Fini!

Finished painting the pergola...(per·go·la (pûrg-l) noun...an arbor or a passageway of columns supporting a roof of trellis work on which climbing plants are trained to grow...Sure hope the pink roses grow back. It was a rather dramatic beheading. But there's a sign of life sprouting on the tip. (See pic of stump.)The pretty fence in the background actually belongs to our next door neighbors. They designed it in such a way so as not to make us feel entombed. One problem...it's right on top of the pergola. Not much room for a gal like me to fit a ladder in between to paint the backside. The choices were...(1.) the neighbors get to look at peeling paint or...(2.)I figure out a way to get in there and up there. Looked around the garage at all the objects hanging and noticed a very small, very old, very wooden 3 step ladder. Remembered that I had picked it up at the dump one day from the "Pick of the Litter" building. That's a spot at our local landfill where you can bring useful things and take useful things as long as you don't make a mess and the things are in good order of sorts.The adorable little ladder fit perfectly in between the space and was the absolutely perfect height for me to reach the top of the beast. So now, it's done. All white and pretty. I'm pleased and impressed with myself.
On Sunday, I began the not quite as easy task of scraping the front porch deck to prepare it for painting. Those nasty little stones from the driveway get wedged in between the boards and make much work for old knees. Did a "shout out" for my padded knee garden pants. Perfect. They're such a clever design. Little pockets in the knees where you slip in little, square foam rubber pads. You can take them out to launder the pants and then just put them in again. Genius!
This project will take some time. Once it's finished, I'm done for the season. It'll be back inside to sew. My etsy shop needs more stock in preparation for the
holidays. Lots of cute aprons and tops listed now, but we need more. Check us
out at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/

16.5 miles? No way!

Yes way. I did it. Hubby asked me to to go for a looooong bike ride with him on the new extension to the Shining Sea Bikeway. That's our gorgeous bike trail here in Falmouth. It's a big part of why so many folks choose this lovely little town for their spring, summer and fall getaways. My favorite part (and my daily ride) goes along the beach. But the new extension goes all the way to N. Falmouth and passes alongside some beautiful scenery; cranberry bogs, horse trails and even stop offs for a bite to eat. It's the latter that was the way hubby convinced me to ride for 16 miles. At the far end of our ride, there is an old, Falmouth establishment called "The Old Silver Lounge." (See picture of hubby in front wearing Hawaiian shirt inappropriate for bike riding .) It's a restaurant that's steeped in old Cape Cod flavor, from the huge pine beams to the real locomotive caboose that's attached and is part of the dining area. Kids just love eating in there. There's also the lure of Uncle Bill's Country Store, filled with candles, jewelry, antiques and all sorts of things. It's attached to the restaurant on the opposite end of the caboose. (You can enter the country store directly from the restaurant...a cruel trick played on unsuspecting husbands.) Anyway, the promise, so to speak, was that we could stop off at The Old Silver Lounge and have lunch. My nature is to make a party out of every situation, so stopping for lunch and a cold draft beer sounded festive enough to get me to agree to the long ride.
It was a picture perfect day yesterday and the scenery along the ride was as promised...absolutely beautiful. At one point, with cranberry bogs and dunes in the foreground, you can see the waters of Buzzard's Bay in the distance. (See picture where I look fat.) As familiar as we are with all parts of Falmouth, we had difficulty figuring out just where we were at times...passing under bridges, crossing private roads and the like. Then..all of a sudden, we'd see a familiar landmark and settle down knowingly. The end of the first leg was rewarding as promised. The best Reuben sandwich I've ever eaten and a cold mug of Coors light. Very, very nice.
The ride back seemed easier. I'm always better when I know what to expect. I don't like surprises. I felt more comfortable knowing the crossroads and having a sense of the distance. The trail was sparsely populated with bikers yesterday, but there were enough so as not to feel alone. We even came upon our local FedEx driver who was taking a ride on his lunch hour. He's a peach of a guy and we just love him. Reggie rode all the way back with us and we chatted it up along the way making the return leg go by quickly.
I'm limping around today. 16.5 miles is a lot for me. My legs and other parts of my body that I won't mention are hurting. But, it was fun and I'm happy we did it. Hard to think that my husband rides that distance every day. Good for him. But, I'll stick to my 3.5 mile ride along the beach, even though I don't get anything to eat at the end.
I'll stop goofing off at the end of the week and get back to the sewing machine. In the meantime, don't forget to check out our etsy shop at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/
We've got some really pretty aprons and tops.

What the heck?

Where'd the sunshine go? And it's dark at 6 o'clock! Turning myself inside
out trying to get the hang of it not being summer anymore. Even the mailman asked me this morning, "Where did everyone go?" He had become accustomed to greeting us on the front porch each day when he brought the mail...(we are addicted to having our morning coffee out there.) He'd even have a dog biscuit in his pocket for the visiting Lab, Max. What a guy. But...that's suddenly all over. Seems like the doors & windows are closed
and the TV is always on. It signals "being inside," which I don't like.
In order to force the summer to last longer, I've committed myself to scraping and painting our pergola. It's usually covered with pink roses, but this year, the roses suffered some sort of a blight so we've cut both vines down to the quick. Alas...that exposed the awful condition
of the paint so here I go again. Scraping and painting. Not my favorite job. I'm almost wishing it was a rainy day so I would be tempted to stay indoors and sew. I hate painting! But I'm doing it. (See...Old lady painting. Looks like the old lady needs a work-out with the weights on her arms.) I'll show you the finished product when it's done.

