Apron

I had one of those pesky coupons at Jo-Ann’s Fabric that would give me $10 off of a $50 purchase.  My purchase at the register was $41 at the time.  I looked at the coupon, looked at the grumpy cashier, and looked at the line, and grabbed a pattern off the shelf near the register that I’d been eyeing while in line. It was marked $9.95.  Effectively it was free with the coupon. I’ll rant about coupons another day…Anyway…. The pattern sat on my shelf until today.  I bought some fabric on sale at Ikea a few weeks ago.  It was $2.99 a yard for 60″width 100% cotton canvas.  (I used about a yard of it for this apron.)  I prewashed and started cutting and sewing.  I like the apron and I liked the pattern. I don’t sew much from patterns because I like to make my own, but having this pattern saved me the hassle, and I don’t think I would’ve thought of the stripey pieceing on my own.  I probably would’ve made a more basic butcher style apron left to my own devices.

photo of pattern

Instead of a hook and loop closure on the back, I made a button hole and button closure.  I made my own bias tape from the main fabric rather that using purchased bias tape which the pattern called for ( I didn’t have matching bias tape lying around, I didn’t want to go shopping for it, and the amount needed was easy to cut from fabric on hand)  And I would have liked more specificity on which side of the pocket piece was up – I sewed it wrong the first time assuming the wide end was the opening.  It’s not.

Other than that little oversight, it was fun to sew, and I imagine it’ll be fun to wear.  I need an apron to wear for oil painting class so I don’t get paint all over myself.

I like an apron with a front bib, pockets,  and not too many ties and ruffles.  This one fits the bill.  Not too bad for a last minute grab at the fabric store.

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Quilted, Bound, and Launched

Finished in the nick of time!  Alicia is back at school with her quilt.  It’s quilted with a Minkee back for super cuddliness, and a high loft poly batting for extra puffiness.

Alicia asked for a loopy design as the quilting pattern.  I had her draw it with marker on newsprint for me because a picture is worth a 1000 words. Her idea of loopy might have been different from mine.

Someone told me that doodling on newsprint with a marker without picking it up would help me with continuous line quilting and indeed it did.  The newsprint simulates the “noise” that patterned and pieced fabric adds to the surface, and drawing continuously and doodling like this has helped me see how to move from one area to the next on complicated patterns.    I’ve filled pages of newsprint with doodling.  Using a super juicy marker that leaches ink when you hold it in one area too long helps see where things aren’t moving too.   If I doodle a pattern where I’m stuck often, I won’t quilt it until I get smoother at drawing it.  If I can’t do it smoothly in pen, I certainly can’t do it with a machine, thread, hopping foot and needle!

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May as well get started

New canvas. New year.  I’m taking an oil painting class as well as this blogging class. Felicia Forte paints and teaches. She sent out a thing I like that a painter and friend of hers wrote. aFewWordsOnTalent_Wurmser

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