Sewing the perfect apron for the hostess of the swap...

Well the pressure is on. My partner is the hostess of the swap... Shawnee!!!! I know I can say this because she was the one who sent out the partner list. It is no suprise to her that I will be making her apron. I am not going to post any photos since she knows it's me who will be sending the apron.I want her to be suprised. I sent away for the main fabric and spent a few hours at the fabric store yesterday getting the coordinating fabrics. Oh...I hope she likes it. I usually get stressed out picking fabrics for the swaps, but this is extra stressful! Well I will try and do a little bit of sewing this week!

Vintage.....?????

I know if I showed the fabric I finally got it would be a dead giveaway! And I don't want to spoil a surprise. I went on a hunt for a specific vintage fabric and almost gave up. Found it and it's now in my hot little hands along with a recipe book. Now to cut into it....Yikes! I hope I don't make a mistake!
Dayna of Scottie Acres Boutique

Labor day.....

Wishing all you ladies a happy (and sewing-full) Labor Day! I plan on spending as much time in my studio as my sweet family will let me for the next three days! Also, wanted to send out my prayers all the servicemen/women who keep us safe. God bless!

Mickey

Underwater Sisters on a Friday Night

I am really enjoying this theme. It seems to be sparking a lot of creativity. I ordered the fabric today. It is Underwater Sisters from Heather Ross's Mendocino collection. I can't wait to get my hands on it. The apron will be created using the Friday Night Apron pattern by Vanilla House Designs. I really love this pattern. I've got a few other tricks up my sleeve, but we'll keep those there for now...

A Little Sneak Peak

For some reason, I have been having a REALLY hard time finding inspiration for this swap. Maybe it is the end of summer blues, the two puppies that I am still housetraining, or my toddler who wants to only get into what he's not allowed to all day long. Although I had purchased my fabric straight away I couldn't find a single pattern that felt right after going through all my boxes patterns and books. Thankfully, the quest is over and will no longer be haunting me!

I found this pattern at Pink Chalk Fabrics and I knew the half apron was just what I was looking for!

Here is one of the fabrics I'll be using -the rest will be kept secret...wink!

Winners so far!

And the vacation aprons have started traveling around the world!!

We have our first prize winner, Yvonne B/Cakegirl from Illinois - you snatched up the year's worth of Belle Armoire magazines!

And, as I was writing this, my second email with delivery confirmation number arrived from Jean K of Washington. I'll be sending a magazine out to you, too.

I've got five more prizes ... who's next?

here is my apron for the swap...

I feel safe in posting the picture as she doesn't know I am her partner and she was vague about her vacation...So here it is...the pattern is "Queen Anne's Apron" by Vanilla House. I used seahorse fabric as the main body because I sent her on a trip to the Bahama's. The bib also detaches...underneath the waistband it buttons on. Hope she likes it! Her other little goodies are on my blog...Melinda

The Crispness of Fall

Is there anything better than a walk across a covered bridge with the cool, clean air of fall around the corner and the smell of fresh maple syrup on your pancakes?

My apron is done & ready to be mailed...after the rest of the package is put together!

Japanese Dreams

Shiny Fabrics,
Rice, Tea and Dragons ~
Japanese Dream.

This is my version of a Japanese Haiku and a little glimpse of the fabric for my swapfriends apron.

Vintage Feedsack Apron

I purchased this cute book full of different apron patterns when I joined the swap! My secret partner likes vintage feed sack prints from the 30's and 40's. The fabric with the circles and feathers is a vintage feed sack (given to me by my sister who got it from her husband's grandma, got that?) and the gingham and small dotted print are reproduction fabrics. I'm thinking of using the Cakeland pattern from the book and adding some special trims, like the orange ball fringe and maybe some rick rack.
~Jessica

Lilly Apron Pattern

I have decided to go with this Lilly Apron Pattern for my secret partner.

I love this apron!

I purchased it at Tall Mouse for 10.99 plus 3.99 shipping for a total of $14.98. The back has the tie across the top of the back so there is nothing around the waistline.

Happy Apron Swapping! This is a first for me so I'm so excited!

