It's a Vintage Cover-Up

It's a wonder that because my mom was an accomplished and prolific seamstress the first sewing project I completed was in 8th-grade Home Ec class. I suppose it may have been a good thing that Mom waited to let someone else teach me to sew. It may have saved some frustration and hurt feelings for both of us. That mother/daughter thing, you know.

My first project was a simple apron. Nothing fancy. Just basic straight stitching. It even had a self hem--no hand hemming.

Oh, did I love the fabric I chose! I've always been a butterfly lover. These winged beauties are straight out of the '60s. Pink, orange, avocado glory.

When I completed that first sewing project, I felt as if I'd been crowned Queen for a Day. I don't think I realized it then, but I know now that sewing gave me a special bond to my mom. I never became the exceptional seamstress she was, but I definitely know my way around a bolt of fabric and a sewing machine. I've done all right and Mom always was the biggest fan of my creations.

My first sewing project has served me well--for 45 years. It's experienced a bit of the kitchen, but cooking isn't my strong suit. Instead, my apron grew old and thin in the craft room and serving at money pouch and catch-all at my many garage sales over the years. The pockets are amazing. I can pack a week's worth of goodies in those roomy pouches.

Over the years, that first sewing project has taken a beating. I've had to restitch the pockets numerous times, as the stitching wore thin. It had a run-in with a Sharpie pen a while back. And, yet, it remains my Old Reliable.

On my more recent thrift adventures, I've lucked into some lovely vintage cover-ups. And, while I personally don't need any more aprons, I'm drawn to them like a fly to honey. For me, vintage aprons conjure smells of fresh baked bread, oven fried chicken and applesauce cake. Not to mention remembrances of summer days on the farm, church picnics and picking fresh vegetables for dinner.

Each carefully crafted gem reminds me of my mom and my grandma, neither of whom ever worked in the kitchen without a nice, handmade cover-up.  They made their aprons from flour or feed sacks and trimmed nearly every one with coordinating rick rack like this lovely one I found at an estate sale last summer.

Grandma, a farm wife, favored the full cover-up, similar to these. Every Monday, she churned butter in her apron. Tuesdays, she baked enough bread to last for the week. Wednesdays, she baked the week's pies and cakes. Other days, she canned meat or fruit and vegetables. That kind of messy kitchen work called for full coverage.

My daughter inherited her love of aprons from the older women in her life. A barista at a small, local coffee shop, she cultivates her unique image behind the bar with a variety of wonderful vintage aprons she's personally collected or received as gifts. A couple of weeks ago, I found a fun candy stripe full apron at a sale and gave it to her for her birthday this past weekend. Red is her favorite color.

I love the soda shoppe feel of the fabric and color. Grandma would have loved it, too. It's trimmed in matching rick rack.

Grandma taught me to crochet when I was nine. My mother also crocheted. But, I don't recall Mom or Grandma crocheting one of these beautiful aprons. I haven't made one, either. Yet.

This was a recent Goodwill find.

Some of these sweet throwbacks I've found will end up in my shop. They simply must, as I could so easily become a vintage apron hoarder.

So many cute styles, heartwarming fabrics and creative twists on the old standard. Of course, you know a few will make their way into my personal collection anyway.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

Knick of Time Tuesday
Be Inspired
What's It Wednesday
Primp Your Stuff Wednesday
Wildly Original
Thursday Favorite Things
Time Travel Thursday

Junkin' Joe Vintage and Thrity Finds
Sunny Simple Sunday

Re: The Shirt Off His Back

For this week's installment of my (semi-regular) feature Re:, I want to share how I repurpose men's long-sleeve shirts into a number of useful items.

If you're new to my blog, I hope you'll check back on Mondays for Re:, a little feature I do to extol the virtues of the six R's--reduce, reuse, recycle, reclaim, repurpose and respect--and offer tips for an earth-friendly lifestyle. I really do have good intentions of posting on this important topic each week, but admittedly, I've been lax lately.

Now, on to the projects. Earlier this year, a dear friend of mine became a Silpada jewelry rep. Much to my delight, as I love that gorgeous stuff. She wanted to find a simple and inexpensive item for a giveaway for her jewelry parties.

I recalled a cute idea I had seen on Pinterest. It involved cutting the cuffs off men's long-sleeve shirts and sewing them into little pouches that can hold jewelry, thumb drives, lipstick, your iPod Nano, and so on.

So, my friend bought color-of-the-week shirts at Goodwill, and I made the pouches for her.

She didn't want what was left of the cuffless shirts, so I set out to make use of all that nice fabric. 

Another borrowed idea is to make pillow covers out of the body of the shirt. They're easy to make and a snap to remove and launder. They can certainly be embellished, but I like the simplicity of just the shirt for use in kids' rooms, dorm rooms or just for casual use around the house.

Not to stop there, this is what I have up my sleeve for repurposing another usable part of the shirt. The sleeves are the perfect size and shape (with a few minor alterations) to make gift bags for wine bottles or other similarly shaped items.

Another option is to repurpose the breast pockets. These could be used to decorate a child's door or as party favors. I made this one for National Poem in Your Pocket Day and filled it with some of my favorite whimsical poems.

I'm also collecting the shirt collars for a future project.

You can view Off the Cuff pouches, Stuffed Shirt pillow covers and Up Your Sleeve gift bags in different shirt patterns in my shop.

As I dissect these shirts, I keep hearing my grandmother's voice in my head:  Waste not, want not. I hope grandma would be proud.

Make it a great day!

Linking to:

The Cure for the Common Monday
Cowgirl Up!
All-Star Block Party
Wednesdays Adorned From Above
Link Up With Me, Liz Marie