Sometimes you just get something stuck in your head. Right? You have an idea, and then, no matter what your time constraints are or how ridiculous it might seem, you just can't shake it, right? And, naturally, the month of December is the perfect month to indulge those kooky plans...
As you might have guessed...I did such a thing. It's not really as crazy as it sounds, but it did involved making 13 aprons in one morning!
You might remember me mentioning that my late mother-in-law was an expert baker, an award winning baker in fact! She baked delicious treats throughout the year that we all looked forward to, but at Christmas time she used to make the most delicious sugar cookies! Everyone looked forward to them! I'm not typically a sugar cookie fan, but these were special...thin and crispy and more buttery than sweet. She knew how to make them perfectly with the edges just crisp enough and the center still the tiniest bit chewy. She simply sprinkled a small amount of colored sugar atop them as opposed to smothering them with icing. She would spend hours rolling out the dough and cutting cookies with her vast collection of cookie cutters. I could never imagine going through all of that effort, "I'm much more of a drop it onto a pan kind of cookie maker" I always told her, she would smile and say, "I like to do it." I appreciated that she enjoyed it because they are delicious cookies, perfect Christmas nibbles...
As we neared this first Christmas without her I began to think about the things that we would all miss without her here with us, there were many and of course her cookies...But wait, the cookies. Why miss the cookies, why not just make them ourselves? And that is what we planned...an afternoon at my father-in-laws house with all of the grandchildren, siblings, and spouses. Getting four families and their schedules to match up in December was a feat in itself!
And then, I happened upon the most perfect fabric...Cookie Book by Kimberly Kight from Cotton and Steel.
It was as if it was made to be made into aprons just for such occasions as family cookie making gatherings! So I ordered a bunch, it came in the mail I got busy and distracted and pushed it aside to work on other things.
But then, the night before we were all to gather I couldn't let it go and made a plan... to use Purl Soho's adjustable unisex apron and kid's ric rac apron patterns and sew like the wind the next morning...Of course that meant that my husband was going to need to make an early morning trip to Joann to purchase 30+ yards of cotton webbing/twill tape! And, of course, that also meant that he called me "crazy"!
Fortunately Violet knew..."It's important!"
I am not a fast sewer, but it was true...it was important! And so, somehow in less than five hours I managed to whip up 13 aprons from cutting to finish. We arrived only an hour late (oops!) but with, as Violet proclaimed, "the best excuse ever!" and surprise aprons for all!
We all donned our new matching aprons,
the adults chatted and supervised while (mostly) the kids rolled and cut ...
and decorated.
It was such a fun and yummy and warm family afternoon...
A new tradition perhaps...Because certainly we all know a "full cookie jar, happy home"...
Enjoy!
