Adorable Aprons

There is a giant hole in my domestic capabilities where sewing should go.  Having a mother who can sew with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back makes me even more ashamed to say that I know very, very little on the subject.  I am able, with much concentration, to sew a wobbly straight seam.  If I push the pedal too hard, I inevitably get way off course.  If the thread comes loose, I can't re-thread the machine, despite my mama's many attempts to demonstrate it for me.  Looking at a sewing machine, to me, is like sitting in an airplane cockpit.  All the lights and buttons mean absolutely nothing to me.  For these reasons, I have always avoided sewing like a plague.

Maybe it's because I no longer want to have a gaping hole in my homemaker proficiency or possibly because I don't have anything better to do (wait, that can't be it because I have so much on my mind I have to make lists to remind me to read my lists) but, I feel like learning to sew.  Learning to sew.  Not just knowing how to push the pedal.  Learning how to sit down and create a work of art with fabric and thread.  Mainly my motivation is that I want to know how to make itsy-bitsy baby clothes for all my itsy-bitsy babies.  But, I also want to know how to make cute little crafts like this one.......

(Apron I made for sweet SIL to go in her first kitchen)

I saw the pattern for these aprons on this blog I follow loosely (mostly because I like to look at her photos).   Intrigued by the simplicity of the idea, I decided I'd make one for my kitchen soap.  What's the best thing about sewing with a seasoned seamstress?  Fabric scraps are free to whomever can make good use of them.  I dug through my mama's stash and found a fabric which would look good in my (wallpapered, ugh) kitchen.  Have you noticed that wallpaper?  I hate it.  It terribly constricts my home decorating juices from flowing freely.  I have a whole kitchen beautification plan in the storage closet of my mind for when I finally get a place of my own.... Although, I'm not counting on one this side of glory.  Nevertheless, above mentioned and detested wallpaper came with the apartment deal, so I live it with it.

Where was I?

....I found a piece of fabric I liked for my kitchen.  In the process, I found one which I thought someone very dear to me would like, too.  Thinking it might put a smile on her face,  I got busy to work making hers first.

Once completed, I packed it up and shipped it off to my favorite (and only) mother in law.

I am a proud seamstress.

I can hardly refer to myself as a seamstress, but I'll take this moment to bask in the wonder of those words together in a sentence. 

Hooked.

Now I want to make an apron for everyone I know.  Don't be disappointed if you think you fall into the "everyone I know" category (which really means anyone I would leave my baby with, ask to clean my toilets, or call if I had a flat [I had one the other day and it was not fun]) and don't receive one.  Maybe you'll get one for your birthday.  Or Christmas.  Or maybe I'll make a couple more and run out of seamstress steam.

(For my sewing instructor)

Ta~da!

We interrupt your reading to bring you this announcement:

Kyle is still cute.

Can we say, "Johnny Jump Up fail?"

Back to working on mine, complete with lap dog assistance.

I'm still running with my enthusiasm, and I'm going to make another....

~Abby