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I am just on a creative roll lately.  It helps to have projects that can be completed during a lunch hour.

I think, in retrospect, that these fabrics are a little too feminine – I think stronger colors and patterns lend themselves to the ruffliness and would keep it from being too sweet.   I wish, at the very least, that I had picked a pink and white stripe fabric instead of the gingham (because pink and white stripes is SO much less girly than pink and white gingham….).  The gingham is really sheer and you can see the pattern of the main fabric through it. 

When I was sewing this I was having flashbacks to my very first sewing project in 8th grade home ec.  It was a pink gingham smock top with ruffly cap sleeves and white heart shaped pockets.   I can’t believe I actually FOUND a picture of the pattern.

I never could get those heart shaped pockets right.

Ruffles haven’t gotten any easier either.  Unless there is some gathering technique that I don’t know about that guarantees perfectly spaced ruffles.

I don’t think this was meant to be a dress – I know I was intending to wear it as a top – shouldn’t that young lady have some pants on?

If anyone makes the apron here is a tip – I marked the backing material with straight lines where each ruffle was to be pinned and sewed.  It kept my ruffles from getting away from me as they were wont to do.

I finished my monogram too – I toyed with the idea of using it as a pocket or a patch on the apron (which is why I kept the flowers all pink) but then it seemed like too much.  So back to my original idea of using it on a pillow. 

Every time I do something I learn what I would do differently – It’s hard to see in this picture but in some of the satin stitched leaves I have a running stitch right in the middle (as the stem) – I wouldn’t do that next time – it makes it look messy.  I also got a great tip from Victoria who explained a better way of putting the fabric on the hoop so my sticky fingers aren’t all over the front of the material (see the comments on this post – she explains it better than I could).

So what should I do next?  I should probably put my embroidery hoop down and pay attention to the garden.  It has been seriously neglected this year. 

(Note to Merry – I got a lovely email from you yesterday but when I tried to reply the email system spit it back at me – not sure why – it didn’t like the email address.  Just wanted to say thank you for your kind words.  I did have a few monogram suggestions if you want to email me back – I can try again)

(Image swiped borrowed from my niece)

A few weeks back my sister gave my niece the most adorable apron.  I’m not sure but I think it came from Anthropologie (but I can’t find it on their site).  It came from a local antique store called Wisteria (in Soquel – they sell new things too).  I’ve been coveting that apron ever since. 

Then I saw these and it further fueled my ruffle longing. 

So I started a search for an apron pattern – it looks like it would be pretty easy to put together but I’m a girl that needs to see instructions first – even if I have no intention of following them.  I do like some guidelines. 

Google didn’t come up with much of anything.  So I thought I would just look for more examples of this type of apron so I searched on flickr.  Well over and over again I would see the same style of apron with the elusive words "made using Morgan’s awesome tutorial" or "my version of Morgan’s apron."  I saw it again and again.  It was driving me crazy – who was Morgan?  Where was this tutorial? 

Finally I saw a comment on a picture by the mysterious Morgan herself and I was able to find her blog.  Okay, Nancy Drew I’m not but I was rather pleased with myself.  She has a really cute crafty/cooking type blog too. 

Morgan Moore’s awesome ruffled apron tutorial!

I was trying to be less coordinated with my fabrics so it has a more organic, kind of recycled look to it but I have a hard time just throwing fabrics together.  This is a great project for using up the ends of yardage.  The ruffled strips are 6 1/2" x 33" – how many times have you just tossed the last bit of fabric thinking you couldn’t possibly use if for anything.

I’m hoping to finish this by the weekend.  Stay tuned…

 

Despite that being the only thing I seem to talk about lately.  Don’t you love my high tech light box?

My next project was going to be a center block for a quilted tabletopper – I have a chicken family pattern that is very kitschy and I thought it would be cute to do a feed sack type quilt with the chickens in the middle and have each corner block have a smaller chick block.  I’m still planning on doing that but I wanted something a little more elegant to work on right now.

About a year ago I bought a book from Amazon called Treasury of Floral Designs and Initials.  When I bought it I paid $3.50 for it – it’s now $11 but that is still a good deal.  It has a TON of flowery initials with swoopy, curly things (over 700 of them).  The one I traced is one of the simpler ones.

 

The flowers will be pale pink and pale blue – not entirely sure what I am going to do with it – I might make a pillow using it.

I have a really bad habit of putting the tightener thingie on the embroidery hoop right smack on the left side – being left handed my thread is constantly getting hung up on it.  My dad suggested that I just do it upside down but then all the blood rushes to my head.

In other news – we have an infestation:

 

I have absolutely no idea what to do with them.  Something will come to me eventually.