Calamity Kim

Tie One On Apron Challenge "Pockets Theme"

What's in your Pocket?

So, this is the story about an apron challenge that Amanda ( of Pandora's Button Box) and I discussed one day on Yahoo IM and we came up with Gypsy Pockets- or if we were gypsies what would we have in our pockets.
We decided to do it in tandem and I mailed her some stuff and she shared a pattern for a palm reading guide.
We decided to work on it and then share the results on our Blogs.
Last minute, down to the wire, I just finished mine, ( she is still sewing on some fringe).
I may add some later.
I just had to stop.
My nerves were raw and my stomach churning.
I knew if I didn't finish it today then I would miss my opportunity to get posted in Tie One On.
I  have never entered an apron before and was so excited about this.
I made the Dorothy's Pocket and then the Cinderella's pocket and Summer afternoon at the Creek Pocket Apron.
Then I started making other stuff and finally pulled this out today. 
I really started this so long ago that I had completely lost my MoJo on it.
I sewed the apron base together using some of my favorite fabrics.
I left the seams  raw so that it will fray.
Sort of deconstructed. Because a gypsy would put it together on the go and probably use what ever fabrics she could find.
Amy Butler, Martha Negley, Kaffe Fassett, Jane Sassaman, Alexander Henry to name a few of the designer fabrics that I found.
Today I created the Gypsy Queen Collage and then printed it on fabric.
At first I was going to make that the pocket. But it was too big.
Then I decided to make her the bib part.
That worked fine.
Then I decided to use some embroidered linen for the pocket and spent some time sewing it to a brocade satin lining fabric.

That was also too big.
I decided to use it to store the whole apron in- a storage pocket.
To stash it safely in the caravan.
So then I decided to use the palm reader hand (that I had embroidered with red DMC) as the pocket.
The crystal ball and cash and cupcake all fit nicely in there. My Gypsy Queen has a bit of a sweet tooth. 
The apron and ties are fully lined and I think it turned out OK.
Just perfect for the Gypsy, Tramp or Thief in your heart.
Go ahead, tie one on!

Here is the link to the slide show on Flickr.

Better Homes & Aprons Pattern using Heather Bailey's Fabrics

Good Morning! Just a quick one about this apron pattern I found over at the BHG site. They have used Heather Bailey's Fresh cut Fabric to create a lovely ruffled apron that would certainly take the drudgery out of any chore!

The pattern has downloads and looks easy enough for a beginner.

There are actually several different apron patterns.

I am posting a few pictures from the site- there are lots of fun stuff to make & do.

I use their free downloads for desktops as they are bright and seasonal.

Here is the link for the "easy retro" apron.

Here is the third one- the Cottage inspired apron.              Oh yeah! I almost forgot- run, do not walk, but run over to Bitter Betty's BLOG and sign up for the "Print yer Own Fabric Swap".
 

That should be more than enough to keep you all busy!! Now git!!!I've got sewing to do!

Cooking with Calamity Kim Style

details, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

click on the link above to come to Flicker and see more pictures of this reversible apron

Obsessed With Aprons and Heather Bailey Fabrics

The Peony fabric designed by Heather Bailey for Free Spirit is beautiful.

The color ways and movement are simply heaven to work with.

The fabric has a nice hand. You want to hold it up to your face and caress it.

I could see fairies peeking out from the centers.

Really, I could!

So after I took my scissors out and trimmed away the middle I placed one of the faces  from the "buckarettes" by Alexander Henry  in the space and stitched it up.  So sweet.

I  used some 100% cotton batting  so the pocket quilted nicely.

Inside it is lined with flower fabric. Pocket full of posies. (teehee) I love how Heather's fabric has gorgeous shading. The leaves are a perfect hue of green.

I used some of the  "Robin" fabric from the State bird collection designed by Susan Ellis for Northcott . The  cowhide background is awesome and has a great texture. It looks tea dyed  and dappled. 

Creating a collage style apron is fun but also demands concentration. Not all fabrics will tell the story.

As I sift through my collection of novelty fabrics I search for the pieces that will suggest what the apron is about.

The story that it tells.

Is the garden filled with flower fairies?

Are there frog princes battling song  birds?

Ladybugs heading toward a picnic? Does the flower fairy look a bit  nervous about the proximity of the robin? A tiny hint of Hitchcock?

Maybe crows and a few spiderwebs would suggest something spooky brewing in the kitchen. Alas, Halloween is still too far off to get witchy.

Frogs suggest summertime and nature.

Birds and the bees for love.

The ruffle is Michael Miller polka dots with a two inch border of black and white gingham.

After sewing the back side using a brown ticking fabric, I left about 1/8" margin to give it even more texture.

