A Sweetheart of an Apron!

Tah-Dah!  My lastest addition ~ a sweetheart neckline with a circle-cut skirt!  I have been fiddling with sweetheart necklines for some time and by jove I think I've got it.  While it appears a bit gappy in the in the bust on Lolita, it fits a real woman quite nicely.  Of course, there will be some tweaking to this design.  Almost every apron I make has some change and that is what makes each one something unique.  I think my favorite part on this apron is the rickrack-trimmed pocket.  When I began working on this design I had a certain look in mind.  The look I had hoped to achieve was something akin to Hollywood Glamour Meets Retro Homemaker. 

Now for a wee bit of the personal...this apron isn't my only new addition...today, we welcomed a sweet new grandson into our family. 

A Bad Penny?

Isn't this fabric beautiful with its vintage look and the deep midnight background?  I have a little bit left in my stash and feared running out.   I  reordered more yardage of this fabric because the supplier was also getting low.  Didn't want to miss out and get backordered. 

A few days later, UPS shows up with my order and THIS is what I received.  I called up the supplier and they had me return the wrong fabric and that day they mailed me the correct fabric.  Guess what I got?  Yep, they sent me more of the same....it's like a bad penny...it just won't go away.

When I called back to say the fabric was really, really wanting to live in my stash, they said I could keep this one and they would send me the correct one (which is now on backorder)!

I'm going to let you in on a little secret ~ I don't make too many aprons in the color green.  Nothing against green, it's just that green is very hard to photograph and get an accurate color representation.  However, once in hand, I really started to love this fabric.  It has such a vintage look, so I had to make an apron for my Etsy Store....

I am so glad someone made a mistake twice!  This apron is even prettier in person with its monochromatic green color and vintage flowers.  I'm still working on a way to get better color representation.  Watch for more aprons in this fabric!

A New Look

Wait! You are at the right blog...I just have a new look thanks to Jenissa at Once Upon a Blog!

Jenissa is a genius AND a mind reader...check out her work!

My new look also signals some changes on the horizon.  Keep checking back!

In honor of my new look (and after posting), I was inspired to create an apron that matches my new blog look! 

Gloomy, Shloomy

Here in (mostly) sunny Austin, TX the winter weather in pretty decent. However, we've had a bit of a cold snap followed by some fog and rain which makes it gray and gloomy. So, to brighten my day, I decided to make a new apron that winks at weather and then challenges it to cheer up!

Actually, I've been wanting to add a halter style to my apron repertoire'. After a bit of head scratching and an overwhelming desire to curse, I did manage to pull off something wearable. I'm really pleased with the way it looks, but I can see this style evolving as I make it over and over. One possible change would be to make it have a circle-cut skirt. Wouldn't that be really cute? Maybe add some rickrack where the halter criss-crosses. Endless possiblilities for another day!

The Flannel Apron

Recently, someone emailed my Etsy store and asked if I could make this apron style with a terry cloth skirt. She wanted a working apron, one that she could use to wipe wet hands and other cooking releated things. Since terry cloth is really thick and heavy, I didn't think it would work too well in an apron. However, I remembered that several fabric designers were offering some of their quilting weight fabrics in flannel. So, I suggested that the apron skirt be flannel, an idea that she thought would work, too.

The apron you see above is the result of those conversations and then the reality of the finished product. I am really pleased with the way the flannel works so well for this application. Who knows, maybe I've invented something entirely new!