Now THIS Is An Apron! (He Says.....)

My hubby has been working in the shop today. Earlier, I had been taking pictures of the latest apron I received (in the post below this one)...he comes strolling in and says "Now THIS is an apron!" Ummmmm...that's true, and I DID make the apron (years ago)...but I wouldn't want to use it in the kitchen, LOL! I was trying to get Miss Piggy in the picture, but she wasn't cooperating - all I could get was her butt and curly tail!

She was too busy eating blackberries, since they are really ripe and falling off the canes...need to get out there and pick some to make a pie!

But, I think I shall wear one of MY aprons when I make that pie, thank you very much!

Speaking of butt...he wanted to make sure I snapped a picture of the back, since it has the nice cross-ties. You can tell it's been used, but since he's a guy, I'm sure he won't think he needs a new one for another 20 years or so!

I Love Lucy Swap - What I Got!

Here's the wonderful apron I got from from Jenny in Utah! I really love the colors, and especially the Ric-Rac :-) Jenny also included 2 beautiful brown placemats, 2 red, fringed napkins, some great napkin rings, and a yummy-smelly candle jar. The funny part was it all came in a Corn Dog box...I hadn't had corn dogs in YEARS...but had just bought some on impulse that week! Thanks, Jenny - the package is terrific! So glad you were MY partner :-)

"Somebody Threw My Paper Bag Away!!!"

Kathy is my wonderful friend and coworker, and I adore her! Her son, Chad, had a horrible wake-boarding accident several weeks ago. He was doing some kind of fancy flip and when he came down on the board, his hip pulled out of its socket, then roughly slammed back in. There was excess "energy" that transferred to his femur and snapped it. Gawd...just the thought makes me shudder! Hell, I don't even really know what wake-boarding is, but it apparently involves jumping around on a board...in a lake...and "wakes"....I don't want to know any further details - it's not for me! The good news is that he's young (21) and those youngsters heal quickly. I'd be down for years...but then again, I wouldn't be wake-boarding, right!!!! He's able to be on crutches, but can't put ANY weight on the leg. That means he can hobble from his "command center" (a recliner in the living room) to the bathroom and the refrigerator - two necessary (and related, LOL!) destinations! But since he isn't able to bear weight on the bum leg, he couldn't carry anything, like a tasty snack! So he found some kind of paper bag laying around the house that apparently suited his purposes, and I guess it must have worked pretty well since he was able to fit a plate in the bottom of it. Next thing he knew, someone had accidentally TOSSED his precious paper bag! Horrors! Kathy was telling me his sad story the next day at work. I'm guessing it must have had handles so he could carry it while "crutching" - Kathy was a bit "lite" on the exact details, but my brain was immediately jumping to "Make the kid a new bag!" I went right home and traced a dinner plate, made it a square, cut out two right-sized chunks of foam core board and taped them together (for extra stability). Foam core is very lightweight and I thought it would be perfect for this purpose. Then I fashioned a bag to fit the foam core board into. I grabbed the first halfway-manly fabrics I could find laying around (space critters and eyeballs), and quick-sewed (don't peek at the stitching!) what I thought might work, complete with handles. Here's a picture of the finished bag:

And here's a peek at the foam core board bottom:

Here's a shot of the opposite sides:

Kathy was thrilled (and a little misty) when I brought her the bag the next day. She took it home to him at lunchtime and told me later that he clutched it to his chest, saying "Mine....all mine" or words to that effect. I guessed it's worked fine for him, and it made him happy, Kathy happy, and me happy that I was able to use my sewing skills to craft something that they might never have been able to find for this very special, specific purpose. And isn't that the great thing about knowing how to sew? Yay for us "Sewists"!!!!!!

Kathy took pics of him using the bag, but she's on vacation for a couple of weeks - I'll try to post a pic of him, with bag, when she gets back. Doing unexpected good deeds is certainly good for the soul, don't you think?

Blog Award

Today, Glenna at Your Fabric Place posted on my blog telling me I had been tagged and given a blog award.The award states that you give 10 facts about yourself and “tag” 10 fellow bloggers. Thank you, Glenna! Awards are awesome :-) Here are 10 facts about myself, ready or not!

1. I was "in the Hippies" in the late 60s/early 70s! I went to rock festivals and lived in a commune! I wasn't all that successful because I actually had a job, and didn't much care for "weed." (However...there was that one trip to Mt. Rainier in my lime-green AMC Javelin where we took pictures of the mountain and they didn't look QUITE like we thought they should have when the pics were developed, LOL!)
2. My entire family has tattoos.
3. I am the World's Greatest "Work" Cheerleader! I want whatever organization I work for to succeed.
4. I love stupid things like putting "back in order" a gazillion pieces of whatever that have somehow come "out of order" like a stack of paper that falls on the floor.
5. I have an overwhelming need to fold towels: down, in half, and over, in thirds, and then in half.
6. I have fabric. Uh....I mean...I have FABRIC. You will NEVER know the extent to which I have fabric. Some people think "having fabric" means 50 pieces. Hah! I have THOUSANDS......and THOUSANDS.....at one point, I had two (scratch that, I mean THREE) houses full.....ok....I just can't explain this any further....
7. I hate housework - enough said.
8. I just wrote a company that makes liquid measuring cups about the sucky measuring cups they make. I mean, really! The concept is great (flexible, narrow), but the L-I-N-E that I need to fill it to...I can't SEE when the ingredients are actually IN THE CUP!
9. Uh....I have a great deal of tolerance...but NOT when people are stupid (see # 8 above)
10. Wow! I'm up to #10. The pressure, the pressure! I guess I would have to say....I have 200 pair of shoes and can't wear most of them because I'm too darned old and will fall down if I wear those spike heels.....cain't wear them...cain't get rid of them!

Now....as far as passing this along to 10 more bloggers.....I can't decide...so I am leaving that up to you :-) If you would like to continue this, please do so...I'm having a glass of wine and going to bed because today has been both rewarding (think: cheerleader) and exhausting (think: THOUSANDS OF PIECES of fabric and HOUSEWORK).

I Love Lucy Apron Swap

I got my wonderful swap package today from Jenny in Utah! It's gorgeous and she really did a great job! I lovelovelove it! Unfortunately, my camera is walkabout (although at least I know where it is), so I can't take pictures until I corral it this weekend, but trust me...it's terrific! Thank you, Jenny, for such a great package! Stay tuned for pics....

I Love Lucy!

I was a little late joining The Flirty Apron Swap's I Love Lucy Swap, but I got in just under the wire! And I'm soooo glad I did, because I had a LOT of fun making these items for my partner (shhhh - she's a secret!). Here's the I Love Lucy apron -- the pattern is from "The Perfect Apron" by Rob Merrett, and it's the "Pretty Pastoral" pattern, although this doesn't really look all that much like the pattern because I used several different fabrics, left off the lace trim, lined the bodice, and added binding. I blew up the "L" from an I Love Lucy graphic online and made an applique that I repeated on the apron bib, tote bag, and tea towel.

I trimmed a color-matched dish towel with two of the fabrics, and edged a tea towel with another fabric, plus added another "L" to the tea towel -- I think it looks so cute!

I had a few extra polka dot goodies:

And I made a tote bag to put everything in. I made some 4" disappearing 9-patch blocks, and framed them. Then I appliqued two more "Ls" one on each side.

Here's the inside of the tote - had to use some of that "Lucy" fabric I bought!

Hope my partner loves it! If she doesn't for some reason, I'll pay the return postage :-)