I am Lily - stitcher and part time bookseller. Mother to my gorgeous girl, Abigail and wife to Julian. I make time each day to let my imagination potter and add quirky prettiness and handmade comfort to our home and lives. You can email me at lily(at)blockaday(dot)com
a little bit of quilted apron bliss
(don’t look Sarah!)
There’s lots of lovely “finished” adrenalin floating around tonight. After carrying this idea under my hat for the last couple of weeks - and dreaming about it all night! - I finally made the opportunity to sit down, work out the measurements, write down the instructions and get stuck into lots of cutting and stitching.
And what a beautiful morning for it! The sun was shining , the house was quiet, the chores were done ….
… so I headed out to the verandah and worked on a cafe style apron - fully reversible - Farmer’s Market with Anna Griffin border on the front, pale pink linen with same border on the back.
The border has such a wonderfully crisp line - and the topstitching was made all the more lovely by my new 1/4 inch foot - boy does it help make things straight!
Each side has a quilted pocket - a very old fashioned raised polka dot on the front, and more Farmer’s Market on the back.
And there’s a little bit of applique - I used vlioflex- is that what it’s called called? Sure worked well! And then it was stitch, stitch, stitch with my funny little machine applique stitch.
Gosh I am pleased with the result!
I divided the pockets - the back pocket is divided down the middle, and the front is divided into three - three cupcakes, three pockets. The quilting was such fun with the new machine - I particularly like the lines on the cupcake papers - and it was almost freehand!
And wow! wow! wow! is the new sewing machine so clever - for the top binding/ties I cut a 2 1/2 inch strip, folded it to find the middle, and then ironed in each side (like bias tape but not on the bias). I did this neat little thing with the ends - like a Dresden plate - and then folded the tape in half and pinned it over the top of the apron and stitched from the pointy corner all the way along the tie, across the apron and back out along the tie on the other side - and the machine’s foot didn’t fall off the edge, it didn’t chew up the pointy bits, and it laid beautifully, even stitches - no mincy, mean little stitches where the fabric was thicker, or big, dragged stitches over the seams. It was sheer bliss!
So once done, a bit of testing was in order … and both sides worked just fine!
All done! What a lovely feeling!
Now what’s going to happen tomorrow …
4 August, 2008 at 12:55 pm
BEAUTIFUL! I’m envious of your Farmer’s Market too–haven’t seen it in person yet. Yes, what is going to happen tomorrow??
4 August, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I take it you like your new sewing machine then? ;-)
Your enthusiasm is actually bursting out from the screen and utging me to get up and sew, sew, sew! I’ve been doing lots of boring have-tos today, and just allowed myself a little blog-break before doing the last bit, but then its back to my trusty old Pfaff and some fun!
I love the apron - it’s sooo pretty!
4 August, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Wonderful apron! I love the cupcakes. They look good enough to eat!
4 August, 2008 at 1:52 pm
What a beauty again!!! I haven´t yet pieced my aprons, but maybe later this autumn… I can hardly wait to see all those beauties you will make! I soon like to buy a new sewing machine too!!!
4 August, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Love the apron! The colors, the cupcakes, the reversible sides…
4 August, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Now, how CUTE is that apron - I LOVE the cupcakes!!!! You always come up with the neatest sewing idea, Lily!
4 August, 2008 at 10:29 pm
This is soooo darling!!! Love it.
6 August, 2008 at 12:12 am
Your cupcake apron is the cutest thing I have every seen! My daughter would LOVE it!
6 August, 2008 at 8:00 pm
[...] couple of weeks - and dreaming about it all night! - I finally made the opportunity to sit down, wohttp://blockaday.com/a-little-bit-of-quilted-apron-bliss/Read “RE: Machine quilting stitches per inch” at Quilting Forum… taunt. But it works for me anyway [...]
6 August, 2008 at 9:40 pm
[...] Market range, some vintage pink linen and scraps of Anna Griffin.” See more on Lily’s block-a-day [...]
7 August, 2008 at 1:08 am
Too cute. Love your apron, the cupcakes make me smile.
7 August, 2008 at 6:46 am
Lily, you constantly amaze me. This apron is great. You certainly haven’t let the new sewing machine get a rest. The machine quilting on the matroushka dolls is wonderful. I’m considering experimenting with the machine quilting but memories of wrestling with a ton of fabric and the aching shoulders afterwards has me a little gun shy.
7 August, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I happened upon your great site and am in love with the quilt shown in your header with the carrots and yo-yo’s. Have you shown more of it or is there a pattern?
Joyce
10 August, 2008 at 8:06 pm
adorable!! I am going to send this to a friend who loves aprons..
20 August, 2008 at 12:56 pm
[...] didn’t exactly follow any instructions to make the apron, but there is a tutorial posted on Block A Day if you’d like to give it a try (I simplified a bit). It’s fully reversible, and, [...]