Sunday, March 27, 2011

Apron Big & Small

A good majority of the apron's I see look more like a bib for me than an actual apron.
The original Apron pattern I used for this style was not wide enough, to cover all my...well let's just say what needed to be covered.
I redesigned the waist band to be adjustable.

The tie to the apron is slipped though the waist band casing.
The width can be adjusted smaller by scrunching up the casing on the waist band tie to fit.

Kinda like a curtain panel. This allows for so much more comfort. 

Not too mention, have you ever washed an apron, or anything with ties, and the ties get all wrapped around the washer agitator, or caught in the dryer door? When this happens it usually results in some sort of tear to the garment.  The waist band tie comes completely out of the apron waist band casing and can be removed prior to washing and drying. The tie is simply slipped back through the casing after laundering with a safety pin pull-through method.

Another bonus...you can have more than one tie band for contrasting designs. It also makes the waist band much stronger as there is no pressure pulling on the sides of the apron strings where it would traditionally connect to the Apron.
The pockets are double lined for durability and strength.
I have made numerous Apron's and this, by far, is my favorite style. It is the first pattern I have really custom tailored to fit my needs...I hope yours too.

When we put on our Apron's amazing things can happen...

 The Girasole Lady




Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Have A Good Day

"Life isn't long enough to do all you could accomplish. And what a privilege even to be alive."

                                                                     — Tasha Tudor


The Girasole Lady

Monday, March 14, 2011

Garden Books

 I really love books, especially gardening and decorating books. I've mentioned before how much my Grammy influenced my life, not only in gardening and homemaking, but reading books. For as long as I remember Grammy always had a book on her side table. She read every night before going to sleep. It's a tried and true recipe for a good nights sleep. There are several books that had once belonged to Grammy that I now have.
These were from her gardening days as a young homemaker.

This Sunset book is from 1943. The inside cover is the only color picture in the whole book. Everything else is black & white, with simple drawings.

This Garden Flower book is also from 1943.

Garden Flowers In Color. I can imagine what a treat that must have been for a flower book to have such colorful pictures inside.

The pages are so smooth to the touch. Peony- still a classic favorite.

My Great Grandfather, Charlie, was a member of the Petaluma Garden Club and was given this book as a gift with this inscription:


Times have certainly changed, but the love of gardening remains constant through out the years.

Elizabeth Lawrence said - “There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.”


The Girasole Lady

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Dear Garden...

I'm sorry you are sad and wet.
I promise you will look like this again...

The Girasole Lady

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Simple Beauty

Gardening is slow here on the Farm. It's been a mix of sunshine days and rainy days.
The Greenhouse is still not up. I am hoping this Saturday will be nice enough to allow the job to get done. I'm very anxious to get started. I feel behind in my planting. We do not have the greatest of soil, we have the red clay, it holds onto the rain water forever it seems like.
I always look for the simple and beautiful in life, it's just better that way. Isn't it that way for you too?
"Grammy, I see a lady bug in the daffodils."
"LOOK!"
"Now she is back in her home." 

Someone wrote - "some are created to love others. In becomes evident when I realize how miserable I am when I love myself most". -  I think they were talking to me.
The Girasole Lady


Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Missing In Action

I have been lost in a pile of fabric.
I have been working on updating my aprons.
Here is a peek...... You can click on the picture to get a larger view.
(mmm... not a very creative picture, then again this is not about photography-it's about APRONS).
This apron is off to Italy with my sister-in-law.
I am making more just like it, along with others.
It has a large deep middle pocket with two smaller side pockets. I love the middle pocket best, it can hold so much stuff. Just think of how many eggs you could get into that pocket!
Come back soon to see more...I'm going back into the fabric.
The Girasole Lady