It’s appropriate that this is apron 13, because it was a nightmare to make. Just about everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The apron idea was inspired by 4 leftover reproduction hankies from apron #1. I knew I wanted to make a handkerchief hem, but it took me longer than it should have…
An apron with an apron! This is an old Wilendur napkin that I thought looked cute with the red printed gingham. Although this is a pretty simple design, it took longer than any of the others because of the hand stitching. I tried a little chicken scratch embroidery on the hem, and the binding on…
These are really special aprons, because they’re made with some of my vintage French and German fabric. I don’t usually hesitate to cut into old fabric pieces, but I have been collecting these for awhile now, and I have only used two little pieces before these aprons. I purchase these prints from one of my…
Thank you so much to everyone who made comments on my aprons — I am really pleased that you like them. My mother had an apron with a pocket border around the bottom, only hers had a sleeveless top and a very short pocket border just below the waist. I always liked that apron, but…
Making these aprons is a lot like putting together a quilt with vintage fabric. Substitutions and compromises must be made along the way, although I enjoy the challenge of putting something together with stuff I have on hand. When I go to a fabric store to buy something particular for a project, I am often…
Two days in a row — I guess you can tell I’m having a good time with these aprons. It’s so fun scrounging around the sewing room looking for things to use as embellishment. The first apron is made from vintage yardage that reminds me of feedsack. I didn’t want to add pockets to this…
My daughter often gets phone calls that begin something like this: “I just had this really good idea for the wedding, and I hope you like it because I’ve already started working on it.” She’s a good sport. My latest idea is to make vintage-inspired aprons as favors for all the guests at the bridal…
Joseph’s Coat is a fairly challenging pattern, and it’s also one of my all-time favorite scrap quilts. There is no date on this pattern, and I can’t read the date on the original envelope. Alice Brooks was another name used by Needlecraft Service, Inc., the same company that published Laura Wheeler patterns, so it was…
Over the past 10 years, I have collected lots of vintage quilt patterns. I am now in the process of scanning and cleaning all of my newspaper and mail order patterns (the most fragile), both as a method of preserving them, and to share with other quilters. Because so many people sell copies of these…
More from the 1943 book, You Can Make It – Things To Do With Scissors and Paste. Some of the crafts in this book seem pretty hard for children — even older children. These Easter favors are so cute, but honestly, I think the whole tiny strips of paper as hair idea would be tricky…
One-third of the designs are done. This is such a fun project that I really don’t want to stop. I’m behind on the wedding napkins, though, and I promised myself I would spend at least one whole day of my spring break working on them.
It’s funny — I love collecting and sharing all kinds of vintage and antique embroidery patterns and transfers, but I rarely stitch these patterns myself. For some reason I am always attracted to vintage book illustrations — always trying to figure out how I can adapt them to embroidery and quilting. When the illustration is…
My next Christmas project is a quilt using a Charley Harper illustration from “The Giant Golden Book of Biology,” published in 1961 (now out of print and very rare). The image was scanned at a high resolution from my Todd Oldham book, “Charley Harper – An Illustrated Life,” a Christmas gift from Gordon. To make…
Here is something I really appreciate — for over 80 years, some nice person kept together every item of this quilt in progress. Large pieces of the colored fabrics were included, as well as a tiny illustration from a Lockport leaflet and a hand-colored drawing by the quilter. Apparently, the quilter had just that tiny…