Baking Grandma

After enjoying making the Amy Butler In Stitches half-pinny as a Christmas present for my grandmother I decided to try and alter the pattern to make it into a bibbed apron for Zebra-girl's & Dinosaur-boy's grandmother (named Baking Grandma because she is the most fantastic cake and biscuit maker and we never spend time in her company without lots of lovely homemade sugaryness). For the front pocket, I embroidered 'Baking Grandma' onto it and then made a cupcake, using some pale green fabric for the cup and a flower from some of Heather Bailey's Freshcut material for the cake.

As my mother-in-law is so much taller than me I couldn't model this one myself as it drowns me and the waist tie is in entirely the wrong place...but Ian agreed to do the honours instead in our pre-christmas-photographing-the-handmade-gifts-for-the-blog session...and both of us agreed that a man's body does not set this floral apron off well. I had cut it to accommodate something other than a man's flat chest and so it looks weirdly shapeless...so upsetting when one's pictures are not satisfying to look at!

I wanted to work in the tea-towel holder that's in the Amy Butler half-pinny pattern, so I got that in on the side and then put a few flowers next to it...because sewing them on is something I love doing!

I ended up deciding to line the apron, as the very pale yellow cotton I'd bought (because it matched the Heather Bailey fabric) was a little too thin for an apron. It always makes my head hurt when I've got to incorporate tabs and ties when I'm making something inside out....

Anyway, Baking Grandma seemed to like her apron and Zebra-girl designed a beautiful gift label for it, but I really should have photographed my mother-in-law wearing it instead of Ian...but the bustle of Christmassy family time doesn't really lend itself well to modelling opportunities (time with my sister aside, when the foolishness of arranging poses becomes an integral part of the Christmas fun).

And a quick postscript: thank you so much for all your well wishes for my kitchen! I am hoping that after the weekend I will be able to post some before and after pictures, but for now I'm just dreaming about where each plate, pot and pan should go! As with most things in life, it has taken a little longer than expected, and so there is still the sound of banging and drilling to be heard coming from downstairs...but as it is a happy sound of progress and things being 'done', I am enjoying it very much! The iceberg has yet to be installed, but apart from that I am feeling a bit like I can breathe more easily for I am very happy (no make that ecstatic, as I am desperately having to contain my squeals of delight each time they bring another part of it through the back door) with the way it is looking...phew! x