Polka Dot Cafe Apron - Zakka 2.0 Week #4

What's cookin' at your house?

Here at mine,

I've whipped up a little Polka Dot Cafe apron,

as part of the Patchwork, Please Sew Along!

Grab a tall glass of sweet tea,

and get ready for a lot of pictures of my version of

the Polka Dot Cafe Apron.

In my humble opinion,

I used some of the cutest fabrics on earth,

from Lori Holts' Bake Sale for Riley Blake.

I decided to use the same print for the center squares on each block.

I love the way they look with my

vintage Pyrex bowls!

{Do you see those tiny little spatulas on the green and blue block?}

Shall we "dish" about my likes and dislikes?
Dislikes are always first...

Okay...I haven't seen this mentioned

in anyone else's posts,

but the cutting instructions say to cut 4 of the 

large squares.

Um...there are 5.  The one in the center

is a different print, but the same size

as the four squares around it.

As much as I have joined in the lament that

this book lacks diagrams,

I found this project's piecing diagram to be very confusing.

The instructions said "Sew

in the order shown...," and referred to the figure,

but there were 5 #1's in the diagram.

{I did figure it out, but only because I'm an experienced sewist.}

The templates...oh, I didn't use those.

I measured them in the book and kind of rounded them up a bit

to the nearest 1/4" figuring I could trim them to size.

{I believe she meant to advise using freezer paper for templates, but it didn't come out and say it like that in the description.  Again, it was confusing.}

Oh.My.Gosh.

When I was finished making my blocks,

I barely had anything to trim off, as shown below.

I did not have 1/4" to spare, to preserve any points!!!

{My 1/4" seam can't be THAT far off!  How on earth did the template users manage, I wonder?}

This is one of those projects that looked like

it was going to be quick and easy,

but it took me almost all day to complete.

Maybe it was just because I kept stopping to look at how cute it was!

This is really a time-saving tip, rather than a "dislike"...

I pressed my binding in the same way as I made the apron ties.  

Rather than attach the binding as described,

I stitched it on "taco-style" in just one step,

enclosing the raw edges.

{How about that darling text print?}

I also added a 1 1/2" sashing between the blocks,

so I didn't have to try to line up all those "missing points" I had.

And now for some more of the "likes"...

Obviously,

the blocks themselves are just sooooo sweet!

I love that they are retro-style and allow the fabrics to shine.

I also like that the patchwork pocket

fit just right onto my plain turquoise tea towel!

What a nice shortcut for me!

My most favorite detail is just about the best "like" ever for me!

The sample has a little piece of fabric tape tucked into the side of the pocket.

I didn't have any decorative tape to coordinate,

so I just made a little fussy cut tab.

Would you like to see it really close up???

{I knew you would!}

Someday, I hope to adjust the measurements

to re-create this adorable little block,

points and all.

{If I figure it out, I promise to share!}

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Celebrate! A New Mug Rug Pattern

This weekend I've got something to celebrate...

I've launched my new PDF pattern

for a fun and fresh new mug rug,

called...Celebrate!

I've gotta tell you that I didn't really plan

for this to be my next pattern,

but I've had the idea in my mind for a long time.

It came to life when

I made a kitchen-themed basket

for my son's Relay for Life team to raffle,

and I made this little mug rug as part of the prize.

I began with a Divided Basket

from my beloved Noodlehead pattern,

in a turquoise and lime color scheme.

I added a bunch of fun turquoise and lime stuff, 

like napkins, a silicone trivet,

a candle, some straws, and some picnic plates.

Here's the back of the basket.

See that Denyse Schmidt print I picked up at my JoAnn store?

I featured it, adding a sweet lime polka dot

and a fabulous turquoise chevron from Riley Blake!

I filled it with some more handmade goodies...

a stay-put tea towel

and some pretty coasters.

I know you want to see more of those coasters, right?

I whipped them up using my own Moda Bake Shop tutorial.

I'm hoping the winner of the basket

will feel happy each time she uses it.

:)

When I made my little mug rug,

I took some photos and made some notes...

and now I've got the pattern ready for sale!

There's something for everyone here...

a bit of applique using fusible webbing...

And a wee bit of embroidery...

All tied together with some bright binding.

You can find the Celebrate Mug Rug pattern 

in my pattern shop on Craftsy.

{Craftsy is running a sale all weekend

in honor of Memorial Day...

even more reason to celebrate!}

It's also available in my shop on Etsy,

called eamylove.

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A Little Kitchen Spice

I'm in the mood for sewing projects

to spice up the kitchen!

As a big Flickr fan,

I know there have been swaps for that,

but I haven't ever participated in an Official Swap before.

{My mug rug swap with Amanda of The Patchsmith was the closest thing I've done yet, and that was such fun that I'm sure I'll sign up for an Official Swap someday.}

Flickr has dozens of sweet and spicy projects for inspiration!

From Flickr

Do you see that adorable tea towel in the upper left corner of the mosaic???

Well, I did a little bit of research online,

and I found the tutorial at Pin.Sew.Press

for the Stay-Put Kitchen Towel.

{Isn't that the cutest idea?!?!?!}

I found some soft, cushy tea towels at my local craft store,

just like those waffle weaves in the mosaic above.

{I got three of them to start with...barn red, white and turquoise

...and I just went back for more today.  There was only one of the green ones left!}

I found some pretty prints and got started.

Here's the first one I made, 

using a barn red towel.

I love the cherries and vines in the black and red colorway,

 both from Recipe for Friendship

by Mary Engelbreit for Moda.

{I like to name my projects...I call this towel Black Cherry.}

For the turquoise towel,

I used some polka dots paired up with a print

from Bonnie and Camille's line for Moday called Bliss.

{I shall name this one Dotted Bliss.}

I love the ribbon ties, but I started to think...

and I started to worry...

will those pretty ribbons make it through

dozens of wash and dry cycles?

Hmmmm....

For the next towel I finished off the sides with covered buttons,

instead of ties at the sides.

{I still needed to use ribbon inside the casing, 

to gather the towel for shaping.}

I was going to name this one Cherry Vanilla,
but instead I've decided to call it Mine.

{Yeah...I'm keeping this one in my own kitchen.}

Do you know of any fun kitchen tutorials?

{Please share in a comment, if you do!}

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