Bridal Shower Apron

This weekend my cousin Liz had her bridal shower. It was very nice. I loved seeing everyone. Liz is seven months older than me and we spent a lot of time together as kids so I've known a lot of her friends for a long time and think of them as my friends too. Obviously for a shower gift I gave her an apron. It's my go to bridal shower present. 

I didn't use a pattern so it ended up taking a lot longer than it probably should have because I made silly mistakes. The ruffle at the bottom is a detail I really like.

I like the way it turned out and kind of wanted to keep it.

Next is the bachelorette party which I am super excited for.

Lauren

Bridal Shower Apron V 9.0

Another Apron. I am not tired of sewing these, but I wonder if you're getting tired of seeing all the aprons I make. My Grammy says I am lucky that I have baby showers and bridal showers to go to because all she has to go to are funerals. Unfortunately I cannot go to this bridal shower because my family is getting together to spread my grandfathers ashes. Oy! I bet you wanted to know that. Charlie keeps making references to "The Big Lebowski" that I don't get because I've only seen the first 5 minutes of that movie and I didn't like it. 

Anyways, back to the apron. This one is made for my friend Amanda. We went to college together and were in the same major. We used to study all the time in the big room of the library and we spent way more time talking and stressing about about our test than we ever spent studying. After we both finished grad school she got a job near my home town and so we used to see each other quite a bit since she lived right down the street from my Dad's house. Then she had to move back to Maine. Bummer. She's getting married over Labor Day weekend and I could not be more excited for her wedding. 

I went with a simple apron, not too many frills. The waist tie has bias tape under it because I couldn't find a piping in the color I wanted.

I like the thick ties for the back. Very simple. I hope she likes it.

Lauren

Apron: V 8.0

Charlie's cousin is getting married in May and his fiance, my soon to be cousin in law, had a bridal shower this weekend. I was not able to go (I have not mastered the being in two places at once thing just yet) but I sent a homemade apron to the party for her to open. 

I might be biased, but I think it's pretty cute. The main fabric is Denyse Schmidt, one of my favorites, and then I added some light blue polka dots and white ric rac for extra pizzaz.

Every apron needs a pocket. What do people keep in apron pockets anyways? Extra flour? A pinch of sugar? A wooden spoon? I just added a pocket because I think they look cute.

I want to start expanding my repertoire in terms of the top of the aprons I make. I'm getting better at the finishing, but would like to try something else.

The hardest part about adding the tags is remembering to actually add it.

I think she likes it.

Okay. That's all. More tomorrow about where I was when I couldn't be at the bridal shower. 

Lauren 

Apron V 5.0

Another apron you ask? Why yes. It seems as though almost all of my friend have or are getting married. And getting married means a bridal shower, and if you're me a bridal shower means an apron.

My friend Megan is getting married and I couldn't be more thrilled. I feel most slightly responsible for her getting married. When I was a freshman diver she came on a recruiting trip to UMaine and it was my job to get her to think I was cool and to join our team/come to school there. The entire diving team took her out to eat and then we all spent about a gagillion dollars playing ski ball and winning tickets to buy blow up hands that said "We're #1". Meg and I stayed up until about 2 am talking and laughing that night, the next morning we had a diving meet and I failed 2 out of 5 dives and somehow still managed to convince her to join the team. So long story short, if I hadn't been so much fun she would never have gone to school where she did and would never have met her future husband, therefore everyone should thank me! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to the bridal shower and tell everyone how they were all there because of me, but I was happy to make her an apron. I used the same basic pattern I've used for all of the other aprons.

I love the polka dots with the flower pattern and the red piping. I can't seem to get enough of the piping lately. Here is the waist band detail. More soon on perfect piping!

I even figured out a way to include a tag. Now she'll never forget who helped her reach her wedded bliss. 

Happy Monday!

Lauren 

Bridal Shower Apron Part 2

Have I told you lately that it's bridal shower season? Yeah, I thought so. One last post. I used the same basic pattern from the other apron to make this one. The major difference is that I actually had bias tape that matched this fabric and could therefore use it on the apron so the navy trim shows on this apron. I ran out of navy polka dots which is what I wanted to use for the waist ties so I settled for the aqua accents. 

 When Jill opened the apron at the shower one of the bridesmaids said; "Is that a Vera Bradley?" Talk about a complement. Thank you Denyse Schmidt! Since the pleated bottom worked so well on the other apron, I did the same for this one, and thus the vicious cycle of straying away from math continues.

On another math related note, I should have done more math because I seriously have almost a yard of this left over. Any ideas? Pot holders? A Casserole carrier for us? The options are as endless as an almost yard of fabric.

And lastly here is a picture of Jill. She just looks like she's been ripped out of a Good Housekeeping magazine or Mad Men (note: I've never seen an episode of Mad Men in my life, and I don't frequently read Good Housekeeping.) But she does looks cute, I mean look at those heels!

Alright, as promised, this is my last bridal shower post for a while.

Lauren!

Bridal Shower Apron

A few years ago I had this idea that aprons make the best bridal shower gifts ever. I still stand by this thought. Aprons are easy to make, can be personalized, don't require fitting, and my favorite, only have to look good from one side. 

This one was made for my friend Abby. She's so sweet and nice I don't even care that her wedding is over Memorial Day weekend, which is when I typically sit by the lake and get my first sunburn of the year. She's an artist/graphic designer so I went a little crazier with her apron than I have with others in the past. It was really fun. When else would I buy neon green fabric and hot pink piping?

I have about 4 unopened apron patterns. I find it easier to fold an apron I already have in half and use it for basic measurements and then let the sprit move me from there. This one is a variation of an apron I got at my bridal shower last year. See...I'm not the only genius!

