Grandma's Apron

I have a love-hate relationship with the sewing machine.  I love creating things, and I love a finished item I have stitched myself.  And using the machine makes it all happen rather quickly, right?  Ugh.  Only when you don't have to take it apart and do it again.  I do struggle sometimes with spatial relations.  It always LOOKS easy, but then when it comes to fitting pieces together (wrong sides, right sides, upsides, downsides?)... So, sew, so... Not something I have spent a great deal of time doing.  Usually I finish an item, then sigh with relief, and put the machine away.  Far away, for a long time.  Until the pain recedes.

Our fair has a category called Grandma's Apron, with a nice prize for first place.  Usually there aren't that many entries, either!  So for several years, I've said to myself, "I should make a new apron."  I mean I HAVE been using Grandma's apron for 35 years!  Who knows how many years she used it?  Right before the 2014 fair, I went shopping for fabric.  No, I was not intending to enter it that year!  But the store was moving, having a sale, and I had some visiting relatives to help me choose fabric, and then a year to make my apron!  I could do this!

In the end I was having trouble deciding between two fabrics (I favoured one, everyone else voted for my second choice)  - decided to make two aprons!  A month or two later I had a much-experienced-with-sewing friend help me make a pattern from Grandma's apron, and figure out how to lay it out on the fabric (which I could NOT have done without help).  Great!  Two aprons cut out!  And moved out of the way.  The sewing machine was living in the basement and resided there until regular lessons finished in June.  Then, time to get sewing!  The living room was invaded.  For two months!  This included time waiting for  either our local Fabricland to restock their binding, or a trip out of town (thankfully Kamloops came through).

I won't relive the process, but there certainly were frustrations!  I had to call in my friend when even YouTube tutorials couldn't help me figure out how to sew in the gussets.  (Note to self: avoid any project with gussets in the future!)  After the first one, the second should have been a little easier.  Only somehow I still ended up ripping out something sewn on backwards!  Well, the fair entry was finished in time... in fact, with time to sew one more project (all straight lines ... that should be easy, right??? Stay tuned for that project! :-)).

And yeah, as well as being a figurative pain in the neck, there was the literal!  I mean, you have to get your eyes right down there by the needle, don't you?  Well, it seemed that way to me!

But in the end, I am in the happy possession of two new aprons!  Of course only one was entered in the fair.  I gave the fair people my original Grandma's apron for display, too, and this is how they set it up.  Oh yes, 3rd place white ribbon out of four aprons!

I chose to enter the brown one for the old-fashioned look.  Which is your favourite?  

And while the brown and green were in the fair, and I was frying something... I looked at those pretty birds, and my old T shirt, and the new apron, and my old T shirt.  Sigh.  The birdies stayed clean.