Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Memory of an Apron

I love aprons for so many reasons, but I have to say the best thing about an apron is the memories it holds.  Once the apron is made, it's fun to think of how many meals, hands, stories, laughs, and tears will be shared in the apron.  My favorite part of making aprons for others is finding THE perfect fabric for a custom order. 
 Something special happened this winter when I didn't have to find the fabric for an order. The fabric found me.  


My dear friend Sommer (see previous Pin-Up post) is a mother of two beautiful boys (Ethyn 7 and Ryan 4) and a baker extraordinaire (Heaven's Gluten Free Bakehouse).  I've known her and her family for about 4 years now.  Sommer sadly lost her mother, whom she was very close to, when she was in high school.  One day when I was at Sommer's house, she handed me a bag full of her mom's clothes and asked me to make two aprons out of them.  She shared with me little anecdotes about her mom that the t-shirts, sweatshirts, and pajamas in the bag reminded her of.  With shaking hands I took the bag from her and immediately thought 1. I can't believe she's trusting me to do this, and 2. I can't mess this up!  I felt honored that she would allow me to create aprons out of something so meaningful.  Something that already carried so many memories.


The scariest part for me was the first snip of clothing.  But after the initial shock, the creative juices were flowing and (semi) confidence set in.  Here are some pictures of the process...






The ruffles on this apron are made from her mom's favorite comfy t-shirts.  The waistband and bib are made from her mom's favorite pajamas.  I loved how thin the fabric was...you could tell those clothes were loved!




The bottom two ruffles are made from more favorite comfy shirts.  The top ruffle is from another pair of her mom's favorite pajamas.  I used this pretty print for the neckties as well.  The bib is made out of a shirt Sommer's mom bought her during a fun day of shopping just before her mother passed.  Her mom was excited to get it for her because Sommer's high school mascot was the Wildcat :)  The back of the bib is made out of her mom's favorite GAP sweatshirt.


And here is Sommer, the baker/mother extraordinaire, who crazily put her trust in me.  I was truly honored to make them for you, Sommer!  I can't wait for you to make many more happy memories with those aprons!

1 comment:

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