Apron of the Day: Clothespin Edition

Yes, my friends, I’m still turning out aprons as if they represent a way of life, The Path, an income stream, or a sensible way for a Bluestocking to spend her declining years. None of these choices make sense.

I sew aprons mostly because they’re a useful way to display great printed fabric and amusing trim.  I mostly make reversible aprons because they afford me the chance to feature two fabrics, and because I can avoid using my least favorite sewing supply: seam binding. No matter how careful I am when I baste or pin it to the fabric’s edge, I always come to tears.

This model, new to me, features seam binding. Next time I’ll use it only to edge the pocket, not to bind the sides or hem.

Gather around, children. Once upon a time there was no such thing as a clothes dryer. People strung a long cord in the back card, and hung the wet clothes to dry on it using  a small instrument called a clothespin. A big load of wash would require scores of clothespins.

The clothespin apron features a pocket to contain them. A big pocket, almost the size it the front of the apron. This one is big enough to hold a cookbook, glasses, cell phone and a two month old infant.

 

 

 

 

 

Apologies to Loulander fans: The full-length photograph I took of him is so dark and dismal that I’ll skip it this time round.

Apron of the Day: Pumpkins and Reindeer

I’m in production mode.

I was stunned to realize, as I pulled my apron inventory from my warehouse (that would be the linen closet) that I didn’t have one stinkin’ holiday apron  on hand. I blew whatever money that came from my last apron sale on Christmassy fabric (oooooh, I have some cool yardage!”) and pondered the possibilities of the reversible apron.

For The Season, I’m expanding into mother/daughter, grandmother/granddaughter, doll aprons — even wine bottle aprons. But value is important, so I’m thinking: one side can be holiday based but the verso should be a print that can be worn year-round. What do you think?

As it happened, I found a yard of fabric from my stash that handles the two fall holidays that feature pumpkins — plus the print is so terrific that it could handle twelve months a year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The life-sized reveal:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(If you crave some Asian pears, c’mon over and strip the tree.)

This is the witty Christmas side — I love these reindeers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Willow put in an appearance, but didn’t climb into the shoot — note the windfall pears. Sigh.

 

 

 

 

 

I love this apron, red rickrack and reindeer:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So let’s crowd source this. If you’re buying a Christmas cookie- baking, gravy- stirring, hors d’ouevres -passing  Christmas apron, would you like the reverse to be a pretty print you could wear year-round?

 

Apron of the Day:”Sweet and Hot”

This is not one of my Yin/Yang His/Hers kind of reversible aprons — it’s all hot sweet cuties, from the chic babe walking her pup to the saucy chick motorcyclists flashing their frilly panties. It was a blast to create because I giggled my way through the sewing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On this side the print features cowgirls, flamenco dancers, babes in capris chatting on the phone: I love them all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For (hee hee) a “fabric artist” like me, it’s all about the print. Fabrics for me are like my children;how can you play favorites? That said, this week these motorcycling mammas are my bevvy of firstborns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even Loulander laughed — I’m glad I had the prim red gingham trim for the pockets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve some dazzling Asian prints I can’t wait to cut into, but what think you? Should I begin this year’s crop of holiday aprons?

Apron of the Day: His and Hers Camo

Well, when you’ve finished field dressing that buck, you’ll need to cook it, right? Here’s the latest in my “Field and Stream” line. By the way, Lou’s promised to get a haircut. When his hair’s short he looks twenty years younger, and dang handsome. His follicles are now at the dude drinking cheap wine out of a paper bag stage, but hey, he’s still the Loulander!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This camo was designed by computer, and I like the digital effect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, hmmm, I don’t know what part of the country a gal could  blend into wearing this apron. Sarah Palin’s beauty salon in Wasilla? Better: Dollywood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who knew that camo and rickrack are soulmates?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extra photo for Willow’s groupies. She almost made it to the photo shoot, but got distracted by some yummy grass at the end of the driveway. Geez, these feline diva supermodels!

 

Apron of the Day: “Off the Hook”

Fry more fish, open more oysters, bake more bluefish. Here’s the Apron of the Day in my new “Field and Stream” series. Thanks for the idea, Jayne — I have more different deer and quail prints than I could have thought possible.

