Look at Me: I'm Crafty!

Who knew? I'm actually somewhat crafty. I've always crocheted, and that's crafty, but I've never been very creative with it and I've never branched out from it. Until now. I'm not as crafty as my friend, the sassy crafter, but I think I did a pretty good job on these projects. Please forgive all the pictures of the same thing (just different angles). I'm pretty proud of myself and want to show off my handiwork!

When Alli was moving a couple months ago, I borrowed her sewing machine. Mine had been acting up and it's really no fun to sew when your machine doesn't work correctly. I decided I wanted to make a curtain for the back door. It faces west and the afternoon sun coming in heats the laundry room into a sauna. John thought it would be cool to do seasonal curtains. So, I started with this really nice neutral pumpkin fabric. I measured the window and proceeded to cut it out. I've made simple curtains before, so this shouldn't have given me any trouble. Later, as I was talking to mom, I realized I forgot to add in measurement for the curtain rod sleeve and to make the thicker hem so that it lays correctly. Luckily for me, my measurement was off in the first place and I had cut too much material (or so I thought...in actuality, it was perfect!) The curtain came out nicely, but really darkens the room. I tied it back with a little bit of scrap fabric and now it lets in enough light, but not so much as to create the sauna feeling. John hung it for me and I took a crooked picture, but it turned out nicely.


Next on the list: APRONS! I recently decided that I really wanted to try making aprons. I love the look of the aprons from the 40s and 50s that coordinated with their outfits and were very feminine and frilly. I've also been thinking it would be nice to have when I feed the animals in the morning since I'm already dressed for work usually. Amazingly enough, there is a HUGE online community of apron lovers. I found several great sites, but my particular favorite is The Apronista. This site really inspired me to try out an apron. And, boy did I pick one that stretched my skills! I picked a half apron that was curvy and frilly. I used the same fall fabric and added a brown fabric with turkeys on it. That way I can use it all of October and November. It seemed simple enough. However, it had many challenges for me. Mainly, curves, rick rack, pockets, double bias tape, gathers, and a waist band. All things that I've never done. I did pretty well following directions and only had to use seam rippers a couple of times. The waist band caused me the most problems, but only because I didn't read the directions all the way through. I think it turned out wonderfully. It has a few minor glitches which only I will ever notice. And, I have enough fabric to make Kaity a matching (simpler) one and possibly enough to make Will a BBQ-style one. I made John take pictures of me this morning in my apron. Kaity was all excited because she found an apron also. She thought I'd made it overnight, but actually my great Aunt Margaret made it for my 5th or so birthday. It's been in Kaity's room all this time, but it's popular now. She explained to me that she gets it now since I grew out of it and when I grow out of this one (the new one) it'll be hers also. We'll see.

I was trying to get Kaity to pose with me. This is what she started with.


And, finally we're both posing nicely.


Will got upset when he was shooed out of the picture (he wasn't wearing an apron), so he got a picture with just me.


At this point, John left to take Will to school and I was trying to figure out how to take more pictures. My solution was the timer and the bar stool. Most of the pictures came out fuzzy (this one is a little), but you can see the detail and the rick rack up close.


And, here are a couple of different angles of the apron without me in them.