Lucky Lady

So for my lucky partner I have decided to go with the Flirty Skirty pattern. I thought it would go perfectly with the "Flirty Apron Swap" and the fabric choice (That's a surprise!) is just perfect. If you are interested in the same pattern you can purchase it at Sew, Mama, Sew.

First Contest - Early Finishers

Our first contest is for everyone who likes to complete a project early. I have been sent several magazines from Stampington including two Summer 2008 Somerset Life, the last four issues of Altered Couture and a YEAR's worth of Belle Armoire magazines! This are exclusively for the first SEVEN participants who mail their finished swap packages and send me the tracking/delivery confirmation information. Now, does that mean you do a rushed and sloppy job to win? Of course not, but I'm hoping there is enough to give you incentive to start and perhaps be an early finisher!

Special thanks to Stampington! They have been collecting apron submissions for months now and will have a new publication soon, Apronology. I know everyone will be overjoyed to finally have a magazine directed to this fun accessory!!

Apron*ology

Deadline: September 15, 2008 (RECEIVE)

Apron*ology: Aprons with an Attitude
Stampington and Company
New Publication



Click on the flyer to learn more about the upcoming publication and find out how to submit your artwork.! If you are having trouble reading the text on the full-size versions, right-click on the full-sized image and use the "Save Picture As" option to save it to your computer. Open it in any image viewing software to view it at full-size.

No longer relegated to hanging in the kitchen pantry, today's aprons are meant to be seen.

Apron*ology will be a gallery of delightful photographs and illustrations featuring exciting apron designs with easy to understand techniques and templates that will be fun for the DIY-er to recreate. Apron*ology will also feature ideas on how to re-purpose vintage aprons and how to wear them with just the right attitude and style.

Apron enthusiasts are invited to submit and be a part of of this exciting publication. Here's what we're looking for:

• Aprons of all sizes, styles and shapes with brief instructions on how they are made. (If including a template, submit your apron with template designs unique to your apron.)


• Aprons used in new and innovative ways. Some ideas include using aprons to:
  
  • Hang as window treatments
  • Wrap gifts
  • Alter and create new wearable or decor items
  • Aprons stylishly worn as an enhancing accessory. For example, put one under or over a skirt, skinny jeans or to give that dress just the right panache. (These aprons can be either original or altered designs.)

Submissions due no later than September 15, 2008 to:

Apron*ology
22992 Mill Creek, Suite B
Laguna Hills, CA 92653

Please read the submission guidelines at http://www.stampington.com/. Brief emails related to editorial content will be accepted by Editor-in-Chief Jenny Doh at jdoh@stampington.com. Emails regarding Art Management processes will be accepted by Art Management Coordinator Jennifer Jackson at jjackson@stampington.com.


View complete set of new publications: http://www.stampington.com/html/postscript_03112008_newpubs.html

Sew and Tell

Everyone who has a blog has been invited to be a blog author on this site! That means if you want to, you can now start your own messages and post pictures on this blog.

I understand not everyone wants to author or is able to take photos but even if you don't have a blog or want to become an author, you can still have a voice by adding comments to posts others have started and will still be able to participate in all contests.

So, let's hear from you gals. Post some fabric hints or tell us which pattern you're thinking about making! Are you excited to make someone's vacation dream come true??

Did We Connect?

Okay ladies, pick up the phone, it's your Flirty Apron Swap Momma on the line!!

I have finally finished emailing out swap partner assignments SO please check your SPAM/Bulk folders if you haven't gotten your partner yet.

I need you to help me with my tracking by quickly replying to let me know our wires haven't gotten crossed somehow!

Check out these fantasies!

I am having SO MUCH fun reading all your fantasy vacations!!! Everyone is so very creative. My mind is just rushing with ideas.