It’s oppressively hot and humid tonight, but I hustled Loulander outside for a quick photo shoot.

The fabric: I love the colors and I added a bright button on each pocket just to, I dunno, follow the fun forms of the lures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The apron:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This camo fabric cracks me up — truly. It’s fish camo!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The apron. Note that I’ve made Loulander smile and he’s trying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s burger night tonight here in the ‘Ville, and as soon as the buns have risen enough to bake I’m gonna be all about a cheeseburger,topped with Charlene’s tomatoes and some cheese. Some late season Illinois corn on the cob will make it fab. But hold the lettuce: I don’t hold with no stinkin’ lettuce anywhere near my cheeseburger!

 

Apron(s) Of the Day

The weather has cooled, and it’s as if degrees in the 80s are my favorite high 60s. I get up earlier, I have more energy, I think  about accomplishing  stuff like cleaning bathrooms and weeding, which were beyond me during the heat wave in July.

I went back to my roots and sewed a version of my “Farmhouse Lady” apron. I love the scalloped hem (not too visible because of my poor photography) and I’m mad about the farmhouse prints. I have a soft spot in my heart for this apron because it’s the first I ever made, in prints rooted from my stash.

Attention, Uncle Lloyd: Supermodel Willow showed up tonight, if only to show her ass as she scratches topsoil over shit.

Man, do I love these prints:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Verso:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s the apron, which I’m mad about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The reverse:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a brand new apron, fun to make, practical, tied together at the sides, and featuring a full back as well as the front. It’s tied at the sides with twill tape, for much sizing adaptability. Amazing feature: it’s open at the bottom, so it can be used as a laundry bag or a receptacle for gathering beets or tomatoes from the garden.  I’m going to call it “Kitchen and Garden.” It’s tabard style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bright print. Verso: A pretty, subdued, Chinese print:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s easy to wear, has deep pockets for garden trowels and random radishes, and I love twill tape ties:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I should have pulled the fabric down and straightened the apron. I’m not only a bad photographer, but a bad stylist. Note Willow burying, well, something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a better idea of the swell properties of the apron. Clean, useful, plain.

If either apron strikes a chord and you want to buy it, shoot me a message.

 

 

Apron of the Day: “Can I Get You Something From The Bar?”

Hey! I tried out a new apron today, which was a stitching wake-up. A new concept: an apron with the neck straps and the tie ends composed of three yards of twill tape. There’s a casing that runs from the bib to the side of the of the apron, and with a tug of the tape you can adjust the fit in a flash.

The apron Goddess Mary Mulari has a great pattern for this apron in its reversible form. I’d made a single-sided version for my cooking buddy and eGullet boss Dave seven (?) years ago, so I found that pattern, checked Mary’s website, and cooked up my version. It’s so plain it’s almost a waiter’s apron, but that’s part of the reason I love it. Lou liked it when he was forced to the photo shoot: Just pull at the tie ends and you can raise and lower the bib and adjust the waist ties to adjust to your own beautiful, unique bod.

Maybe this is a bartender’s apron? I had a fresh fun red martini print:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a Chicago saloon shot and a beer print:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s the apronly result:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used grosgrain ribbon for the ties, because even the Divine Mary suggests that ribbon or twill tape are a better sewing alternative  thantrying to turn out a nine foot long fabric tube. For true sewing nerds: rejoice! OMG, go to http://www.twilltape.com. I have, like, 73 yards heading my way for fifteen bucks, including shipping. (They have twill tape in colors! )

Wow, it’s a beautiful night in the ‘Ville: I can turn off the A/C and open the windows. It’s been a couple of months since the curtains fluttering inside the bedroom window has been a possibility.

(If you’re interested in buying the apron, shoot me an email.)

 

 

 

 

 

Apron of the Day: Summer Cocktails

Get out your cocktail shakers and your green plastic lime squeezer from the supermercado.

