So in honor of Miz Jess's birthday, I tried my hand at a full apron. I made little skirty aprons for a few of my girls for Christmas, but really, you don't get messy around the skirt-area when you cook so much as generally slopping things down your front. Maybe that's just me.

Previous post shows the sexy brown pillowcase. Who in the hell would ever think sheets like that were a good addition to a home? They're not even soft. But I digress.

I had to get kinda creative with the fabric distribution, because I was working with limited materials. I already had some plain muslin on hand to line it with, which I also used for the strings and neck strap.

A shot of how I pieced it together:

Instead of stenciling or applique'-ing a chicken, I found a cute hen pillow on etsy and decided to straight-up steal the idea. My twist, though: Hen Pocket! It's a Pocket. Shaped like a Hen.

Closeup of Hen all laid out:

Aren't you cute. The details were small sample bits included when I ordered some other fabric. I'm pleased at how well the colors go. I considered putting an egg on there somewhere, but I think it's fine without.

I'll skip the how-to, because there are lots of better apron patterns than the one I came up with on the fly out there on the internet, and cut right to the Finished Product, as modeled by the lovely Brahbrah (who is still Under Construction):

I'm pretty stoked on this, it is Hell of Cute. One note, though. The fabric came from the thrift store, and I didn't wash it before I started the project, because the laundromat was not in my plans until after I wanted to start on it. Ironing stuff straight from the thrift store produces a Seriously Disgusting Smell. It's like Thrift+. I'm going to wash it this afternoon before forking it over, but man. I think I've learned my lesson.

I have several projects going right now, in various stages of completion, thanks to a Killer Lunch Break at the Thrift Store.One of my Homegirls is an artist, and we've talked about making a trade: I'll sew her something nice, and she'll give me a piece of art. I would say that I come out on top, because I love to sew and then I get something sweet in return? But she doubtless enjoys painting as much as I enjoy sewing, so... everybody wins! Even better. The Rainbow Thing is a medium-weight cotton shower curtain, and I'm envisioning a 1970s-style summer top and sundress out of it. Maybe something off-the-shoulder, Mama's Family-style (what?).

The Green Thing is a killer linen tablecloth. I'd love to make a 1950s-style wiggle-dress with a boat neck and pencil skirt, like This Nice Lady did here, also out of a tablecloth. I kinda doubt I'll have enough fabric for that, so it might be just the pencil skirt. And that is Oh-Kay too.

The Brown Thing! It is an Old Pillowcase. I started deconstructing it before I remembered to take a picture, so the grody, stained off-white thing is part of it too. This is for milady Jess's birthday. It's going to be an apron, because she has recently taken a serious interest in cooking, and I'll always do my part to encourage mutual interest in Awesome Things. I thought the pattern on it looked an awful lot like chicken wire or chain link fence, so the plan was to make some sort of chicken decal or applique' to go on it. Very reminiscent of something I would've found in my grandmother's house.

Next post: The Chicken Apron.

So my folks had a wooden wine box they offered me a while back, and I took it with the intention of someday making something functional out of it. After six months of it sitting around on the floor, I got inspired Saturday morning to do something real with it. I'd planned on just going to the hardware store and buying turned legs to screw on, but I got lost and couldn't find a hardware store. I did, however, pass the thrift store on the way home, so I stopped in to see if there was a cheap piece of furniture in there that I could just saw the legs off of, keeping my contributions to the waste stream to a minimum. I found a perfect round side table, with long, very simply fastened legs that I didn't even have to saw off.











I'm giving the leftover tabletop and glass piece to my friend Tina, who is an artist and can doubtless make something wonderful out of them.


















My next step is to successfully find a hardware store and buy some small hinges for the lid, so that it can be a functional storage piece as well as an auxiliary kitchen prep table.

This morning I discovered the 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse contest at Extreme Craft:










It is a call for precisely what I made: some sort of refuse, creatively repurposed to fulfil some need, want, or desire. The contest wasn't just furniture, but "paper and book arts, jewelry, clothing, home and personal accessories, furniture, art, and miscellanea for possible publication" in a coffee table-type book There appeared to be at least 1500 entries when I uploaded mine. The competition's not too stiff, and if I'd known I was going to be doing it competitively before the last day to do submit, I probably would have put forth my best effort with the hinges and maybe some tung oil, as opposed to making it piece. Even if it doesn't win anything, I have now jumpstarted my decision to enter design competitions and push myself creatively.