The green dots look great with the leaves and suggests more garden beyond the apron. The other side is made from a vintage quilt top. Another awesome eBay score.

Some of the squares are hand pieced and then machine stitched together.

I used a lovely battenburg linen doilie folded for the pocket.
it has an opening so that it is like an envelope. Two pockets really.

A red flapper face girl button completes the pocket. This is Calamity Kim Style.  A bit of nature, with a touch of vintage and a hint of magic!

Hitching up to the WIP post

Click on picture to make it larger. I am sure no one wants to know how I was up all night with my Golden Retriever Sadie Mae...or how I cleaned up the up-chuck and took her outside 7 times or how I woke up every half hour..when I even went back to sleep. I kept thinking that possibly the rawhide treat had blocked her bowels and she was going to need surgery or worse- was she going to die??? Oh dear! I had a dreadful night. So did she. Now she is sleeping a lot and seems much improved. I felt so bad for her- now I am still worried and may end up taking her to the vet, but if the diarrhea has ended then I am sure she will be OK...but I will never give her another rawhide. Anyway..I am sure that was tmi, but she is my baby and I just had to tell ya what was going on...at least until the mailman came.

Then for a brief moment all other thoughts flew out of my head, because in my hot little hand I was holding some Heather Bailey peony fabric and some cowhide by Alexander Henry and some of  State Bird fabric by Susan Ellis for  Northcott.. I had an idea germinating for a Calamity Kim Style Apron with a bit of cowgirl and nature, a touch of magic and a ruffle... It's a wip...I have several going at once and it's kind of fun to take one off the work table and put up another and play with it and then the next....lots of irons in my fire! You'll be ohhing and ahhhing soon enough...Have a great day, y'all! I am going back to my sickly dog and my sewing room....and if I am lucky there will be a nap in my future!

An Apron a Day keeps the Doctor Away

This is the pocket that goes on the front of the apron that I made today.

And this is the Vintage (1969) Smokey the Bear Ruler/Bookmark reproduced on canvas fabric and sewn together that goes in the pocket of the apron I made today.

Using some gorgeous geranium fabric I made the ruffle that goes around the edge of the apron with the  Smokey the Bear ruler/bookmark that goes in the pocket of the apron that I made today.

I engaged in 6 bidding wars on Ebay before I finally won the Smokey the Bear sheet to cut up to add a ruffle of geranium fabric and put a pocket that holds the ruler/bookmark that goes on the apron that I made today.

This is the front of one side and then this is the other side.... It represents summer afternoons when I would get cookies and milk from my Grandma and ride my bike down to the creek and hunt for old bottles and baby pinecones and pick bouquets of Queen Anne's Lace and wild daisies and have tea parties on the old stump by the rock wall where the rasberries grew.

I used some Moda fabrics and some Heather Ross Lightening bugs and other mysteries and the embroidered vintage doilie is on linen and makes a gorgeous large pocket. I added a bee button to the handle of the basket to keep the pocket from gaping open.

The ruffle on this side is cream eyelet lace and is as wide as the ruffle on the other side so that when it is turned you can't see the other side. The waistband is bikes on this side and a lovely lavender basketweave on the other. 
what would you have in your pocket after a day at the creek? An old thimble found in the dirt, a dried daisy chain, a smooth round stone, as many baby pinecones as you could find and acorns and rocks with flecks of micah....

This shows both sides- sorta- It's difficult to get good pictures unless I am wearing it and I am not expert at setting up the tripod and setting the gizmo...no, not at all...so for now this will have to do. I think I made a challenge to myself to make an apron a day for a month. I will have that etsy store stocked with every kind of apron you could imagine! hahaha! I am only partially kidding- I am challenging myself to make something everyday! Somedays I only do housework or laundry or cook or stay on the computer- so we shall see! Anyway- here's another one...it's called: "Summer Afternoon by the Creek" or " Give Me Those Matches, You Little PyroManiac!!!!!" True story:  Once, when I was in 2nd grade I nearly burned down our house playing with a candle. I melted the side of my Barbie doll case and the maid smelled it and came running in and put the smoldering fire out.   When my Mom got home from work the maid (Rosa) quit. I thought it was pretty to watch the candle flame. That was the year my Dad was in Vietnam and we went through 7 maids. I never got another Barbie case. The family never let me forget I was a Pyro. I still like to watch fires burn. My next apron will be: "Going to Hell in A Handbasket"

Another Finished Apron- Cinderella's Pocket

Reversible with one side is Cindy and the other side is the Princess Cinderella Side. What would she have in her pockets?  Maybe a glass slipper, a few  sequins, a thimble, a spool of thread,  a few rose petals... a keepsake  handkerchief from her dear Mother Beatrice, gone all these years, now just a faint memory.....
the other side  is the princess side with a beautiful hand tatted  hanky and a cupcake....The Cindy side is edged in a  wide eyelet ruffle while the Princess side is trimmed in  4 different layers of tulle- pink with stars, blue with stars and glitter, aqua and white spiderweb tulle.

