~Sunshine. Everyone loves sunshine. And sunflowers. Who doesn't love sunflowers?
~Ordinarily, I don't do special orders. There's too much room for disappointment. My idea of what looks good may not be what your idea is. It's always difficult to read into a description what someone else is actually envisioning.
~However, this request was different. A friend asked if I would create an apron with a sunflower theme. This apron would be actioned off at a summer barbecue to raise money for a foundation that honors her friend who passed away. There were no specific requirements other than that the apron reflect sunflowers because they were her friend's favorite flower.
~Sounds simple, doesn't it? Well...not so fast. After much searching, and help from neighbors, the one bolt of sunflower themed fabric in all of the Space Coast of Florida finally revealed itself at JoAnn fabrics. I couldn't even find anything on the Internet. (All the fabrics with a sunflower theme were abstract. Beautiful patterns, but you had to look close with a
keen eye to see the similarity to the big yellow flower that I had in mind. Blue and lavender sunflowers just weren't going to fill the bill.) ~Since my favorite part of creating an apron is working with contrasting fabrics for the trim on the pocket and bib edges, I was happy to find two prints that worked well with the basic sunflower fabric. To top it off, I landed a sunflower applique' and sunflower buttons in the notions department.
~The end result is a very happy apron with a big sunflower smile on the pocket and a matching ditty bag. I hope it brings lots of bids at the auction that honors the memory of someone who meant a lot to my friend.
"Sunshine on My Shoulders" is a very special order for Terry.