I WISH I was going to have one of these for MY summer vacation! Here's a sampling of the kind of vacation you might make an apron for - ENJOY:

• One vacation that I have always wanted to do is drive a 55 Chevy convertible along Route 66.
• I would love to vacation in fairyland. Amongst the flowers and ride the snails.
• I have always wanted to visit the UK. The women there seem so posh and hip with the way they dress and the shoes they wear. Anything british is neat to me!
• france....to flea markets and open air markets...and of course the eiffel tower...I love the whole country french look....
• I would love to see the rain forests of south america. The lush landscape, beautiful flowers and wildlife.
• I have a love affair with the ocean, so my absolute dream vacation would be located somewhere sunny, where the water was a clear blue, where there was a hammock hanging under a shady tree but still over the water, and i had a stack of amazing books! I would also get to eat amazing food, spend romantic nights with my husband in a hut that overlooked the water (perhaps it is one of those huts that is on stilts coming out of the water?), and take horseback rides down the beach, and of course i would never get sunburned, and i would have unlimited drinks but never get drunk, and i could swim and play all day and not get wrinkled prune-skin. :)
• I have always dreamed of backpacking through Italy. I love the pictures from the olive groves, the mountains and the sea and all the bright colors. I am Italian (Sicilian to be exact) and I fantasize daily about traveling there. I love the food (I even make my own pasta), the atmosphere, the loudness and the overflowing love from my Italian family
• Outer Space - If we want to get even more "fantasy" about it! And I love all the retro-futuristic style things from the old movies and toys and such.
• My other dream vacation right now is to go to Iceland, from where I'll take a ferry to the Faroe Islands and then on to Norway to explore that country's geography!
• I wish I could have time traveled to Colonial days or Marie Antoinette's time
• New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Because it takes a lot of time and money to get there from California, I would combine them all and spend at least a month and a half traveling around. I would surf at every opportunity, hike, explore, play with kangaroos, koalas and kiwis, visit my ex-husband in Sydney and eat his amazing food (he's a chef), lay around, and mostly enjoy myself and the surroundings.
• would be to take a new england foliage, fall tour - visiting mass, vermont and new hampshire.
• My family and I are all Disney "nuts." Although we've been to Disneyworld a couple times, it's my fantasy to go back, this time with my grandkids.
• I'd also like to work in a sustainable community, like The Farm, just growing things and planting things and learning midwifery and doing the work of community.
• I'd love to go to stay at the ice hotel that is built in Iceland (I think that is where it is at) sometime - think that looks like such a fun place to visit, but not live there- too cold!

Keep 'em coming! Post our swap on your blog, tell your friends, share with your sewing circles ... the fun starts in less than 6 days!

Registration Info (Sticky Post - Scroll down for newest posts)

Flirty Apron Swap III, Fall 2008 – What I Wish I Did Over Summer Vacation
Last Day to Sign Up: August 15, 2008
Last Day to Mail Packages: September 15, 2008

I adore Back to School, so I've taken the typical first essay assignment and switched it up just a smidge. The theme for this swap is “Fantasy Vacation” and everyone should receive their aprons by the time summer memories are just starting to fade. You will make an adult size apron from YOUR PARTNER's fantasy theme for your known pal and your unknown pal will make one for you. (Thanks, Val, for the suggested tweak!)Please complete the registration form HERE and read the Rules and Package Requirement posts as well. With this new software, I can only take 100 registrations in July and up to another 100 in August. So, sign up quick to reserve your spot!

I'm testing a new registration software and found my first glitch. This is sign-up post.2. =)

Here is one more thing I would like you to consider before joining this swap (you'll see this same information on Lucy's Sassy Apron Swap page).

To join in this swap you don’t have to be an expert seamstress, but you do need to be experienced enough to pull a nice apron off. We expect an apron that would pass in 8th Grade Home Economics - not an "A" but at least passable.

We don’t want to get too fussy here and scare anyone off. As Lucy says, I also love to see the work of new seamstresses and have had some as partners in swaps and have loved the work they do. It is fresh and full of enthusiasm. If you feel that your work is not good enough, you can also swap an apron made by another crafter. There are many at Etsy worth buying from. Just be sure to give credit where it is due and honor the apron artist.

Also, I've posted links to various patterns and tutorials on the right sidebar. I'll keep adding to that list as I find sites. EVERYONE can sew an apron; some of us just need to rip-out stitches more often to get the look we want! LOL!!