Oh, dear! I almost got lost again!

Just a shout out that I'm not really lost ... I'm still here! I've just been so busy with getting the homeschool up and running after a lazy summer. But now it's week 4 and things are settling into a rhythm again, so hopefully I'll be able to start posting a little more often.

One of the things I've been missing out on is The Apron Goddesses' apron giveaways ... yikes! There have been some real cute ones in the last few weeks that I've missed out on. Bummer. However, it looks like I'm not too late for last week's giveaway ... this cute little red number. I love the shape of this apron and will definitely be crossing my fingers for this one!And, of course, I'm definitely not too late for this week's giveaway ... this fun Flower Power half-apron. Love that fabric!! So, yes, my fingers and my toes will be crossed for this one. I need to get my entries in asap.If you would like a chance to win either (or both!) of these aprons, just click here for the red one, and click here for the Flower Power, and follow the instructions. Good luck, everyone!

This week's TAG apron giveaway

Here's The Apron Goddesses' giveaway of the week ... a nice, full, wrap-around red floral apron! If you want to win it, then click here and ... well, you know what to do ...

Good luck!

Speaking of apron giveaways ...

The Apronista is having an Apron Fest this week! Lots of aprons will be given away, so do check back throughout the week ... with all these giveaways, our odds are bound to be good LOL! Good luck, everyone!

TAG's latest apron giveaway

Here's the latest apron giveaway over at The Apron Goddesses ... paisley! Click here and follow the instructions if you want to win it ... you know I do!

Hope you're having a great summer ... enjoy it while it lasts because the school year will be starting any minute!!

My plaid apron

Well, not exactly a plaid apron ... it's really a denim apron with touches of plaid. You see, I bought a yard of this neat plaid fabric at Hobby Lobby ... it was actually made up of small (roughly 3") squares of different plaids all stitched together. And the best part was that it was on clearance at $2/yd ... love it! So I brought it home, with tentative plans to make a half-apron with it, maybe adding an overlay using one of my recent vintage embroidery purchases (scored big at a garage sale recently!), perfect for my submission to the current Tie One On theme.

But then, a couple days later, someone forwarded a recent issue of a newsletter called Sewing Savvy on the Sewing Aprons Yahoo group, because the issue was all about aprons (it's the current issue as I type, but if you read this down the road, it's July 2009, Vol. 7, No. 10). One article in the newsletter is called Denim with Dinner ... a pattern for turning bib overalls into an apron. It caught my eye for two reasons ... one, I happened to have a pair of pale green overalls that I hardly wear (why? because they are not flattering at all LOL!), and two, they dressed it up with a plaid fabric. The wheels in my head started turning and turning, and this is the result.
Now, I couldn't follow the pattern exactly ... my overalls were different than they were describing and I had less of the plaid than it called for ... but the pattern made a great guideline for turning a piece of denim clothing into an apron. I'm very pleased with how it turned out! And now I have an excuse for wearing these soft denim overalls without looking frumpy LOL!This was great fun to do, and now I can't wait for the girls to outgrow some of their jeans so I can try the same techniques on some half-aprons for them, especially since they love how mine turned out. And, hey, if any of you try this, let me know because I want to see!!

First place winners

And, finally, the 6 first place winners! The first three are some of my favorite quilts, perhaps because they are my own design LOL! Here is my "In the Garden" quilt (this was for my church's art challenge ... make a piece of artwork based on a favorite hymn).The second quilt is "Tulips". I started with a Carol Doak paper-pieced star, then added borders around it (what I like to call a "roosting robin" ... like a round robin, except it stays home and I do all the borders myself).The last quilt is "The Burning Bush" (this was another church art challenge ... artwork representing a Bible passage ... I did Exodus 3:1-4:17).And here are the other 3 winners. My pie-makin' apron:A crocheted granny square tote bag:And a Christmas-themed decorated sweatshirt (front and back):











Well, that's all of them ... thanks for letting me brag a bit! Now I'm off to see what I can make for next year's fair ...

