A Random Act of Craftiness

January has always been a blah sort of month for me. Once the hoopla of New Year's is past and the inevitable week of low-carb dieting reminds me that life is too short to go without bread, we settle into a quiet monotony that stretches well into the beginning of February. It can be mind numbing at times, stuck here in the middle of the school year with nowhere to go. Spring feels so far away, and I have trouble getting excited about the daily grind.

After getting through a particularly rough patch last week, I finally decided that I desperately needed some playtime in my sewing room. So I pulled out the stack of Mazy's Wonderland fabric by my incredibly talented friend Dylan Mierzwinski (follow her at @bydylanm on Instagram -- you'll be so glad you did) that I've been saving since Quilt Market and sewed up a sweet crafty apron in one afternoon.

I can't tell you how much joy and satisfaction this one little random act of craftiness gave me. I not only have an adorable sewing apron, but I feel like my creativity got a much needed caffeine rush. It feels so good to be excited about trying new projects again!

If you're feeling the winter blahs too, try a little playtime yourself. Pull together a few of your favorite prints, pick a fun small project (check out my Tutorials page if you need some ideas), and make something happy this week!

Zakka Apron

I've been needing a new full apron, so I decided to tweak this week's Zakka project to fit the bill. My design was completely improvised, but it seems to work. The top of the apron is a Happy Go Lucky print, the skirt is from Lori Holt's darling Bake Sale collection, and the sash is a large dot fabric from Oh, Deer that I've been saving for a while. I love to pull prints from different collections and watch them play together!

I just made one block for a small pocket, but it was so fun to sew. It seems like every one of the projects in this book is absolutely perfect for fussy cutting.

I always say that quilters are some of the nicest people in the world, and you all just reminded me again why I say it. Your sweet comments and emails after my post on Friday were such an encouragement to me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Things are looking up. The car is fixed and the internet is working again, both of which go a long way toward making life a whole lot easier. I'm even in the middle of a quilt top using my blogger bundle, and I can't wait to share it with you next week. Mostly I'm reminded how much I have to be grateful for, and that definitely includes all of you. We may be long distance, online, possibly-never-going-to-actually-meet-in-person friends, but I'm so thankful for your friendship just the same.

Linking up to the Zakka Along.

Sweetcakes Baking Party Set Tutorial

I'm so excited to be sharing a tutorial at Riley Blake Designs today! When they asked me to look at their new fabric lines for inspiration, I was immediately taken with the new Sweetcakes collection by Doodlebug Design Inc. With prints that showcase strawberries, cupcakes, hearts, and flowers, it seemed like the perfect backdrop for a little girl's baking party. And since both Valentine's Day and my oldest daughter's birthday are coming up in February, I'm definitely on the lookout for new party ideas! You get plenty of bang for your buck with this one -- it's actual four tutorials in one, including...

The Party Bag

The Cake Bunting

The Cake Rug

The Apron

Hop on over to Riley Blake Designs, and check it out!

Linking up to Plum & June.

Nursery Versery Apron

When I saw that Rachel was having a Nursery Versery contest, I really wanted to play along. I was an early holdout from buying the new Heather Ross fabric line, but after a few weeks of shuffling prints in and out of my online shopping cart, I finally took the plunge. Once I saw them in person, I was so glad that I did. This collection is just so sweet, and I think the grey prints are toned down enough that I can get away with using them on something for me. My girls were hoping I'd make a project for them first -- Bunny loves the little piggies, Bear loves the spider, and Mouse and the mice were made for each other, of course -- but after much thought, I decided to use the fabric to make myself a patchwork apron to wear around the house.

For my pattern, I used the basic instructions for the apron in Suzuko Koseki's Patchwork Style. This is such a pretty book -- I love poring over the pictures again and again. Unfortunately, the library's going to want their copy back soon, so I'm trying to make my favorite projects before it's due. This apron caught my eye the first time I saw it. I've always loved the ease of half-aprons, and this one has a great row of quilted pockets that will hold anything I could possibly want to carry around with me.

The main body of the apron is made out of grey linen. I used a bunch of my favorite scraps to construct the long quilted pocket, including pieces of all four Nursery Versery prints. It was a nice change to do a little improvisational scrap placement. I really should do more of these kinds of projects.

The quilted pocket is lined with Dancing Meadow in yellow from the Beauty Is You collection. It's actually divided into five different pockets of varying sizes, and the quilting makes it super comfortable to wear. I made the ties a little differently than the pattern suggested, folding the long piece of linen in on itself rather than giving it a backing. Thinner straps are easier for me to tie, and the linen made them sturdy enough to hold up the apron without any trouble.

The apron is lined in a yellow Bouquet print from Flea Market Fancy. For a touch of whimsy, I sewed in part of the Nursery Versery selvage strip for a "label." I love the way it looks against the lining fabric, and that little spider is so very cute.

This was a project that just made me happy from start to finish. I love my new apron, and I know it's going to get a lot of use. Now I have to see what else I can make out of that book before I have to pay overdue fines. My husband always jokes that our family is funding the city's library development program with our constant late fees...

Linking up to the Nursery Versery Contest at Stitched in Color. Go check out the other entries. I promise, you'll find cuteness galore!