Utility

Utility:
1) The state or quality of being useful; usefulness.
2) Something useful; a useful thing.

I have been such a busy little bee.

In previous posts, I lamented having just about nothing to sell at the craft show in Chatsworth back in October. (Yes, this is yet another catch-up post in an upcoming string of catch-up posts. Bear with me.) The panic did eventually turn to productivity, and I cracked down and figured out what to do with bunches of fat quarters I bought for $1 a piece from a woman I found on craigslist. I finally figured out a design for a utility apron that I can make out of fat quarters, which significantly reduces the cutting and measuring that is so irksome and time-consuming. Hooray!!

So I made a prototype. Then I made a 2nd to make sure I could duplicate it. Then I ironed and cut out fabric for 11 more. Finally, after many hours of sewing and ironing and only several moments with a seam ripper, I had 13 completed aprons! One is an overdue birthday present for my mom, and then I had an even dozen aprons to sell. :o)

Here's one of my favorites that just might be mine forever:I've been into roosters lately, and I just can't seem to kick them. I just love how roostery this one came out.

I spent a long time agonizing over how to arrange and photograph 13 aprons and put them together in a way that was not visually overwhelming. I finally gave up and instead took pictures of nine of them folded up so you could see (and I could document) the color/fabric combinations, trusting you can imagine the structure, which is the same as my happy little rooster apron.
(Disclaimer: I promise none of them are sewn crooked. They're just folded crooked. I took this picture very late at night. :o/)
They all have three main front pockets, an interior pen pocket, and a little pocket on the outside just cause little pockets are cute and fun. It might be able to hold a tiny cell phone, but it was mainly designed as a business card pocket for those who will use the apron as a vendor apron. (Nice, huh?) The seams are all reinforced and there are no exposed fabric edges, so they will wash and wear well without any unsightly unraveling. The straps are also reinforced and stitched all the way around so they won't be a wrinkled mess when they come out of the dryer. They are extra long so they can be tied in the front with a short square knot or in the back with a long streaming bow.

I have to admit, I am quite proud of myself. No matter how many of the aprons I sell, and no matter how much I charge for them, the important thing is that I'm making things. I've moved past the point of staring at my fabric, arranging it in groupings for complicated projects I'll never make, and bemoaning my lack of time, skill, or resources. I'm actually doing it!! And I can actually say that making these was just as fun as designing them!! I really enjoyed every single step of the process. And they came out really well. Seriously, these are some high quality aprons. So there will definitely be more of these coming out in the future. Three cheers for utility!!