On the eighth day of Christmas...

my true love gave to me...

eight vintage patterns...

and then suddenly the "uh oh" moment hit me

  there is a Christmas present I haven't made yet!!!!

I confess, I have been having too much fun this holiday season.  I've been baking since Thanksgiving and freezing everything to get ready to have all the family home.  Between my Etsy shop and putting thoughts down to share with you in this blog, as well as other work commitments, I'm not bored. 

Suddenly we're on the 8th day of Christmas....and while I was pulling out classic vintage patterns to share with you, I came across the last one - which should now be referred to as the "uh-oh" pattern:

 No big deal, just a simple apron.  And then it hit me:  I had promised my daughter I would make an apron for her fiance for Christmas.  How could I have forgotten?  Too many cookies?  Too many boxes of goodies to sort through for Etsy? 

My daughter suggested that her fiance should have his own apron because she was getting tired of sharing her frilly ones that I had made her for her birthday.  This was a moment where many of you who know me would have been proud that I had some filters.  What I wanted to tell her was that if your dad wanted to put on my aprons and go to the kitchen and cook I wouldn't care (as he does make a mean butternut squash dish.... mmmmmm).  She even was sweet enough to send me the links to a nice plaid fabric she thought would look nice because he loves plaid shirts.

It is amazing in the craziness of life when sudden inspiration comes from the least expected place.  Thank you to the blogger out there who wrote about the shirt aprons she had made.  I had never heard of them before, but one thing I did know, I had plaid shirts around the house my husband won't wear.

Considering my husband probably received this as a Christmas present years ago, how appropriate that it will be upcycled and find a new home.

I cut off the arms and shirt back and under the serger it goes.

I was able to get two nice size bias pieces for the ties from the shirt back.

In less than an hour it's finished!

wow....that was fun!  Perfect for the lover of plaid shirts!

I will definitely be looking at old shirts from the thrift shop with a new set of eyes.  Look at these aprons.  My mind is flooded with ideas for presents.  Off to sew now, but thanks again to bloggers out there sharing and giving inspiration to sew many of us.

ps.  About the "uh-oh" apron pattern.  Did you notice the man in the suit with the apron?  This pattern was printed in 1949.  I don't see him with a spatula, meat tenderizer, or something to signify he is wearing this apron because he knows his way around the kitchen.... no, he's reading from a piece of paper.  Wait, could he be reading the recipe or is it a list of chores?  What do you think she is saying to him?