot of tea on.

I honestly don't know who was more excited, my mother or me but Amy had included a copy of The Monster at the End of this Book! My mother loved reading it to me as much as I loved hearing it! Our original copy, passed down through many family members, is now old, faded and falling to bits. It was so wonderful, and so completely unexpected, that she included this book! It has new additions, like flaps and pop ups, and it's just wonderful that I'll have a new copy to share with my own children (whenever they eventually arrive) and just enjoy it for myself in the mean time. Even Gib read it and had a laugh. Thank you so much, Amy, you're a star!


Also last Saturday I got the opportunity to give my swap partner, Hoppo Bumpo, her apron in person! Of all people in the world that could have been my swap partner, and it was someone whose blog I follow and someone just a short drive away from my house. I guess I felt the pressure though, given how lovely all of the Hoppo Bumpo creations are (she can even sew velvet!). I take photos of virtually everything, including everything I make, but silly me totally forgot to take a photo of this apron! Oopsies! That's ok, you can see her photos over here.

Autumn Sassy Apron Swap

It's time to sign up for the Fall Sassy Apron Swap! I've participated in the last two (spring and summer) and they've been fun and challenging. It's interesting reading someone's blog, finding their likes and dislikes, and trying to make an apron that would suit them. I'm really excited about this one. Autumn is my most favourite season! I love the colours of the plants, I love the weather, I love the fruit and vegetables that are in season in autumn.


Here is are list of requirements for the next swap (abridged):

1. It has to be a hand made full coverage apron. The fabrics must be 100% cotton.
2. The apron must be durable (this doesn’t mean heavy fabric just it must stand up to washing, wiping hands and messy cooking.)
3. The apron’s theme is Fall or Autumn.
4. Since it if for the baking season, a hot pad or pot holder must be included.
5. You must include your favorite pie recipe.
6. Your aprons must be in the mail by September 1st.

Finishing off the apron...

Here it is, all finished. It'd probably be better presented if it was being worn by someone, however it doesn't actually fit me. It's too long in the body -- it ties around my hips instead of my waist (they don't design patterns for adults under 5' tall). Doesn't matter though, because I was only testing an idea, and the finished product isn't for me anyway! But I'm pretty happy with it in the end, after all the trauma I had with the pattern.

Trying out a new pattern: Simplicity 3752 - Misses aprons

Last weekend I bought a new apron pattern. I don't normally buy patterns as I never usually make anything complex enough to require one. I have an idea in my head for an apron I want to make, but my prototypes so far haven't worked. I think maybe I need some sort of pattern drafting lessons, but until I can afford those, or until my brain magically develops better spatial skills (especially spatial skills involving fitting clothes around the female figure) I decided to take a look at what the big pattern companies had come up with. Maybe I could adapt a pattern from them. I liked this pattern, Simplicity 3752, particularly the blue one in the top left corner ('apron B'). It didn't require all that much fabric, so I was fortunate enough to be able to use leftovers to make it.


Making the apron: The instructions for it were fairly straight forward. It has a kind of corset-ish top, halter neck tie and a cute little skirt thing down the bottom, with a waistband. Apart from me accidentally sewing corset so that the wrong sides face outwards (my problem, not the pattern's), it was relatively straight forward to make. Until I got to the final steps: finishing the waistband. It was a total pain in the bum. If I had have followed their instructions, it would have been looked bulky and utterly ridiculous. The other problem I had with this pattern is that the smallest size still ended up being quite large, not so much around the waist, which was fine, but around the bust. I think you would have to be a E cup to be able to fit this properly. This large bust problem meant that when I tied it up as a halter, it kind of pushed the sides of the bodice out, making it look like I had big squid fins coming out the side of me (strange analogy I know, but I've been hanging out with my friend who is a diver).

To resolve the problem of the waistband: (I'm not sure if this will make any sense to those who haven't read the pattern, sorry!) I sewed the bodice to the waistband and the bottom edge of the waistband to the skirt, as per instructions. You are then supposed to fold the waistband in half and sew along the edge to join the bodice and skirt together directly, but in such a fashion that conceals their seams (this came out really bulky when I tried it). I'd then need to fold the waistband flat again, and top stitch the top and bottom. I thought about doing french seams, but that would have been too bulky too. In the end, I left the waistband wide instead of folding it in half, and attached another waistband lining piece to the back to conceal the seams. Worked out fine.

The problem of the "squid fins" around the bust: It looked entirely unflattering as a halter tie. I resolved this by making it cross over at the back, instead of being a halter. The ties were more than long enough to cross over and join at the point where the apron stuck out at the sides. I think it ended up looking even better as a crossover.

