Aproning!

Good morning! I haven't been doing too much in the way of Making, lately, although I do have a doily at the "nothin' much here... what is it?" stage *lol* but I have been reading my inspirational blogs... Last night I simply could not wait any longer... I had to make an apron, I simply had to. This is not because I read Apronista--tis actually the other way round: I read Apronista because I need aprons, and hey! I may as well make as buy them, right? So yesterday I went again to Craftster and read the Vintage Pillowcase Apron entry.

I remembered the camera, kinda in time, lol. It takes a lot to get started because we're in such tight quarters.

My lil ShaveDog looks sooo different now! It amazes me still that she can be two such colors, punkin pie for the top coat, brindled champagne for the undercoat--and striped! She has that dark stripe down her back! Who knew?

Well, anyhow, I covered the chair using the simple expedient of "what came to hand" and it was a lil red blanket . It'll keep the fur off the chair and preserve the upholstery until I get a slipcover made.

Considering it took me two months to get brave enough to try making an apron, that blanket might be there a while!

And yes, Lady is smiling. That happy grin of hers makes me smile, too.

Well, alrighty, let's go aproning, shall we?? When she's closed, Our Beauty is a great place to get started on cutting pattern pieces... not that a pillowcase apron has anything complicated! I chose a pillowcase that I didn't mind not making into a tote bag. My goal here is to make an apron for everyday use, one that I don't mind getting dirty or even stained.

Here it is with the pocket mostly sewn on. I chose to make a long strip pocket without flaps. I sewed it with the bottom six inches above the seam line on the hem, because I had no earthly idea where to put it, lol... I sewed it into three pockets to keep it from hanging open and pulling toward the floor.

Remember I said I would blog about my mistakes and setbacks as well as my successes? Well, a pocket six inches above the hem seam is WAY too high! Remember that on a pillowcase, the hem seam is already three inches from the bottom (because it's the casing at the opening of the pillowcase). Next apron, I will put the bottom of the pocket at most three inches from the seam.

Here's another mistake... you can see I pinned the ties on in the above photo. I didn't bother to iron them first. It proved almost impossible for me to get them on evenly, because I had to fold them one more time to get the raw edges covered. I finally gave up, gave in, and got out the iron. Once I had the ties pressed in half and then pressed with raw edges to the inside, it was MUCH easier to get them properly pinned in place and sewn on!

Aproning! There you have it, my first apron, utilitarian and meant for cooking, dishwashing, and just everyday general use! All told it took a little over an hour to actually sew... and let me tell you, Our Beauty is THE BEST SEWING MACHINE I have ever used in my life! I am so *sold* on old Singers!! She hums along with a gentle whir and her knee lever works ever so much better than a foot pedal. Her stitches are smooth and even and it is just an absolute JOY to sew now! I'm still being really careful with her and I think that as I get used to her, I will probably get faster but no less careful.

So, after the delight of wearing my apron last night, I hung it up and went to bed. When I got up this morning, I discovered the Self-Installing Cat Accessory Program had self-initiated again. Here is a rare shot of Module Four, who has proven to be rather camera shy. She is running the Foldy Feets Application, and her paw is ever-so-neatly tucked under.

Here is her sweet face... and then she was done, lol...