Uncle Earl's apron

I call this "uncle Earl's apron" because of its questionable roots. If you could have seen the pair of jeans this was made from, you would understand. A sorry pair if I ever did see one. Something that looked and felt like something Uncle Earl would have worn to his wedding to his first cousin in West Virginia. But let me report that those jeans turned out to be one of my favorite aprons to date! I made the ruffled bottom out of some remaining vintage sugar sack scraps and the flower trim from some leftover fabric from a different apron. I'm happy when I can utilize all the scraps in my big fabric box. I paired my half apron with some old cowboy boots. So flirty and girlie!

Viv asked me when I learned how to sew. Truth of the matter is that I'm self-taught. I inherited 3 sewing machines when my paternal grandmother died. I've always been able to do VERY BASIC machine sewing (hems and straight lines) but always wanted to do more. In January of this year, I was running (literally) past a cloth store every morning at 6am. Funky aprons caught my eye in the window. One morning I had to stop and noticed a flyer for an apron making class. I took one 2 hour class and the rest is history. I'm going to keep improving my skills when I can. There are so many new projects waiting for me. Here's the funny thing though: I actually like the imperfections that sometimes pop up. Everyone is always striving for perfect but for me, perfect can be bought in mass production. Handmade is one-of-a-kind and charming....just like me and my happy little creations :)