The Old and the New

Grandma’s Apron Prototype 1.0 is done. This is the original apron:

And this is my re-creation of it:

I think I came pretty darned close—close enough that I don’t think I need to make any additional prototypes. I should be able to make a copy of this pattern and grade from it directly (I want to keep at least one copy of this as an original.)

I like the side pockets on this design. The pocket on the Protect and Serve apron is cute, but basically useless except for keeping a tissue handy. These pockets could hold a cell phone. I am still debating on ties. The original had ties cut right along the selvedge of a single layer of fabric. The selvedge edge was unfinished and the rest of the tie was finished with a narrow hem. For this apron and for the Protect and Serve apron, I made ties of two layers of fabric sewn into a tube, turned inside out and topstitched. I thought I liked the beefier ties, but maybe not.

The two-step method for sewing on bias binding is a game changer, even though I thought my binding looked okay sewing it on in one step. Attaching it first and then topstitching it down elevates it to a whole different level. I’m a convert.

Next step is to grade the pattern.

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Margaret is staying at her youngest son’s house, so I stopped there yesterday morning. I had planned to ask her if she wanted to go to the Amish store in St. Ignatius with me today. It’s about an hour and a half drive south. I need to make sure I have enough Clear-Jel on hand before canning season starts and that is the only place I know of that carries it. However, one of our friends from church had stopped to see Margaret on her way to work, and the three of us got to talking and decided to have an impromptu quilting day at church today. The first Thursday of the month is our usual sewing day, but we all want to visit with Margaret. She didn’t have anything planned for yesterday and neither did I, so she left a note for her son and off we went to the Amish store. It was a glorious summer day in western Montana and we had a wonderful visit. I got my Clear-Jel and laid in a supply of chocolate-covered espresso beans for the husband. The store now also has white chocolate-covered espresso beans so I bought some of them, too. We tried them after dinner and I told him to hide the container or I would eat them all. They taste like coffee with cream in it. (I can’t eat more than one or two beans anyway or I’d be up all night.) I also picked up a spool of Metrosene thread. Zede and Mallory are forever singing its praises on their podcast, and while I don’t think I’ll give up my favorite Aurifil, I’d like to try the Metrosene. I’ve never seen it in Kalispell.

The wife of one of Margaret’s great-nephews asked on Facebook the other day if anyone had any extra laying hens they wanted to get rid of. I told her she was welcome to our Black Australorps. We have seven hens—one is still broody, bless its little pea brain—and she said she would take four. The husband and I caught them after dinner last night, put them in cat carriers, and I drove them up to her place. (She lives on the property next door to Margaret’s son; there are a lot of members of that family and many of them live in the same area. Also, she has four kids under the age of 9 and it was easier for me to deliver the chickens than for her to come get them.) The husband put the cat carriers in the back of the plow truck, so that’s what I ended up driving. I do miss driving a stick shift. And I had to laugh as I drove up the road remembering the time I ran over a cow in that truck. (The cow lived.)