I'm still finishing off the last bits of the apron - neatening seams, making sure there aren't any stray bits of fabric or thread hanging out etc. - so I'll give you an update once I'm totally happy with it. I'm very happy with how it's turned out in the end though, but I'm a bit over working on it right now. Every time I look at it, I just keep thinking of all of those seams I had to rip and re-sew! This apron and I need a breather, some time apart, so we can be friends again.

Summer Sassy Apron Received!

My apron arrived in the post late yesterday afternoon. I was very excited... and even moreso when I found out it was from the talented Katie, who has been pottering about here of late, leaving kind words on my blog. I even remember checking out her blog and seeing her ideas for the apron she was making and thinking "THAT'S COOL!" and never knew it was to be destined for me! How cheeky! I absolutely love my apron, and I know it will be getting a great deal of use. I love the texture of the base fabric and the pockets are too damn cute. And the matching tea towels that came with it are equally as cute. I'm tickled pink. Definitely one very lucky girl.

Yesterday morning Gib and I picked up a couple of coconuts that were on special down at the supermarket. We didn't really have any plans for them, I think Gib just wanted an excuse to use power tools in the kitchen, Iron Chef style. But in my parcel Katie also included a recipe for non-alcoholic pineapple pina colada, so I now have a plan for at least one of our coconuts!

Thanks again, Katie!

Might not be posting much over the long weekend. I'm housesitting and I don't think their internet is so crash hot. But I'm staying not far from Mailing Road, Canterbury (there are many coffee, cake, craft and antique shops) and the Camberwell Market so I'll be having too much fun to have time to post. Have a good weekend.

Summer sassy apron - complete

It seems almost silly that I started making my apron for the Summer Sassy Apron Swap on Saturday, the coldest day Melbourne has had in 34 years. It was bucketing with rain so what better to do than sew an apron! Kitty pointed me in the right direction and I was finally inspired by this for my apron. I have to admit though, this is the most amount of pink I've ever used in anything I have ever made (and there isn't even that much pink on the apron!). Pink fabric, pink ric rac, pink buttons...! Nice and simple and summery. I hope my partner enjoys it!

I've finally completed it and it's off to America tomorrow morning (I doubt I'll make it to the post office by 5pm today!). I made matching a dishcloth out of the gingham-style fabric to go with it.


I've also decided to post my accompanying summery non-alcoholic drink recipe here, just because I think it's a really delicious drink and should be shared with everyone, not just my swap partner!

Cardinal Punch
60 ml cranberry juice
60 ml ginger ale
15 ml lemon juice
30 ml orange juice
lemon and orange slices for garnish

Half fill a glass with ice and add the fruit juices. Add the ginger ale and garnish with lemon and orange. YUM!

Aprons!

I really hate washing. Well, it's not the washing I hate, it's the bit where I have to hang stuff on the line, and then unpeg them again. It's just that you have to have your arms up in the air all the time: walk over to the peg basket hanging on the line, grab some pegs, peg your clothes, walk back again... I feel like a gibbon! And my arms get tired! So I can give my arms some relief I made a peg apron with some cute fabric I picked up at the Salvos in Oakleigh today. I got the fabric free with a bunch of other stuff I bought. In the photos below, it's quite obvious just how short I am!

To make your own peg apron:

1. Cut out three rectangles of fabric for the backing, lining and pocket: 12" x 24". Cut 2 x 28" long strips of twill tape for the ties. I cut my backing from a canvas drop sheet I bought from the local hardware store.
   
2. From the pocket material, get a large dinner plate and trace around 1/4 of the plate on each side to mark the pockets. Cut the pockets out and sew bias binding along these edges.
3. Layer your fabric pieces: lining, pocket piece, canvas. Insert the twill tape 1" from the top of each side, so that they are pinned between the lining and the canvas. Pin down the rest of the sides, leaving a 10cm gap along the bottom edge, where you will turn the aprong the right way out.
4. Sew along all 4 edges, except for your 10cm gap. Clip the corners, turn your apron the right way out.
   
5. Iron your apron, particularly along the edges so that they sit flat! Sew up your 10cm gap with an invisible stitch and you're done!
   

Here is another apron I finished off a bit earlier in the week. It's for a friend's engagement present. She does karate and loves cooking (much like me!) so I thought I'd go with a bit of an oriental flavour for her apron. It's reversible too (pattern from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing book). I'm in the process of making her some matching oven mitts to go with it. The chopsticks are machine appliqued, the noodles are white ribbon with a stitch down the middle to keep them in place, and the pocket is lined with a white, light cotton fabric, and then zig-zag stitched around the side and bottom of the bowlto keep it in place.

