pug life & tea parties - ruffle apron sets

as a follow up to the 2018 apron extravaganza, i had a few custom orders placed last year.
first off, jenny asked me if i would make a tea cup themed apron for her mom for her birthday.
her only parameters was that it was that theme, and let me know her favorite color was purple.
i found this adorable teacup print that was in an alice in wonderland line of fabric from cotton & steel and rifle paper co along with this marbled purple and blue from joann fabrics that meshed perfectly!
the second batch of aprons is a twofer, and was another for my aunt's work.
this time, it was for a round of secret pals, where the recipient was a huge pug fan.
oddly enough, it was VERY difficult to find a variety of pug fabrics.  Her favorite color was green, so it was very lucky that i found a pug fabric that was also green.  The realistic pugs tied in quite well with the bright green print, and gave that bold pop that it needed against the black.
the pug faces front and center just crack me up!
its always nice to have a brain break and sew something other than a quilt that goes together as quickly as these do.

the great apron project of 2018

now this project here was a doozy to get through, so its no surprise it has taken me this long to get back to and put together in a post!
at the end of 2017/beginning of 2018 my aunt asked me if i would consider making aprons for her staff as their birthday gifts for the year.  the result would be that they would all have their aprons at the end of the year and each wear them to a team building event where cooking was involved.  i was totally on board, as i had made many of the ruffle aprons before for friends and family, so she sent me the list of birthdays and their interests.  as the year rolled on, more interest in aprons from her staff members for other people came out and the list that started as 15 aprons turned in to a whopping 29!
would i ever make an apron again?
considering i've already made one and have 3 more in process at this very moment, absolutely!
the hunt for some of these fabrics was half the fun, especially considering the wide variety of theme i was getting to work with.

blush & gold rose ruffle apron

that's right, another ruffle apron!
melissa got married a month ago, and prior to that we had her bridal shower!  as i have in the past, i decided to make her a ruffle apron that matched her wedding colors and add some girly-ness to the kitchen.  joanns had this perfect coordinating fabric that was in blush pink and ivory (also seen in navy on aileen & ben's argyle quilt) with little gold rose accenting to it that was so very melissa.  my sister was home for a week during that time, so stepped up to the plate and modeled this apron for me.
unfortunately, the link i had for this apron doesn't seem to work anymore :(
one tool that i'll say has made a world of difference for this apron is using a rolled hem foot on the edges of the ruffles.  they look SO much more crisp and clean than using a seam gauge.

nerdy themed ruffle apron

some how, some way, my sister got a job at joann's this past holiday season.  they must know that we need the discount, and i was just too much awesomeness for them to handle when i applied a few years back.  besides, it has become apparent that the crafty world of joann's has begun to rub off on this sister of mine, and has inspired her to do some crafting of her own.  anyways, it was at her request that i make her an apron (since she doesn't sew) so that she doesn't have to wear the generic ones the store has.  knowing my favorite apron tutorial (which she has modeled three times now) i knew what i was going to make and just needed the fabric for it.  at one point it was going to be avengers themed i believe, but then this fabric was available in stores and we decided to go with it.  in case you weren't aware (or forgot) my sister is a physics major, so this overly nerdy themed fabric was perfect for her.  the polka dots were a good off set to separate the print without getting too crazy all over the place.
i managed to make this apron in an afternoon, after another cryptic "i made cookie dough..." texts, i figured i may as well get her fancied up for the last few months of working at joann's before she leaves for college.  it was so crazy to sew something that didn't involve quilting.... it went together quite quickly in one afternoon :)
it has been decided that the only flaw in this apron pattern is the lack of pockets.  which i suppose is really only a problem if you're trying to put a walkie talkie and/or a handheld somewhere instead of in your hands.  perhaps i'll have to revise this for the next fabric store employee i make this apron for.
workin' it
i've had some serious thoughts about making a few of these (generic enough) and offering them up on etsy.  i suppose i'll have to see how my summer looks after the next few days as i finish up finals and transition between school year to summer camp/dance recital/wedding season time.  but there you have it!  aileen's nerd-a-licious themed apron to love and squeeze and call her own.  and for kicks, here's a few links back to the previously made ruffle aprons:
green with envy
airplanes & postcards
nursing themed

nurse themed ruffle apron - amy's bridal shower gift

i promised you a blog post about this, and now FINALLY there is a blog post.  and such a hodge podge of photos to go with it, since i had two models and a tree hanging variety to choose from.  i could have posted a bunch more that all looked exactly the same, simply because i love these aprons... but i resisted.
first things first. these hangers. love them. all brides should have one, and they should order them RIGHT HERE. i've placed orders super late in the game, and they've arrived with plenty of time to spare.  i may just order a generic "bride" one for my upcoming weddings this year, just incase.  but seriously people, take care of your brides and get them a fantastic custom hanger to put their wedding dress on.  unless i am invited to the shower.  then don't steal my thunder.
my sister modeled this first chunk of photos, as she is drafted in to every time i sew something. so here is her "photo cred"... just look at that smize she has. tyra taught her well.
so about the fabric...
i came across it (actually my mom did) when i was shopping for the fabric for betsy's airplanes apron for her october bridal shower.  i thought about buying it right then and there, but decided to wait until the bridal shower was closer and then go for it.  i think i hoped for a black friday sale or something, but nope.  nothing.  the apron takes five fabrics, and since there were only four i had to come up with a way to either find a coordinating fifth, or just deal with what was there.  so i decided since i liked the bandaids so much, i would use it ALL OVER this apron.  i made it the belt, as well as the second and fourth ruffles.  yep.  super happy with it.  it helped break up the stark white-ness of the rest of the apron.  yeah, i know.  white, such a great color to use around cooking... but since amy just finished her nursing degree and landed a job that officially starts days after the wedding, it was all so appropriate.
of course, i had to save the bridal shower "excitement" photos for this blog post. because it's just that much more exciting!
this past weekend amy was here (and we attempted to knock out her wedding favors... i'm sure there will be more on that after this weekend. ha!) and she just happened to bring her apron with her. so while sarah was inside fighting the printer, amy (and rue) came outside to model. such a fabulous job all around.
i just love how brutally honest rue is in this next one... seriously, tell us how bored you REALLY are.
then it was back inside to assemble the ONE successful favor. one down, 124 or so more to go.
let the wedding countdown begin! right now, it's at nine days... say WHAT?? bachelorette party this weekend, and before we know it, she'll be stuck with luke FOREVER.  nah, he's a pretty good guy.