I love these prints, which suggest limeade in the early ’70s and Pina Coladas in the fifties. Or, perhaps, margaritas right now, while your skirt steak sizzles on the grill and you grate cheese and slice avocados in the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like the graphic pow of the apron, full length. A better photographer would have provided more pow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This print makes me happy — the colors, the detail , that mixologist vibe. I figured rickrack on the pocket was historically mandatory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think the model needs a tiki drink. Smile, already!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pulling those two fabrics from my stash and mating them made me smile all afternoon; I take my inspiration from fabric designers everywhere. Dang, I wish I had some limes in the house!

(If you’re interested in buying this apron, shoot me an email.)

 

Keeping Cool

Chicagoans complain about the cold seven months a year, then they complain about the heat and humidity for three. And yes, you dwellers of the Pacific Northwest, Southern California, Arizona can just please hold your tongues, please. You may have your weather challenges, but residents of the Midwest get it all: giant hail, tornadoes, blizzards, days colder than a witches teat and days which remind me what agricultural workers in Florida live through. Our foundations shift, our basements flood, our engines freeze in winter and our car bodies rust. I suppose it builds character. At this point in my life I guess I’m a character.

It was 97 yesterday,  it was 97 today, and it will be 97 tomorrow. I have expensive plants I bought yesterday that need to be planted, and weeds are ecstatic. At about four I girded my loins and dug a nice big hole to plant one of three nicotiana sylvestris. (An expensive, divine smelling annual.) Willow the Wonder Cat is interested in everything we do — pounce on the pencil when we’re doing the crossword, dare the up and down of the sewing machine needle with her paw, and leap from nowhere to tackle the weed in my hand. She loves gardening.

So, sweaty and lightheaded, I walked across the patio to pick out my  plant. I turned, and saw my Under Gardener pee carefully in my hole, then carefully fill the hole up with the dug up dirt circling it. I gave up.

Glory be to God for air conditioning. I just kinda fooled around on the internet, and Facebook Friends posted some clever links. Want to publish your monograph in Llama font? Ici: http://llamafont.com/

Or perhaps you’d like saucy sculptures of ladies made entirely from Chinese  cabbage? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1393169/Ju-Duoqi-The-Fantasies-Chinese-Cabbage-Glamour-girls-entirely-cabbage.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

So, I wasted some time on the internet, averted heatstroke and then did something conterintuitive: I got down with flour. Thanks to the divine A/C  I baked bread and made handmade fettucine. Come to think of it, that’s what I do when it’s twenty below outside — if the weather’s keeping me inside it’s time to do some real cooking. I bought the ice cream machine out  and did a strawberry frozen yoghurt.

It was a frustrating day, but just as our ancestors threw a log on the fire in wintertime and played euchre, I survived the heat by taking advantage of being held hostage by it.

It’ll be in the 60s by Thursday, say the local network weather guys. I’ll pull on a cardigan and weed.

Scrap Bag Rollup

I cut out a couple of aprons today (Janice, I haven’t forgotten) and pulled out the sewing machine for the first time in almost a quarter! Where does the time go?

You’ll see the Warrenville Zoolander modelling aprons later this week, but I didn’t use the Kenmore today for apron production. I cleaned its tiny parts with its tiny brush , threaded it up, and whipped up a roll for my crochet hooks. When I started “C & C” I had higher, more practical and more philosophical goals — bleach, fireflies, striped Swedish cupcake papers — but I’ve noticed that it’s leaning towards a fabric/paper/crafts blog. Bear with me for awhile: it’s just that folding and hooking and sewing is what I’ve been about while I’m trying to lose this cold.

I have crochet hooks stashed in three different spots (four, counting my father’s house,) and I’ve replicated sizes because I had no motherlode of aluminum in one place.  I’ve been reproached daily by a stack of Log Cabin pieced place mats I’d made in early December, thinking to give them to my father for Christmas. Har. They never got past the pieced tops before we left for Ottawa, but they were the right size and shape to turn into a hook roll.

So, with the important needlework done four months ago, it took about half an hour to produce this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two solid rectangles would of course work just as well, but the vertical “logs” of the piecing were good guides to sewing the slots for the hooks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I sewed the ribbon into the seams, nice and tight. This silly thing, my welcome back to my sewing machine, would work as well or better for knitting needles, sketching pencils, watercolor brushes, pencil crayons or chopsticks. You, my cherished apron patrons, may recognize some of the scraps.