 The pleated ruffle (is that an oxymoron?) at the bottom was a last minute touch. I like the ruffle-y look, but it's such a pain sometimes to gather and pull the thread, at some point the thread always breaks on me and I have to start again. Pleating it was just so much easier. I thought I was going to have to do math to do the pleats but I just guessed and got lucky. Sort of love when that happens, since obviously I didn't have to fix anything or start again, but it's also bad when something like that happens because it just reinforces my terrible behavior ie: fear math to the point of avoiding it at all cost then get positive reward from fearing math, therefore continuing the vicious cycle. 2 + 2 WHA????

I mailed it last Monday in order for it to get the the shower in time. Mailing it on Monday obviously means I finished it on Monday afternoon. Charlie wasn't home to subject him to taking my picture so I settled for this mirror shot before wrapping the present in used recycled wrapping paper and running to the post office before it closed. I don't live far from the post office so I really did run. And there was a rock in my shoe the whole way there but I was too nervous about not making it there in time to stop and take the rock out. Talk about dedication....or just plain crazy.

I always make the ties way too long, but this length allows you to wrap it around to make a cute little bow in the front. 

The best part is I know Abby likes to cook so this apron will get some use. Unlike my aprons which are only for tracing to create other aprons, and also for wearing when I do the dishes after eating spaghetti.

Lauren 

Bridal Shower Apron-2

Although it doesn't seem like it, I have been sewing quite a bit around here.  I just can't tell you about it. Well. I can tell you about one project.

My friend Jaclyn had a bridal shower last weekend, I couldn't go because I had another shower to go to (more on that later). For her shower I made her an apron. I've decided that aprons are the best bridal shower gift ever and will make one to give to every bride I know.  I made one last year for Sammy, one for Meera, and I also made one for my friend Heather for her shower, which was in April, but I forgot to take a picture...there was a cute baby at the shower and I was a little distracted.

 Here is a picture of Jaclyn's apron. Isn't she adorable? I used an apron that I already had to get the basic size and shape. I really wanted to have white bias tape for an accent, but I didn't have any and didn't feel like driving 30+ minutes to Joann's, so I just used some cream colored fabric cut into strips and made my own bias tape. I think it turned out even better than just white bias tape would have.I love when that happens.

I want to modify the pattern a bit more and work on making different tops and adding different accents. I've got plenty of time for that, and plenty of bridal showers to make them for!

Lauren

Bridal Shower Apron

This weekend was very busy. We went to Connecticut for Charlie's grandmother's 90th birthday party. It was loads of fun. I had never met most of Charlie's relatives before so it was great to get to meet them. Plus, I already knew all of their names and where they lived from addressing wedding stuff. Lots of putting faces to names. After the party on Saturday Charlie's aunt hosted a bridal shower for me, and also for my future sister in law, Meera. Having a joint shower is not as much pressure, I'd recommend it.

Anywho, when you're sharing a bridal shower with someone you don't just get presents you get to give them too. I made Meera an apron over my vacation. I purchased the book "A is for Apron" over a year ago and finally decided to put it to use. The only problem was that there were no pattern pieces included, just a few pages in the back that needed to be enlarged 400%. I had/have no idea where to get pattern pieces enlarged and printed, and I didn't really feel like leaving the house at the time, so I pulled some newspaper out of the recycling bin and winged it. After cutting most of the pieces out Rich came inside, noticed my dilemma and tried to help me to do math to fix it. At that point it was too late, and my measurements were far too off to be remedied so I continued down my path of winging it/ figuring it out while I worked, plus I hate math.

Despite my winging it I think the end result is pretty nice. After reading some of the reviews of the book lots of other people had problems with enlarging and following the poorly worded directions as well. Glad I am not the only one. I even winged it/ deviated from the pattern enough to make it reversible.

I also added some little details, tiny mismatched buttons.

Jay (Meera's future hubs/ my future brother-in-law/ Charlie's brother) decided to put the apron on once the boys returned from bowling. As I was snapping his picture Charlie said "She's going to blog about this!" At least he knows me well, right?

The best part was when Meera opened my gift to her she said "An Apron! I was so jealous of the apron you made for Danielle for Christmas." I love making gifts for appreciative people, especially when they are also really nice and fun to boot.

Lauren!

Sew N Tell- Apron

Did you think I have just been sewing tee shirt bags? Well good, that's what I wanted you to think. But actually I have been sewing a lot of stuff. And the one that I can show you it a snazzy apron. A few weeks ago I was with my friend Kirsten and I mentioned that I was going to a bridal shower for my friend Sammy. Kirsten is the best person ever to give present ideas, and in this case she pulled the cutest apron out of her cabinet and said; "Why don't you make something like this?" There and then a present idea was born, and my fabric freeze ended, but only for this, and it was a gift, so it's okay.

Kirsten's apron was reversible so I decided to take on the task of attempting to make Sammy's reversible too. One rainy Saturday a few weeks ago I was supposed to have class but my teacher got sick which meant I had a whole unexpected day off, I sat myself in front of the sewing machine and figured out how to make a copy of Kirsten's apron.

Side one with three button accent and a coordinating dish towel.

Side two. Luckily Sammy is a fantastic photographer
and she took some other/ better pictures of the apron.

I need to take pointers from Sammy for taking photos; i.e. throwing
your project on the carpet during a rainy day does not a good photo make.

I am really happy with how it turned out, and the good news is I made pattern pieces so I can make another one! The other good news is that Sammy liked it, and I think that's the best news.

And the last bit of good news is that it's Friday!! I lied, the last bit of good news is that Amy the Sew N Tell originator had a baby last night, congrats!

Lauren