Second place winners

Here are the 4 second place winners from the county fair. First up is my sampler quilt (you may recognize this pattern for the book Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!!) ... sorry about the pic ... it's hard to get the whole quilt while standing on the couch looking down LOL!Next is the apron I made for the No $$ Apron challenge.Then there is this cute tote bag with coneflowers on it.And, finally, a pink and black chevron afghan I crocheted for my daughter, Abby.Check back tomorrow for the 6 first place winners!

My apron is working hard this morning!

In honor of The Apron Goddesses' "Aprons, Aprons Everywhere" event today, I'm sharing just a glimpse of my morning, wearing one of my favorite aprons ... yay for orange and green! My mother-in-law gave me this apron awhile back and I just love the cheerful colors. Makes me smile whenever I put it on.So, off we go ... first stop is to check the laundry. I'm in luck ... dh did a load last night, so I'm already one load ahead of the game. Love when that happens!Then upstairs to make some breakfast ... mmm, eggs ... I like mine over hard, very hard. No runny eggs for me {{shudder}}.Then, of course, we need to wash up the breakfast dishes (and, I must confess, the few left over from the day before ... shhh).Let's check on the plants, shall we? My daughter waters the garden in back, but I like to do the flowers up front ... aren't they pretty?Now for the beds ... usually the girls make their own beds, but it's time to change the sheets, so let me at 'em! Bed #1:Bed #2:Ah, that's better ... and if I find time this afternoon, I'll do our bed, too. Or maybe tomorrow ...

Well, that was my morning ... for the rest of the day, I will keep on working on laundry, maybe throw in a little lunch (my daughters will be happy about that, I think), and putter around the house doing a little here, a little there. The only big thing for today (and it's not really that big) is mailing out my quilt guild newsletters. They're all labeled and ready to go ... just need to get some stamps. And, hey, the P.O. is next to the Hobby Lobby ... hmmm, what do I really, really need? I'm sure I can think of something ...

Thanks for stopping by! For more apron goodness, click here.

A new week ... a new TAG apron giveaway

Yep, it's Monday ... which means a new apron giveaway from The Apron Goddesses. This week's apron is a lovely pink and brown number. I love this combination ... makes me think of raspberry filled chocolates!

For your chance to win, click here and follow the instructions. Good luck!

Pie-makin' aprons galore!

The Tie One On pie-makin' apron gallery has been up for almost a week and I totally forgot to look for it! But just now I thought to check and, boy, am I glad ... there are some wonderful aprons to see! Plus there are some yummy (and interesting) pie recipes to go with them. Enjoy!

If you want to play along, check out the next theme ... plaid!You have until September 1st to enter. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet ... re-purpose a plaid shirt maybe? We shall see ...

And another one ...

Not Quite June Cleaver is also having an apron giveaway (2 aprons, actually) this week. Check it out here! Can't wait for the sneak peek!

This week's TAG apron giveaway

The Apron Goddesses giveaway for this week is this reversible half-apron from Aprons by Julie ... love the high-waist and the funky pocket!You know the drill ... click here and follow the instructions. Good luck!

Lime-alicious!

Oh, my! The Secret Stitch Club is having a wonderful giveaway right now ... a recipe for yummy Filled Key Lime Cupcakes:
and this gorgeous apron:I'm all over this LOL! My birthday is next month and I think these cupcakes will have to be on the menu that day ... mmmm .... And if I could be wearing that apron, too, that would be so over the top!

If you want the recipe and a chance to win, click here and follow the instructions. Plus there's a bonus ... if you have a little one, you can also enter to win this sweet Cherry Limeade apron:Can't beat that! Good luck!

It's time for another TAG apron giveaway!

The Apron Goddesses blog has this week's apron giveaway up ... this sweet little number from Sugar Pie Chic.

Just click here and follow the instructions ... and, as always, good luck!

