Minnesota is having an unusual weather year, as is the case in much of the US. For us it means a mild winter and an early spring. Even though the snow and ice is gone, we know we can still get some very cool weather, but for the most part this nice weather sends us all mentally to spring activities. I know I can’t even consider putting any plants in yet, but I certainly start thinking along those lines. It takes a good two weeks or so to get the gardens and yard cleaned and ready. There is always a lot of pruning, weeding, transplanting and raking to be done each spring before any planting is done.
This is what my front courtyard garden looks like right now. Plants are emerging and starting to leaf out but far from the glory of summer. Stay tuned for an updated photo when summer roles around.
On the rainy, cool days like today, I will tackle the indoor projects on my to-do list. They all need to get done before the really warm weather hits. I always have a few things lined up in my sewing room that beckon me when I can’t work outside. I have a whole line up of miscellaneous items on the list to get done. You know how that feels…they just sit there nagging away until they are complete. Once I get into each one I will enjoy them. I just need to get started. Here is the stack of random things to do…(left to right)…tea towels for aprons, fabric for pillows for my outdoor patio chairs, a flannel quilt to bind, pink striped decorator fabric for curtains for my granddaughter’s room at their cabin, and cotton knit for 2 dresses for Ella. I will post the finished projects when completed. First up…tea towel aprons.
I recently happened upon great displays of kitchen tea towels while shopping at Crate and Barrel and Anthropology. Granted, these are a lot nicer than my normal fare for kitchen towels. All the prints and colors were very tempting. While it is time to replace some of my very worn and well used towels in my kitchen, I actually purchased a few more to make very simple aprons. I prefer the light weight towel fabric over the heavy canvas so many commercial aprons are made of and good tea towels are generously sized and make perfect aprons.
To make apron, fold back the top two corners of the apron angling the fold to fit where you would like the waist ties to be and how wide you want the top of the apron bib to be. Press and stitch a 1″ wide casing that the sash can be pulled through. I stitch down the excess part of the folded triangles so that the apron can always become a towel again if desired by simply pulling out the switching. The print of the apron generally hides the stitching.
To form the sash, cut 3, 2-1/2″ x 44″ strips of cotton fabric. Stitch end to end to make one long strip. Fold in half lengthwise and press. Now unfold the strip and fold raw edges of both long sides of the strip to meet the fold line in the middle. Refold back in half folding in the ends as well and edge stitch to finish. Attach a large safety pin to one end of the sash and thread through the casings stitched on the apron. Adjust to form the neck strap and waist tie to fit. I love my new apron!