With all of this apron making, I think I should sign up for the next sassy apron swap...

One Sassy Apron - Sent!

I decided to get my sassy apron swap apron done early because I'm sending it overseas. I posted it today! I had to keep the weight of the package below 250g or postage was going to go up a whole lot. I decided to send the curried carrot soup recipe that I made last week with Kate. It's one of my favourites, but I decided to halve the amount of cayenne pepper that I added because it nearly knocked my head off when we had it for dinner. You can read some background behind the apron here. With the apron, there are pockets on the side panels and on the front next to the sheep (behind the dessert print are the pockets) - I made the pockets invisible so as not to disrupt the desert scene ;) The apron is reversible, so if a sheep and tree is too extreme, or if it gets dirty, then my recipient can just flip it over and have some little clouds.

Sassy Aprons and the drought in Australia

The apron I'm making for the Sassy apron swap is coming along very nicely. The theme is spring, so I thought I'd use some ideas from close to home and encorporate it into the apron.

To give you some background, most of Australia has been experiencing drought, some places more severe than others. Much of the fresh produce I buy comes from central Victoria, which has been hit particularly hard, so this year Spring meant water restrictions, fresh fruit and vegetable shortages, livestock being sold off and many farmers leaving their land. Importantly, the Murray-Darling river system, a ~3400km river that helps supply 40% of Australia's agriculture, is finally drying up and can no longer support the agricultural demands placed upon it. This river system receives 5% of Australia's total rainfall but supplies 70% of Australia's irrigation. Half of Victoria's agricultural water supply comes from here. So a combination of extended periods of low rainfall, unsustainable farming practices and state/government arguments over who should take action over this (this river covers 3 states) meant it's had serious implications for everyone.

So... the apron. Haha, don't worry, it's not depressing like the picture I painted above is (is it even possible to create a "sad apron?"), but basically I've used it as inspiration for an "Australian drought colour scheme". It features a lamb (when I think 'Spring' I think 'cute little lambies') and a pocket, of course. I'm having a go at some hand applique and so far I'm quite pleased with the results. I have used various machine applique techniques in the past but I've never been fully pleased with the look, so even though it takes longer I'm going with the hand sewn way.

The pattern I'm using for the apron is the reversible aprong from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing book. I love the pattern for it because it seems to fit so well on whoever wears it. It is a little flared at the bottom and is fitted a bit at the waist, and if you make a mess of yourself (as I am prone to doing) you can turn it over and look clean again.

So I'd say I'm about half way through making the apron, and given that today is my last day of work for a whole month, it really wont take me very long to finish. The camera that I placed on order is due in next week, but the guy from the camera store said there is a world wide shortage so it might be two weeks before I get it. I'm hoping to borrow one of Gib's parents cameras to take some action shots then.

As for my soup recipe that I have to include, well, it's a bit of a tough choice - I have so many favourites. But regardless I will include a recipe for damper, which is a good traditional Aussie bread/scone that goes with all soups.

Speaking of aprons...

Here's a reversable cafe apron I made for my friend, Özlem. I scored the cute black and white flower print skirt material from ebay. The top edge flips over to make like a waistband that contrasts the apron, on either side. I didn't intend for it to do that, but it worked out well, I think. A "mistake" I intend to reproduce in the future. The black side has a pocket in the shape of an oven mitt - an idea that I got from one of my favourite books. I couldn't believe the whole thing took less than an hour to finish! Apologies for the poor photo quality. I don't think it helps that I'm wearing a dark jumper either.

Apron swap

So I heard about the Sassy Apron Swap and got pretty damn excited. I prefer to give the things I make away to friends because I enjoy the creating process rather than admiring the finished product, and it gives me motivation to finish my project because I have a deadline, like a birthday... or apron swap! Oh, how I love aprons: they combine two of my loves - cooking and sewing - so when I saw the Sassy Apron Swap for Spring, how could I say no? And it's always exciting getting a parcel in the mail!

The idea is to make an apron and send it to a designated person and in retun you receive an apron from someone else (not who you sent yours to).

The requirements are:

Must be a 'Spring Theme'
Must be hand-made by your hands or those of another crafter
Pre-washed cotton fabric
A pocket of some sort
Embellishments are welcome but not required (rickrack, trims, buttons)
Adult sized apron

Sounds like fun, eh?