Sweet Aprons

I recently was out scouring some Antique shops & found these 3 darling aprons. I am not sure if this one was hand stitched or store bought....the workmanship & detail is excellent. All encased (French) seams and the machine stitching is clean, even and perfect.
Certainly not like something sewn at home on a non-commercial machine.

This one was stitched hand stitched...and is in wonderful shape.

This sweet one has some wear & damage,,,looks like the 'suzie homemaker' had her iron just a tad to hot and melted the blue chiffon fabric.

I love the blue/green/purple floral fabric. A popular mid 1960's color scheme.

Last Day of February

Peekie just waking from her nap....just loves a lazy crazy Sunday. Gary out working,,,just because he can...and it was a nice day for February.

I had this white candy dish for sometime and love it....Recently found this sweet pink one at "Hidden Treasures" in Airway Heights...now to decide which one gets chocolate and which one gets Lemon Drops...

Wool Cameo Box Craft

Wool Cameo Box craft Project.... My neighbor, Andrea, loves doing wool craft projects and Penny Rugs. So when ever I come across wool I save it for her for her crafting projects.
Recently she invited me over to make & take a project....did I mention she is a retired Home Ec. teacher, and teaching is in her blood.....I think she is going to give me an "A" for this project...least ways, I sure hope so!...
It is made using cardboard from a cereal box, scrap pieces of wool, bits-n-pieces of trim, buttons, fabric glue, needle & thread....& Voila! instant box...well sort of!
Actually you would use wool for both the inside & outside, but I just had to be different, and used fabric on the inside....so it was a bit more tricky getting everything together...but here is my end result. What do you think?

Hmmmm!

Ok, so I found this piece at a Thrift Shop for 99cents....it was probably from a chandelier.... Guess what I am going to use it for....yep, a drip catcher on my candle stick! It's a lot cheaper then buying a Bobich(not sure if I am pronouncing or spelling it correctly, but I see them sell for $4 just for the little plain glass rings in shops.....

p.s., that's me, (left) with the Queen of Crafting(right), Carol Duval....I loved her crafting shows and had the good fortune to go to two of her studio tapeings and of course have a picture taken with my favorite Crafting Guru.

Hidden Treasures

A very lovely friend owns a sweet little eclectic vintage shop over in
Airway Heights, Washington, called 'Hidden Treasures'.
These are just a few of the goodies in her shop that she sells.Lynn sells antiques, vintage, re-purposed and collectibles.

A lady from the town of Davenport, just up the road, paints & decorates these Train Cases into cute themed carry-alls for little girls. Each case has a matching apron, 2 pot holders and sweet little goodies that go with the theme. This one is for a little "Suzie Baker"....while the little blue one is a "Little Girls Tea Party"....I just love these cases, and each is hand painted and decorated.

Lynn, the owner of Hidden Treasures is just the sweetest lady and she always has great finds. Goodness knows I have bought my share of goodies from her, most of which have ended up in my vintage trailers. Thanx Lynn!

For those of you familiar with Spokane, Lynn's shop is in Airway Heights on Hwy 2, just go through town, as if you were going to Readon/Davenport...then when you see the 'Spoko Fuel, Lynn's shop is across the street in what use to be a little Barber shop..there is a small Carousel horse outside of her shop.

Happy Shopping.

February 2010

Ok, I know you think I don't do anything but peruse junk stores & thrift shops...and collect aprons all day long...
Well, believe it or not, I don't...well least ways not all day long! lol!

I just HAD to have one of these "Cricut" machines...now I do...& I still have not had time to play with it! bummer! But it's on my "bucket list" !!
As for the cute little green table & chair set, Karen, Sher & I were out and about, doing what we do best, Junktiquing...and I spotted this set...I showed it to them, and when they passed on it, I nearly poohed purple twinkies! (cuz I wanted it) Mine Mine Mine! and now it is mine! lol! Yet another UFO (un-finished object). All I need to do is the hand stitching around the appliques, then add the backing & binding...who knows, it might get done in time for Christmas 2010, since I bought it back in 2008! LOL!

