more presents!

After a lovely Christmas with my family, we traveled to visit Mr. Sew Rachel's mother, my MIL. This year she re-did he kitchen, and it's really lovely, so I thought a brand new kitchen needed a brand new apron! I had found these fun, photo-realistic vegetable print cottons earlier in the year, and used two of the prints to make a reversible apron (using a no-number Wal-Mart Simplicity pattern) . Lots of lovely top-stitching makes this apron look extra nice, and after everything was constructed and ironed I sewed one pocked to each side, so that when wearing there is always a pocket on your right. I think this will also help keep the layers together when washing, just as the stitching on a quilt does.

 Tomatoes and lettuce!

Pocket on the right, stitching from reverse side pocket on the left to hold the layers together.

I love nice rows of top-stiching!

Even the ties are double sided!

I just love this veggie-print cotton, so I also made some reversible tote bags using a tutorial by Handmade Jane (and it's a fabulous one! Go check it out!), only with cotton webbing handles instead of self-made fabric ones. I made one for my MIL to match her tomato/lettuce apron, and mailed a cabbage/broccoli one to Mr. Sew Rachel's sister and her husband in California.

I had also made one earlier this month to include in a package to Mr. Sew Rachel's aunt in New York City, this time instead of stitching the handles into the top seam, I sewed webbing all the way down the exterior fabric... just 'cause I like that look! I used a plain canvas for one side and....

That canvas just would not iron smooth around the webbing stitching!

... sexy NYC fireman for the other! (Remember them from my Christmas post?) I think she's going to love it!