a project of firsts

As you know, I joined the Thankful Things Swap hosted by Adrienne from Some of a Kind. My first swap...great fun! Well, one of the things I sent to Emily, my swap partner, was an apron that I made. I loosely followed this tutorial for the style of the apron. But I couldn't stop there. This apron has my first attempt at gathers. Easier than expected...and cute. Then I thought, well, I've been wanting to try french seams, and Adrienne said it was super easy, so I found this tutorial and gave it a try. Can I just say...I love french seams. It was so simple, yet the outcome is beautiful. I know, I hear you...What's the big deal? It's a seam for crying out loud, no one will see it. Oh, it does matter. I've made things without a serger, without pinking shears, without french seams, and although the finished product is good (in most cases), the inside, where the seams are, has always looked kinda, well, messy. French seams are THE, er, my solution. The other new thing I tried on this apron was the reverse applique on the pockets. An apron has got to have pockets...at least for me, but plain ol' pockets just weren't doing anything for me this time around. Then I remembered seeing some reverse applique work here and here, so I gave it a whirl. Love it! So now, after making a new apron with gathers, french seams, and reverse applique pockets, all of which were successful, it was hard to give it away. But, the whole point of the swap was to share tangible things we enjoy. I sure hope Emily enjoys the apron as much as I enjoyed making it!

Okay, so I couldn't stop there. My dear friend Theresa had a birthday so I made an apron for her while I was making the swap apron. Yea, that's right, I was working on two projects at once. I used the same tutorial for the style, but I changed the pockets. I made large, square, lined pockets then folded down one corner and added a button for detail. I also did the gathers (even better this time around) and french seams. Still loving those seams! I also made her a matching travel tissue holder. As a mother of little ones I know how important and helpful it is to have tissues on hand at all times....especially this time of year. Okay, so I was so excited to give this gift to Theresa I forgot to take pictures of it first. She was kind enough to bring it to the library so I could snap a few shots in the picture book section...hence the bad lighting, but you can still see the finished product.