Wahoo! I do get some of my projects done....I finished this 45"sq wall quilt...now I just need to get the curtain rod hung so I can display my quilt over my tea cups.

Ok, some of you may remember, I made the large denim apron last summer. I used the 2 legs from a pair of hubbies cast off jeans...and I used some wonderful fabric that EllynAnne(The Apron Book) sent me.....Voila' instant 1 hour apron....but then I started seeing all these variations of denim aprons and I could not resist! I used a green checkered mans shirt (that I bought for .99cents at the Thrift) for the backing, ties & yoyos! I used yet another pair of my hubbies cast off jeans for the front of the apron...by the way, this is NOT a 1hour project...but was fun and I am always in need of another apron! lol! (p.s.. that's Dolly-girl keeping watch over my aprons.)

Cute blue jeans apron...total re-purpose of fabrics & left over trim.

I had just enough of the Ball Fringe left over from another project to run across the bottom of this apron. Whew!

Back view...I had to incorporate the labels just because I can... and I stitched my own name label (folded) on the left top by the ties.

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The following aprons were a gift to me from the collection of Irene Rawlings. She is an Editor and published author of many books including the soon to be released "Sisters on the Fly" book. Due out in April...check it out on Amazon.com

She is without a doubt the most lovely and spirited and humorous lady one could want to meet, and her darling hubby is equally delightful.
I can not Thank her enough for theses sweet aprons. They will be cared for and cherished by me until I have to go to that Big Clothes Line in the Sky" lol! Thank you Irene!

I think every apron tells a story & if I had to guess, I would say this one (my favorite) was custom made by 'Margaret' for a woman who was tall and larger then the norm for women of that time....who knows,,,maybe a budding Julia Child wore this apron....

I am mystified with this one, as the colors are mid-century but the fabric feels like cotton but has a wee bit of stretch...perhaps it has a little Dacron(polyester) in it.

This is the apron in full view. Made maybe by a budding Kitchen Diva?

I think this one is too cute! it was made from a Q/K pillow case...hmmm! even back in the 1960's & 70's there were some "re-purposers"

Oops! this should have been up with the picture of the labeled apron,,,oh Well!

I love this one! It has stains which means it was well used by a creative cook...or in my case a sloppy-messy cook! lol! I would guess 1960's due to the type of weave and the motif on the fabric....If I didn't know better, I would not be surprised to see this fabric used as kitchen curtains...it reminds me of the "Moses " print fabric that was common in the mid-century, and on Bark Cloth.

here is another pic of the fabric & label.

Ok, I am stumped....the orange & yellow fabric are still vibrant but the paisley print fabric is faded and in some areas more so...very interesting combo. I like it tho'

This too is a cute hand made apron,,,& I do mean hand made...it was almost all hand stitched. I can not imagine sitting and hand stitching rickrack on but the 'author' of this apron did just that!

The white ruffle is soft & airy like hankie material. And as you noticed, there is/are no neck ties. I do know that in the 1920/30's women, to save on fabric, would forgo the neck ties and just safety pin the bib of the apron to their own blouses. I don't think this is from that era as the fabric is to bright and the rickrack is more rounded unlike the earlier rickrack that was more pointed.

If I were a betting person, I would bet that this was made from some old feed/grain/salt/sugar or flour sack. This was a beginners project apron and she had to piece bits here & there to create her apron. The stitching job is quit remedial...maybe a very young girl/child made this as her first stitching project.

I am guessing this could have been made any where's from 1935 to 1960 based on the "Candy Pink" and "Mid Blues" colors. I wonder how the 'author' of this apron did with her sewing skills. Did she make more aprons? did she give up sewing?, but most of all....what did she re-purpose the fabric from.