Laundry day can be fun ...

if you're wearing the right apron! What?! You don't have a washday apron? Well, sheesh, neither do I ... now what? Hmmm ... we're going to have to remedy that ... with an apron giveaway, of course! Dear Diane (aka "Persuaded") from Tomato Soup Cake made 2 adorable aprons over the weekend in the cutest laundry themed fabrics, and she's graciously offering one of them in a giveaway on her blog. Isn't it sweet, modeled here by her lovely daughter, Millen?She sure looks like she's enjoying doing that laundry ... I need some of that joy LOL! If I don't win this apron, I think I just may have to make my own (wish I could get a hold of that pattern ... love it!) If you're in desperate need of some laundry joy, too, click here and follow the instructions. Good luck!

Sassy Smox

This week's giveaway at The Apron Goddesses is sassy, indeed! You could win your choice of a half-apron from Sassy Smox ... there's a dozen to choose from, and they're all gorgeous! I'm having a hard time deciding, but if I have to choose just one (and according to the rules, I must), then I pick this one ... "Freshly Squeezed" ... love that rickrack!For your chance to win, click here and follow the instructions. Good luck!

I'm back!

Yes, I'm back from our little vacation to Florida ... and I've got the peeling shoulders to prove it! We had a blast hanging out with my mom (known as "Granny" to the girls). We picnicked on the beach, went out for Chinese, painted ceramics, found out the real story of the Three Little Pigs, got our nails done, played in her quilt studio and swam a whole heck of a lot. The week just flew by! I hated to leave, yet it is also nice to be home again ... we all missed our dh/Papa. Over the next few days, I hope to share some pics of our trip with you all.

Now for the bad news ... I came home to find that I didn't win the 4th of July apron ... darn! But that's okay ... there's another apron up for grabs this week ... this gorgeous little number:
Very cute!! If you want a chance to win, too, go and follow the instructions here. Good luck, everyone!

Off to unpack the luggage ...

What should you wear on the 4th of July?

A 4th of July inspired apron, of course! At The Apron Goddesses blog this week, the apron giveaway is a half-apron using these fun patriotic fabrics. You need this apron in order for your 4th of July BBQ to come out just right, right?! So hurry on over and follow the instructions ... then get the grill ready ... the 4th will be here before you know it ...

I'm blushing!!

Oh, my! I'm blushing over the nice things Julia and Suzi wrote about me over at The Apron Goddesses blog ... I'm an official tea-time apron goddess! Thanks so much, Julia and Suzi, for the wonderful post ... too kind. I'm honored!

For those of you who have come here from TAG, welcome! Please pull up a chair and help yourself to some tea and scones. I have all your favorites, of course LOL! I hope you enjoy your stay!

For those of you who've never heard of TAG, do check it out! It's a great place to see some wonderful aprons, and to meet the ladies wearing them. And if you have an apron, you, too, can be a featured apron goddess ... just follow the instructions. But if you don't have an apron, you may be in luck ... Julia has an apron giveaway almost every week, usually on Mondays ... check it out! That's how I got the apron I'm wearing above! Enjoy!!

Vintage goodies, anyone?

I was surfing the Internet this morning and, as often happens, one blog led to another, which led to another, which led to ... well, you get the picture. In all that surfing, I happened upon a new-to-me blog called Tomato Soup Cake. I enjoyed browsing through her past posts so much and was so inspired that I just had to add her to my list of favorite blogs in my sidebar so I can visit her often! And talk about perfect timing ... her post this morning was about some vintage goodies she scored at a garage sale this weekend. At the end of the post, she mentioned doing a giveaway of some of the goodies later today because it's so fun to share!

Well, she's got her giveaway up ... and it's her first ever! There are quite a few yummy goodies in the giveaway, and she's even throwing in a 1950's apron pattern to boot. If you're interested, you'd better get over there quick ... she's going to pick the winner on June 3rd! Good luck!