I guess the sewing will have to wait for the moment. This is turning
out to be more of a job than I'd thought!

Check us out at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/

It's often stressful for me to fill special orders when I'm making aprons...

Everyone has a different idea of what they like or want and it's impossible for me to read minds. (At least, I can't do it anymore since I passed retirement age.) So, special orders are always stressful for me. Usually someone says, "Can you just make something blue, or green, etc., with a little of this and a bit of that, and maybe some ruffles?" and so on and so forth. It always sounds more simple than it turns out to be. I much prefer to just make something from my own imagination and hope that someone will like it and want to buy it. Special orders always take longer, cost more to make and are rarely profitable.
Not so with the most recent one. A friend I met in Florida, who has bought several aprons from me, asked if I would make something sort of fancy for a relative's birthday. She gave me a general idea of what she wanted but didn't get too specific....so I was able to use my own thought process and pick out fabric and a design that I was comfortable making. I'm really happy with the way it looks.

I started with a very nice, smooth black cotton polka dot fabric which I cut in a similar fashion to my original baby-doll design, but without the little pleats at the bodice. Inspired by the previous half aprons you saw in my last post, I added a row of ruffled pleats across the bib along with some sheer, organza polka dot ribbon. I gave the same treatment to the pocket edge and then gave both areas a special touch with tiny crystal beads. It looks dressy, yet sophisticated. I'm pleased as punch. Take a peek. (If you click on the picture, you'll get a closer view.)
Beautiful, beautiful Labor Day Weekend here on the Cape. Lots of folks in town for a last hurrah. There's a big tent wedding at the Beach Breeze Inn down the street. We can hear the music as we sit on our front porch. A nice way to end the season.
Check us out on the web at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/

Finally got down to business and turned on the sewing machine.
I had to spend quite a bit of time looking through my fabric, reacquainting myself with each piece, since I haven't done any sewing to speak of, all summer. The yellow and black prints that I chose for "Aren't I Just So Pretty?" were initially purchased to make blouses. But I wasn't in a blousy mood, so we now have two new half aprons at www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com
The little pleats on the pocket edge of "Aren't I Just So Pretty?" were inspired by Teresa Porter's headboard bench cover that she recently hand sewed for The Lettered Cottage's Layla Palmer. I was in awe of Teresa's workmanship and wanted to try making pleats myself. You can see Teresa's bench cover either at her blog cherrycheckers.blogspot.com or at Layla's blog, theletteredcottage.com.
Back to the apron; I love the bumble bee color combination of this fabric. It's really striking. The apron has a nice long sash, and the pocket is deep and generous with reinforced edges to prevent tearing. (Don't you hate how the pockets on aprons always are the first part to go?) I always name my aprons whatever comes into my mind when I look at them finished for the first time. I swear I heard this apron ask me, "Aren't I just so pretty?" Hence, the name.
You can see more pictures of "Aren't I just so pretty." along with lot of other aprons and tops at apronsgonewild.etsy.com

Finally got the "Emily" photos loaded on my apronsgonewild.etsy.com shop.....

Viewing my aprons on Emily instead of on a lifeless mannequin is like the difference between night and day; especially the aprons with the little head scarves. I had wondered about them after I made them. Seemed like a neat idea at the time. You know...keep your hair out of your eyes and out of your recipe. But...after I made them, I began to wonder. The ditty bags are always a hit and customers seem to really like them and find all sorts of uses for them. But, I hadn't had much feedback about the head scarves.

Well...putting one of those little triangles on Emily was all I needed for feedback. I think you'll agree...it looks adorable. She looks sort of like a little French maiden. I have to keep in mind that absolutely everything looks terrific on Emily, but seeing her in the apron with the matching scarf renewed my conviction that the head scarf is an attractive and useful addition.

I posted two new aprons today that are not pictured here. One is in an Amy Butler cotton and the other in a pretty turquoise batik. As soon as I get caught up with the house and the yard (post road race) I'll click on the sewing machine and start getting busy. I've got some great new fabrics that I can't wait to transform.

Check us out at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/

Our annual summer event is over.

The Falmouth Road Race of 2009 has come and gone. It was a glorious, sunny day...not too hot for the runners. We only had 6 running from our group of family and friends this year, but they represented us well. Our oldest grandchild ran for the first time and he was amazing! The race is 7.1 miles long and began 37 years ago when three local guys were at a bar in nearby Woods Hole. Because that bar was closing they ran 7.1 miles to another bar in Falmouth Heights that was open for another hour or two. Somehow, that silly event evolved into an international road race with prizes of $10,000 to $15,000 for the winners.

The race draws famous names, including former Olympians like Joan Benoit. Our home just happens to be at the 4.5 mile mark along the race route and we take full advantage of that. Son-in-law, Johnny, rigs up a sound system that rivals even the loudest rock band. Another member of our group does a terrific job with a wireless microphone, calling out runners as they pass, and whooping up the crowd. When the race is over, we celebrate with our very own Uncle Frank's famous sausage grinders and an assortment of other delicious dishes. We even have Aruban Pistache.
Our annual Famouth Road Race party has become a family reunion, of sorts. It's that day of year when everyone is welcome. Friends and family come from near and far and with a bit of luck, we even get in a few hours at the beach. The day always ends the same way...a big fire in the fire pit with everyone gathered around for singing and smores. Not a bad way to celebrate the waning days of summer.
In the midst of all this, I did take some apron pictures with Emily modeling. I'll be posting them to my etsy shop as soon as all our road race guests depart. In the meantime, check us out at apronsgonewild.etsy.com