Here is the full view of this sweet apron.

How fun is this! most likely the 'author' of this one used a pattern...I am guessing 1960's...

It too was well worn & loved...It has staining on the front top of the apron. I luv finding aprons that were worn & used,,,not just purely for decoration.

That being said, I still get goosebumps when I come across a vintage cocktail/hostess frilly froufrou apron in pristine condition! 'swoone"

This one was a delight to get,,,because I was born in Germany (mama is German) this was just so perfect...it has that Euro German/Swiss look to it...I think it was made from a table cloth due to the texture and thickness of the cotton fabric....perhaps it was a souvenir table cover from a European vacation...and the 'author' decided she would get more use out of it as an apron. Now the only question,,,why no neck straps? Could she have been an older woman who as a young home maker in the late 1920's used the "safety pin" method as I mentioned above? or did she just never get around to finishing it? Hmm, sounds like me and all my UFO ! lol!

And last but not least...I call this my "Carmen Miranda" apron.... it is soooo kitschy! Even Peekieboo likes it!

I have seen a lot of reproductions of this retro apron lately....

It's not very functionable but I certainly would take delight in wearing it as a Hostess apron! It is tooo fun! The 'erring loops' were probably to hold a flour sack towel or maybe for adornment only! Who knows,,,who cares! I am just so glad she is in my possession!

Ok, are you getting glassy-eyed from all these pic's?

Let me know if you recognise any of these fabrics or know what pattern the blue & purple half apron was made from.

So as you can see...besides other projects, java visits with girlfriends & laundry I manage to get a few other things done..ok, started...as well! Speaking of which, I better get lunch going!

Oh &&&& you can click on each picture to get a better/closer view. Ejoy & thanx for visiting.

Apron Hugz from the Crazy Kat Mama!

Surprise! another Apron!

Ok so I happened to have some left over fabric from a Laptop Quilt that I am working on...so whats a gal to do???? Yep, made another apron! Wahooo!
This is made from 19 - 5" squares. The back side is lined and I even had enough fabric left over to sew up some yoyos to trim the apron.

What do you do with old T-shirts?

What to do with T-shirts.....kitty not included! lol! Before.....

During....

Done!

Ok, so a wonderful friend gave me a creative sewing challenge..... and what fun I had!

These were much worn & loved T-shirts.... but as we all know, cotton T's do shrink!

So what's a gal to do? Donate? Send to Grace to be creative with?

A little cutting, stitching and embellishments and look what we have...deco pillows...

Now these T's will be looking so cute in her vintage trailer.

You can click on the pic's to get a better look.

I stitched each T-shirt piece onto white cotton for sturdiness.

Ok, now it's your turn to have fun......

A Sweater Re-do....

I use to love turtleneck sweaters but as I have gotten older I find them less comfortable.

I found this sweater and loved the color, even tho it had a turtle neck collar....I bought it anyways....after several washings it became uncomfortable to wear so it got tucked in toward the back of my dresser drawer. The other day I pulled it out,,,thinking I would put it in the donation basket....I looked closely at the collar and saw that it was not knitted on but rather stitched on, so a little 'lite bulb' went off in my head...out came the seam ripper, off came the collar & then I zig-zag stitched around the now collarless edge...then I did what any re-purposer would do, I crocheted a new low-rolled collar. I even did a little stitch work around the pocket.

The best part is the yarn was left over from a long ago project.

So guess what I will be wearing tomorrow!

JigSaw Puzzles....

Ok, this is why you don't buy jigsaw puzzles at the Thrift stores! lol!
While out and about looking for {more} vintage stuff for my trailers I spotted some jigsaw puzzles for only 99cents...Hubby & I enjoy working on puzzles so I thought what the heck, we spend anywheres from $8 to $13 for them why not take a 99cent chance....now I know why!
Hahaha! oh well it was still fun...and I can always use the pieces for crafting or as mulch in my garden! hahahha!