I used a vintage quilt top for the patchwork side- there are some gorgeous old fashioned prints in it and some Amy Butler on the Princess side . It's trimmed with rick rack and eyelet lace..Yummy! They are both going in the shop at Etsy...both are size medium which will fit a 25-38 inch waist...go get yourself one! Or just let me know what ya think...

Dorothy's Pocket

I actually finished something! Dorothy's Pocket...what would she have in it after a trip through The Wonderful Land of Oz????

Surely a biscuit for ToTo... And maybe a bit of Munchkin Money and of course a heart who knows what else? Maybe a slice of Auntie Em's famous cherry pie she might even slide in a flying sock monkey! the lining is also poppy fabric....Better pictures in the mornin...It is going in Etsy...going once...going twice.....three times....sorry to tease- really, tomorrow is another day and Heroes is on in a moment and poor Fred hasn't had any dinner yet...who said you can't eat an apron?? hahaha! Gotta scoot! Click 0n each picture to View Larger- ok? Tell me what ya think!

committing WIP-acide, please call the wip-acide hotline!

I know that I was showing you a picture of a collage purse in the previous post, but when I went to work on it some more I hit that creative speed bump that caused me to roll back a bit. I just didn't have the necessary speed to make it over the top and as I backslid I noticed the pile of fabric transfers I had made (oh, last year!) and never done anything with- I had lost motivation on them too, at the time. So I switched projects, as I often do and added fabric to make it large enough to cut an apron from. I am lining it and then doing the waist band and ties and then will probably add a few things in the pocket.
I will add this to Tie One On's Challenge.
What would Dorothy have in her pocket?
Oh you know! Anti- Flying Monkey Spray, a poppy seed or two, oil can, cat nip, extra straw, a dog biscuit, along with some hopes and dreams and a miracle or more.
Using a McCalls pattern M5284-  view #E- from the Hancock's closing sale. :(    I hate to see any fabric store close, but this will be great for the small quilt shop's here! So I guess it will be ok. I am going to go finish this and I will be back with photos later! Have a Happy Monday!

Gypsy Pockets

wow, you're thinking, right? I know this makes me go wow! Once, a long time ago, in my twenties, I took belly dancing classes. My friend Sharon and I laughed and laughed. My hips never did what they were supposed to- but it was fun and liberating and we laughed and laughed!
Now Amanda and I are going to get crafty together- Long Distance Crafty, but Blogging and sharing ideas together with Flickr and emails.
Designing our own aprons for the Pockets theme for Tie One On will be fun and we will laugh!
What would a gypsy carry in her pockets?
A set of cards, some cash, some potions?
Her crystal ball might not fit!
Will it jangle and jingle?
Would it be made from velvets, silks, tapestry?
Crazy quilted? 
Traditional Gypsy?
Kaffe Fasset or some of Anna Maria Horner's Bohemian?
Maybe Amy Butler Lotus Flowers?
This is going to be fun!
Amanda leans toward sultry, 20's-40's Jazz Lounge, vintage style with a bit of black and grippe seized skelly/fairy/ pixie twists and I am 50's and 60's Pop culture with a hint of farm girl and a blend of Hitchcock/O'Keefe/Audrey Hepburn and Martha Stewart for good measure.
I am mailing her some fabrics that might be suitable and we are going to start drafting designs this week. Maybe we can tuck in some recipes in our pockets.
Got any good ones for Gypsies?
Like: 

HUNGARIAN GOULASH OVER NOODLES
1 lb. beef, cut into cubes
2 tbsp. brown sugar
3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
6 tbsp. ketchup
3 tbsp. flour
2 med. onions, minced
1 1/4 tsp. paprika
1 1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. vinegar
1 1/2 c. water
1 (6 oz.) pkgs. noodles
Brown meat on all sides in fry pan; add onions.
Combine paprika, brown sugar and salt.
Combine Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, ketchup; add to meat; add 1 cup of the water; stir; cover.
Cook over low heat 2 1/2 hours or until meat is very tender.
Blend flour with remaining 1/2 cup water; add to meat mixture; stir until thickened. Boil noodles in salted water until tender; drain.
Serve meat mixture over noodles.
Maybe I can borrow The Werewolf with Lon Chaney from my brother to do some research on Gypsies.... a big bowl of Goul-ash (and a nice chianti)  with a name like that it's bound to be good!...stay tuned for more of this crazy fun! If we hurry we might even be able to come up with Zombie Aprons...what would Zombies have in their pockets?  oh the possiblities are endless...right in time for Fido....