On the Tenth Day of Christmas

i've made sixteen aprons this year - or maybe seventeen - i've lost count.
today i made my last apron of 2008 - it's been nearly a whole year of "cutting my apron strings" - watching my beautiful son embrace the Big Wide World - from two hundred kilometres down the road. i have always been a motherly type - when i became pregnant at nineteen, my Daddy said to me, "i always knew you'd be a good mother, i just wish it wasn't so soon," and i think i felt like that with Danny leaving home too - i've been thinking, "wowsers - how fast your childhood has gone - i always knew you'd be a fabulous adult - but so soon?"
to be honest, this year has been such a roller coaster - our firstborn leaving home has heralded Bulldog's and my mid-life journey, and with it the tumultuous upheaval of another season - a wonderful change of pace to be anticipated in the new year - all of us going to school. i've rambled on long enough about that on here - i think we're nearly ready.
why oh why do i feel things so deeply?

about a month ago, my friend Mel asked me to create a girlie apron
(muchos gracias to my resident headless chicken model - i think it looks better with b**bs - but we couldn't nail a good photo - where oh where is Hay when ya need her?)for her daughter Georgia's Christmas pressie - cos Georgia has recently found her muse in Nigella Lawson.
one of her fave colours is aqua, so i matched some fabrics and went to town. actually i procrastinated for the whole month -
not really wanting to say goodbye to my apron-making. maybe i'll continue making aprons in my spare moments next year, then?
it's been such a joy to make and give aprons away to friends this year - sharing the love around the globe - what a wonderful transition to the next phase of cutting those apron strings - let's go 2009!!!
we're gonna keep the heart strings connected tightly though.

*katie inhales the sunshine*

oh *yippee zippee*!!! i usually say that lemons and pumpkins make winter bearable. i think that's because of their *sunshiney* colour. but lookit this: a summer fun apron swap!!

i have been lurking apron sites since i started trying to snip our own Apron Strings, thinking that 2008 might be The Year of The Apron. we-e-e-e-ell, i've just taken the plunge: i've signed up to handmake and globally swap my first apron. click here if ya fancy a bit of *sunshine*-swappage too, you've got until 5 May to sign up...

i *heart* aprons

I think I first fell in love with personalised pressies when I was about four and my brother was two and cute and boodgey and golden-curly-haired, and a family friend (can you remember who it was, Mum?) popped around to our place with two exquisite, handmade child-sized aprons.

Greg's was brown gingham and very manly, and mine was blue-and-white with a heart-shaped bodice and a heart-shaped pocket and a twirly skirt. The most beautiful thing was that they both had our names handstitched on in red letters. Of course I still have it.

I don't know if I ever did any cooking in my apron, but I sure did a lot of twirling.

When those two beautifully personalised aprons arrived, something was etched firmly into my psyche about present-making and gift-giving, so much so that I still can't shake it.

I've been doing a spot of apron-making myself this week, getting my *apron swap* ready for early June, when a few hundred aprons will dance their way around the world.
Here she is, the STRAWBERRIES-AND-CREAM APRON:

for Mabel, who I've never met, never chatted to, but I know you *heart* bright colours. And I hope you *heart* strawberries too. To me, hot, sun-filled, pick-your-own strawberries are the epitome of summer.

and it's even got your name on it.
I hope you *heart* that too.
mwah X

apron love

oh my flippin' giddy aunt!! a little pressie has just arrived, all the way from carina-in-utah.
she's the other third of my apron swap buddy... and *nothing* could've prepared me for *this* amount of sunshine love:
(S10 unwrapped the parcel and insisted on modelling said exquisite apron, with strict instructions *not* to photograph his head. )

it's a twirly-girly seventies-inspired *dress*!!!!!

with a kiwi-girlie-bow

and has party-pom-poms dancing along the hem
(S10 nearly didn't let me post the pix of his feet.)

but guess what?

