(Post written in during December. Posted in January after pictures collected.)

Everyone else (I’m guessing) is cleaning and cooking and baking and wrapping and shopping, getting ready for Christmas. I’ve done a few of those things (very few to be honest) but mostly I’ve been sewing.

I decided early on to focus on the activities surrounding Christmas that are truly enjoyable to me and skip as much of the rest as possible. At times, I’ve questioned my sanity, but for the most part it has worked out to be a good plan for the holidays.

I like writing my annual Christmas letter and most of those are in the mail. I like the creative parts of gift giving, the little extra touches that make the day fun. I like lights on a real Christmas tree, but could really care less about the ornaments. I like John’s American Flyer train running beneath the tree, especially now that I know Kellen will love it too. I do like some shopping–I like trying to avoid the crowds and the traffic–I loved shopping on Michigan Avenue during John’s Christmas party.  I don’t particularly like wrapping gifts, but I do like having all the gifts in coordinated paper for the year. I like making cinnamon rolls the day before Christmas and Winthrop Avenue’s luminere lights glowing along the sidewalks as we drive home from the Christmas Eve service. I also love our Mary and Joseph plywood cut out that projects an even bigger shadow of them on the high school wall.

However, the Christmas tradition that I probably enjoy the most is my annual “family gifts.” It started innocently enough the first Christmas that Laura and Taylor were married. On a whim, I decided to buy the “kids” all matching or coordinating pajamas. The next year, before a trip up North to ski, I bought them all long underwear. When I started knitting, they each got one sock (and the matching sock for their birthday.) One year they all got moccasins. And last year everybody got personalized pillowcases.

This year, they are all getting aprons. And I’ve had a lot of fun and a few moments of extreme frustration as I’ve worked away making aprons for James, Anne, Kellen, my Mom, Laura, Lizi, Johnny and Taylor.

James: I kept worrying that he would think getting an apron for Christmas was well, weird. I had a good, manly idea for the other guys’ aprons (see below) but it wouldn’t work for James because of the weight of the fabric needed. Then I remembered that I had bought some “cowboy” fabric on our trip out west and figured I could make him a cowboy print apron and maybe he wouldn’t find it too embarrassing. I started in, using an apron I had at home for a pattern, when I decided I needed to find an accent fabric to add to the mix. I was more than thrilled to find bandana fabric in red/white and blue/white and bought 1/2 yard of each. There was a cute, smaller cowboy print in the collection so I decided to buy a yard of that for Kellen’s apron. I got the idea of making the bandana fabric the front and neck ties of the apron and came home and figured out a good design. I put pockets on and was thrilled with my design. To soften the blow, I went to the toy store and found cheap potato guns to put in each of the side pockets. He amply rewarded my efforts by calling the apron “wicked!”

Anne’s apron was next because I needed to get their stuff in the mail. I picked out fabric for both Laura and Anne at a new store that carries really nice and really different fabrics, the kinds of things that they would like. Again, I used an apron we already had as a pattern and had fun adding a ruched neckline to Anne’s apron. Her fabric has a subtle music theme so I bought a couple kids’ musical instruments for her pockets but ended up not being able to send them because of package restrictions.

Next, I returned to the cowboy theme and made Kellen a little apron with the same bandana scarf neckline/ties as James’ apron. (I didn’t buy him guns for his pockets, though.) Instead, I made him the cutest bandana-fabric chef’s hat. When he opened it, he plopped it on his head and headed straight to the kitchen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used a pattern for Kellen’s apron and hat but I’d avoided patterns up to this point mainly because I’m too cheap to pay $12 for a pattern. But I found one for $2.99 and decided it might be a good idea to follow a pattern. Not. I made one nearly whole apron out of the pattern and found it incredibly frustrating. The worst part was that when I was nearly finished, I took one look at it and threw it across the room. I hated it! (It’s still there.)

I decided to look again at the patterns at quilt stores and found one that looked interesting. So I bought some pink 30s style fabric and went to work on an apron for my Mom. Again, I was so frustrated trying to follow this so-called simple pattern. I could not follow some of its instructions. I consider myself a decent seamstress but these patterns simply made no sense to me. I felt stupid and more than a little frustrated. (Poor Lizi will attest to this.) In the end, I finished the apron my own way and was satisfied enough (not pleased) to wrap it up and send it off to Detroit. I decided that I’d make Lizi’s apron with the same basic pattern, adjusting several parts of it and following my own good sewing sense instead of their directions.

I made Laura’s and Lizi’s aprons over the next couple of days. I didn’t want to repeat my experiment with the neckline on Anne’s apron but I wanted a gathered sort of accent so I designed neck ties with an additional “tube” bunched up and tacked down. Lizi’s apron went together much better than my mom’s with the additional change of “ties” that don’t need to be tied at all.  I’m not expecting Lizi to wear it much, but I figured the easier it is to put on and take off, the more more likely she might use it. P.S. Late January I did get her to put it on and learn how to make bread.

I’ve saved the best (two) for last.

The thing that really sold me on the idea of making aprons was a picture I cut out from the Chicago Tribune magazine of a uber cool guy wearing an apron made from old jeans. I thought “I can do that” and that is just what I am doing this weekend. I decided I’d make Taylor’s out of old jeans but I’d make Johnny’s out of Carthart fabric. I looked for old clothes at the Goodwill store but ended up buying a new, cheap pair at Walmart. I had so much fun slicing up the pants and sewing them back together in the form of a guys apron. Johnny loved his apron but wants to modify it, making it shorter and adding pockets. He plans to use it at the workshop and not in the kitchen.

 

Taylor’s was really fun. The morning I planned to make it (December 23rd) I got the inspired idea to ask Laura if Taylor had an old pair of jeans. I’d planned to make it out of old jeans of John’s but realized that might not end up being too cool. Laura gave me a hole-y pair of American Eagle jeans and I had a blast cutting them up and making an apron out of them, holes and all. I used up every bit of fabric before I got to the straps. Another inspiration: On Christmas Eve morning I visited the moccasin store and bought scrap leather that matched the leather “American Eagle” patch on the apron. My rotary cutter sliced right through it and the “jeans” needle I had on my machine had no problem sewing through leather as well. It only took Taylor a half a second to recognize his beloved jeans, recycled into his apron.

 

So, here’s the thing: I don’t do patterns. I’ve written about this before but now I’m more convinced than ever that I sew better without someone else telling me what to do. I will admit that there are times when it is worth following a pattern, loosely.  I needed a pattern to make Kellen’s chef’s hat, though I probably could have figured it out if I’d wanted. But overall, I’m not a pattern girl. And I’m probably not much of a clothes-sewing girl either.

This was a lot of fun but I’m ready to go back to quilting.

 

And I’ll be making my own patterns.