fortyseven 12.29.11

I sewed today to the sound of Billy Holiday

And to the smell of a light rain falling outside.

There is a Tui that is fond of the gum tree near us.

He joined in with Miss Holiday.

I love the sound of a Tui.

I love the smell of rain.

It was a lovely day.

I made ruffles today.

I have been wanting to try this apron design for a while and today seemed like as good as any to try it.

I reminded myself that I committed to making one apron a day not one perfect apron a day.

Then I got down to figuring out this apron.

The ruffles take FORever.

Other than the time it took to pull the ruffles together, the amount of pinning and measuring involved, and the bobbin running out at an inopportune time, the apron came together pretty easy.

A perfect flouncing around the kitchen apron.

fortysix 12.27.11

I have another confession to make.

I am not proud of it.

But it has to be said.

When I was a kid my friends and I used to drive around in our cars and shoot people.

With water guns.

We would pull up next to a car at a red light.

If they had their windows down they were in for it.

As soon as the light was about to turn green we would bring out the super soakers and pull the triggesr.

Then squeal away.

I am not sure if our cars actually squealed but it seems like they should have.

Today after I made my apron I took a walk down to the shops.

I was innocently walking through the parking lots when a van drove by.

With water guns.

I was shot in the arm with a spray of water.

I guess it was payback.

I have made a previous apron with this fabric. 

Thirtynine.

I just love the combo and couldn’t resist doing another.

I would like to find some gold buttons for the pockets.

Thanks for the modeling K and M.

fortyfive 12.22.11

My first boys apron.
Boys can wear aprons too.
James is the apron model today.
I assured him it was a very manly apron and then he agreed to the modeling.
He was great.

Our NZ bus lives at Te Nikau.
It is a beautiful spot.
And it means we get to have nice neighbors like James and his sister Katie.

We went to Christmas Dinner last night at Te Nikau.
It was SO yum.
The Pavlova was to die for.
I could do that again.

I made this apron extra strong.
There are lots of pockets for toads and rocks and things.
And loops to hang all sorts of tools.

I suppose you could hang a spatula as well.

*fortyfour 12.21.11

I am getting back into the swing of apron making.
My outside sewing table was confiscated by my husband today.
It has turned from a sewing table to a construction table.
He is redoing half our kitchen.
We had a leak in the bus while we were away and some cupboards needed some serious attention.

I laid a blanket down, sat down, and did my cutting and ironing on the floor.
It worked out much better than I was expecting.

This apron is made from a linen upholstery sample and some cotton I got from the fabric store.
It is one big pocket.
I think it will be a good clothespin apron.
Also is you run out if room in the clothes basket you can defiantly fit a few things in this pocket!

The lovely Katie agreed to model for me today.
She makes the apron look great!
Thanks Katie!

Duvet Cover

I did not make an apron today.
I did however make a duvet cover!

When  we got married we wanted white table clothes for the tables at the reception.
We found these in the form of lots of white sheets from second hand stores.

After the wedding we were left with lots of white sheets.

Some became curtains for a while.
Some became drop cloths.

Some became rags.
And two got sewn together to make us a duvet cover.

When I washed the cover yesterday it was shredding on one side! Old sheet I guess.

So I found another sheet to replace it.
And added this great piece of fabric.

It is an upholstery fabric sample.
A Beautiful new friend gave me a big ol box of samples!

A duvet cover is a very forgiving project.
One sheet was a bit bigger than the other but somehow it got sewn together.
There is one corner that is a bit iffy.
But it looks great on the bed!

Have you ever thought about making a bed in the loft of a bus?
Let me tell you, it is a tricky business.
I have to actually make the bed while I am on it!
I have gotten quite good at this, if I do say so myself.
If you need any pointers just let me know.

fortythree 12.19.11

 We arrived safe and sound in The Land of the Long White Cloud.
The first week here was spent getting the big green bus all swept out and cleaned up and fixed up to be livable and road worthy once again.

I turned our "office" down the back into a sewing room.
My beautiful friend Sharon lent me her sewing machine.

Our Office doesn't get used too much so it is the perfect spot.
There was one cold and damp New Zealand winter  when we put carpet on the floor and blankets on the walls.
We hooked up a heater and kept warm in the little "cave" while watching movies.
There was a big hole in the front part of the bus where the engine was getting replaced.
But that is another story....

The new sewing space still has a few kinks. There is not room in there to cut and iron so yesterday I set up a table outside and kept hopping back and forth.

I felt like a rabbit.


The apron turned out nice in spite of all the hopping around.
Some great white and red cotton.
Little lines of roosters on it.
A pocket made out of linen.
Two gorgeous pheasants.

I may be getting a bit carried away with the length of the ties these days.

These ones can wrap around the front and then back around to the back and tie there!

Zucchini Fritters

I did consider starting up another blog to share some cooking adventures.
But really, three blogs is enough to keep up with.

I think cooking and aprons go pretty well together.
You do wear an apron when you cook after all.

I made these Zucchini fritters the other day and they were SO good I had to share.

I am one of those annoying people who don't use a recipe so I will try to recreate it for you here.







First I pulled out the food processor.

I threw in
2 small zucchini
1 carrot
1/4 red onion
1 clove of garlic
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup of flour (the milk and the flour it where is gets fuzzy. It should be a pancake consistency.)
1t baking powder.
Salt and Pepper

Whizz it all up!

Add a bit of oil to a skillet and cook them up like pancakes.

I topped them with avocado and a tomato chutney recipe that I found in a Real Simple magazine.
This made enough for three people. Or two very hungry people.

I hope it goes well if you give it a try!

*fortytwo 12.06.11

Its our last day in Alabama.
We are off to New Zealand tomorrow.
It has been a loverly week here.

I have enjoyed seeing our bus again and sewing with my machine!

I do plan on making aprons in NZ.
Hopefully I will find a machine to have on the bus.

This was one of those aprons that kinda of made itself.
I wasnt sure what it was going to look like when I started.

I wanted to use the striped linen dress.
But there wasnt quite enough fabric.
So I added a panel of the orange dots in the middle.

I made the pockets.
But when I put them in place they looked a bit funny with the panel.
So I put the small pocket on the big pocket.
Why not?


I sewed the ties on.
But they were a bit to far off the shoulder.
So I added couple little tucks.
Perfect.

Working with what is in front of me.
Being flexible.
Going with the flow.