Apron and Mickey

Here’s the apron I referenced the other day, back when it was just a bunch of woven strips attached to a rectangle of linen. I am wearing it now. It works.

For an apron to work for me, it MUST have strings long enough to tie in front, so that I can tuck a dish towel into it. Pockets unnecessary.

For the many quilters and fiber artists out there who make work as gifts or to sell, how do you know when something’s A KEEPER?

I knew I wanted this for myself, but sometimes I DON’T. One way to turn something I haven’t admitted I want to keep into a keeper is to price it too high. Ha!

P.S.  This apron combines the learning from two Jude Hill classes (Spirit Cloth) — Cloth to Cloth and Contemporary Boro.

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cotton pants

First, there were SEVENTY t-shirts in the duvet cover.  And, quickly, rushing, but as promised, here are the pants I made:

Picture not the best, but you can see the fullness of the leg, the nice drape.  I used leftover sashing from the duvet cover to make the tie.

My one mistake was to sew the casing closed prior to making the buttonholes.  Next time: make buttonholes first! Then sew casing shut.

And, BTW, I had a Linen Bonanza at my favorite thrift store a couple of days ago.  This top was found then.

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and speaking of collars

Talk about workmanship!!! Wow is it humbling to peruse the book, “Dress In Detail”!! Many of those bands of color (e.g. the deep orange) are rows of teeny and uniform chain stitch.  The pale orange and salmon fuzzy rows near the bottom are couched chenille – a great idea, right?!! You can definitely see why the French word ‘chenille’ means ‘caterpillar’. And the top and roughly-middle black bands are applied black velvet, embellished with near see-through sequins and waving rows of seed beads – two more wonderful ideas.

I came across another men’s wedding vest here — All the Pretty Dresses – a website devoted to archiving garments from prior to 1929.  I especially love the brown ink signature in the lining.  Boro ragmates will appreciate the photo of the patched placket on the inside.

Perhaps this attention to finery is prompted in part by prom festivities last night.  It was quite a scene – five young couples gathered and at least 12 adults, quite a few stray siblings, with most of the onlookers taking pictures!  I felt like a member of the paparazzi. I won’t insert the more traditional scrapbooking shots here, but you have to admire this collection of shoes:

And, you can’t help but smile at this one:

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Polka Dot Slippers – pattern by ‘ithinksew’

I bought the pattern for these kimono-style slippers at Clotide, but you could also go directly to the designer’s shop –  ‘ithinksew‘.  Easy to make. These are flannel-lined.

For the CUTEST baby shoes, check out ‘ithinksew’ again here.  Anybody having a baby?!!

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