this apron is *absolutely mine* and i *love* it to bits.
seriously, i am having such a twirly day,
i think i'll be wearing it all week X

the fifth and sixth day of christmas (actually i think that should be a capital C)... some long-overdue apron prettiness.

these have been a long, long time coming. Sarah sent me the fabric waaaaaay back before uni started, because she and her daughter were cutting some apron strings upon the occasion of Little Miss Cupcake going to skool... but i was having a wobbly and could not find my muse.

i thought i might find it here:

but *ack!* next to each picture there are these strange and unfriendly things called "patterns" with destructions like ENLARGE PATTERN PIECES 409%... and the resident mathematicians were road tripping and rock climbing. so i decided to fabriKATE it myself, from my head.

no jokes, please.

so we ended up with this complete beautifulness, if i say so myself.



yes, we have mummy-and-daughter-matching-aprony-goodness. right there.
(confession #1, woozie and do i share our wardrobes, although we try not to wear matching outfits these days.)(confession #2, i bribed mick with a candy cane to wear the little pinky apron. he minded less that the candy cane is also pink.)

the aftermath.

and oh how i love my timing: cos it turns out that NZ POST's last international posting day is tomorrow, which means that Sarah and Little Miss Cupcake should get them before Christmas!

PS the general rule is that we hide the selvedge, but i absolutely could not resist this wee sparkle, which is dancing along the hem of sarah's apron:

cupKATEs

my friend ang has recently started making the most divine cupcakes and having champers-and-cupcakes parties. she's calling her business "angel cakes" and was desiring an apron to wear at speshal functions and at the local boutique craft markets.

so ang came up with an idea: would i like to make her a *cupcake* apron... and SWAP it for *two dozen* of these delectable delights...?
ummmm, let me think about that...
*snort*
ab.so.lute.ly.

so off i went looking... and looking... and LOOKING for fabric. i wanted something fresh and cupKATEy *cupcakey* to fit ang's brief of PINK AND PASTELS, and finally i found *exactly* what i was looking for... kaffe fassett.

*squeeeee!*

is that not THE most *cupcakey* fabric in the ENTIRE WORLD? ah yes, i think it is. it shrieks *lollies* and *sprinkles* and *flossy sparkles*... well... actually it shrieks the whole of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory (minus Monsieur Wonka. give me Johnny-the-gypsy or Johnny-the-poirate, or even Johnny-the-freaky-psycho-writer, but DO NOT give me Johnny-with-the-chocklit-coated-grin).

so i gathered a few other bit'n'pieces and started snipping fabric and sewing and dreaming of all things sugary... spicy... oh so nicey and lookit:

the *angel cakes apron* (lovingly modelled by a tree at the park-over-the-road 'cos my resident model is weekending at her girlfriend's place) with:

pink chick "angel cakes" lettering

dinky pinky rick-rack and frills

a scalloped "icing on the cupcake" band
and "pink stripey lollies" waist ties

a lovely big pocket
for stashing little surprises

super-delish cupcake with lollies

i had so much fun making this apron. it's A-line like a skirt and oh! so! girlie! it's made for twirling around the kitchen with a glass of bubbly in hand, sneakily dipping your fingertip in the bowl of ganache - and i hope it inspires many many more delicious *cupcakes*.

La Première

oh, k... so late last night i was backwardsing and forwardsing with Nik (who is gonna swap an apron too!) and she was coming up with some incredibly hilarious very helpful suggestions:

by ten thirty i was getting a little bit freaked, this being my First Ever Apron an' all... and as we all know, aprons are rather close to my heart this year. so i thought i'd better try out abby's little tutorial.

i'm a kinaesthetic learner. i am hopeless with recipes or patterns. and i hate filling in forms too. all those lines and squiggles make me instantly *foncused*. love that word. so i read and re-read the luffly instructions... and got rather foncused. thankfully, abby also has pictures.

How can you read this? There's no pictures!
Well, some people use their imagination.
(guess the movie line)

so i followed the pictures instead, using an old sheet and pillowcase that i *found* in my linen cupboard.

and here she is: Katie's First Ever Apron...

even though the tutorial has no pocket,
i decided to add one:

and my name,
because they're Katie's very own,
Very First Unattached Apron Strings.

the dam has officially burst

and aprons are flying off the sewing machine like... er... uh... flying aprons?!!!!!
first off we have a very speshal apron for a very speshal Beanie Babe who's turning thirty this weekend, in honour of you finding your meat-and-veggies-kitchen-muse and because, as we all know, red stuff rocks.
wishing you a wonderful continuation of your week-long-celebrations and a huge thanks for your unending patience with moi, the comment-bomber from... er... uh... apronville. and yes, you can even lick the strawberries.

Happy Birthday, Sarah Bean!!!

next up/off we have the hip-est apron for the hippiest chick i know: yep, it's Hay in The Windy City who turned my heart to moosh (that's not difficult) earlier this week by making a "i covet your stuff" comment. this little beauty is a wonderful mix of all things chic and hippie:

it's blue, which is your favourite colour,
it has little white flowers
to celebrate your flower-child within,

and i've even tie-dyed that apple-green calico and sexied (that is a word, i think) it up with rick rack. all in all, very seventies, very chic, very Rainbow Soup. oh, you wanna see your name again? i do.

oh, i *love* how it turned out!!!

and lastly we have a wee Whip Up. cos that's what we do best. Woozie came home from school last night and as i was revealing my finished apron-creations to her she had a brainwave that she'd like to make a little something for another of her fave Katies who shares our birthday weekend. (uh, that would be in two weeks time, in case you're thinking of sending expensive french perfume... or... flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep... guess the movie line)
so we bribed Bulldog to make dinner, and together we birthed this little sweetie:

complete with personalised heart:

cos ya know, we're all about the name tags.

oh k, no more sewing for *two weeks*, cos i'm taking the machine back to Julie's today, and holding my breath until my Woozie's birthday present arrives...

apron strings

I am sensing us collectively beginning to hold our breath, tentatively filling our lungs, trying not to count down the sleeps over the next month, this collection of days until you leave the nest, until we say au revoir.

See, there are so many layers of fabric stitched into my apron strings, D18. A billion moments of sparkly treasures. Your first breath, your first step, songs, jokes, rhymes, movie lines. How is it that a pinky perfect babe-in-arms miraculously transforms into a gorgeous teen, a grown man? You are full of hope and promise, intelligence and enthusiasm, sensitivity and strength.

This endless summer of mornings spent in sun and surf, long walks with baby brothers and sister - throwing the dice to determine the road travelled - and ending up unsurprisingly at the dairy, our April Sun in Cuba bubble, training runs with Dad, sharing ice cold beers and jokes and opening our hearts in The Secret Garden, viewing petite french movies at the local cinema, late night crossword puzzles, your early morning offerings from BK, all are being wrapped in baby blue tissue and tied with floaty ribbons and stored in little compartments of our memories.

It's been so marvellously good, the season of your childhood. I find it hard to believe that that we are blessed with these people, and life is this beautiful. We've shared so many sunny years, all together. And now you are ready to leave the nest. You are ready to grow up. The Big Wide World is just up the road, waiting to be explored and celebrated. It's a complicated business, this Letting Go. How many kiwis make five? Mostly to preserve self, I am believing that life is full of au revoirs, for I am sure that mothers are not required to let their children go completely.

And so we continue to draw breath together for another few sleeps, and I stay awake late at night saying a prayer for you and stitching a little piece of elastic into my apron strings.

crafty goodness

way back in july i was busy tricking myself into a Big Tidy Up and so i invented a *spring giveaway* as an incentive - which the derfwad of derfwads, Mrs. G. subsequently won. i actually finished creating her *designer tote bag* (ah, i crack myself up!) some weeks ago, but promised myself not to blog it until i'd also successfully made some cloth baby shoes
(free pattern here!) for newly-one-year-old Kinsee. even though i am a non-pattern-girl, i found the instructions really easy to follow - there's a bit of faffing about with iron-on interfacing, but the finished shoes look gorgeous, i think - i used some soft jeans fabric for the soles.
in typical Katie Fashion, my first shoes turned out too small - a *newborn* size - so i'm saving them for the first one of my preggie girlfriends who pops out a babygirl. and because the pressie for Kinsee is now arriving three weeks after her birthday, i've teamed the shoes with a cutesy wee skirt for wobbly-walking in -
both the shoes and the skirt are made from the same fabric as her mummy's apron *awwwww*

and here is the long-awaited bag -
to celebrate my spring/summer (little flowers) and Mrs G's ensuing winter (uh, that's "snow falling in the sky" lol - which is actually the same fabric as Hay's apron. Mrs. G is one of Hay's fans, so i think she'll love that.) the bag is lined with denim - yes, from a recycled leg of some jeans - because there is no "oilcloth" in the whole of NZ i am so global-friendly!
there's even a funky pocket inside for storing all things derfwady.

tap on my window, knock on my door, i wanna make ya feel beautiful.

am having a bit of a maroon 5 blast on the stereo today – Bulldog has taken the kiddos to skool and he is staying to analyse data. I’ve been up 'til 2.30am analysing great bundles of data of my own. not being the consummate statistician, my head hurted a bit – but land sakes, i never thought census stats could be so fascinating – i have been comparing lower decile areas (poorer peeps) to higher decile areas (richer peeps) in The Sunny Bay in terms of educational and employment opportunity. it’s the same stuff we all know – middle class people send their kids to middle class schools and push the poorer people out – and it’s slogged me in the guts again.

there have been two speshal deliveries arrive yesterday and today – both all the way from Canada! so there was snow and french writing on the front of the parcels...

oh, what was *inside*??

Sarah of the petit sac français sent both Woozie'n'me a handmade *fabulous* sparkly top each! and a delish bundle of fabric which i am gonna fashion into an apron for her (perhaps in june in my take-a-breath-space between semesters) – cos her daughter is going to skool this year – apron strings, you know.

and Anna, aka Beach Mama posted me a box full of pinkness. a *chanel* bag, and photo, and soap, and desk calendar – all handmade – as part of the Pay It Forward thing a wee while ago. ah yes - life is good at the beach.

on the topic of french, here's a sound bite of my wee Woozie doing her speech in front of the class. just listen to this gorgeous effort -
woozie.mp3
(click the words lol. nope still not working. i have tried all manner of upload sites. but nuffin' is workin' and i've run outta time and energy for it. so if ya know me and you wanna hear woozie, email me and i'll attach the file specially for ya.)

it's le petit français speech all memorised and delivered fluently - i have told her that when she travels overseas and arrives in Paris and decides to stay awhile, she needs to make sure she earns enough euros to shout me an annual plane ticket.

nutting off

just a wee head-empty. i nearly hit the wall this morning at the gym, metaphorically. i have been there too many days in a row, pushing too many weights. and lots of negative things are now going around in my head re: not enough swimming/running training for the triathlon - countdown - a little over two weeks. i tried all the head tricks this morning but ended up not completing all the sets. and my body hurts.

so here is a beautiful thing to fill up my head with.
it was part of my first evah global swap, original artwork by lizard who lives in america - it talks of adopting her daughter into her family tree. for me it symbolises A New Life, and so i have hung it over the dining table, in the heart of our home -
one day this year i hope to make a huge canvas to hang there. my muse is simmering, just like the morrocan pumpkin soup and chocolate birthday cake in my kitchen cos - countdown - a few minutes - Danny and Mum and Dad are arriving for a six day weekend! and then we'll wave Danny off to uni for another slashing year. it's hard to believe that a whole year has passed since i started my apron-strings obsession. i think that this year i'll graduate to apron-skirts.