Easy to Sew Homesteading Apron

As a homemaker and a homesteader I live in an apron. I can't stand ruining my clothes from day to day tasks, so I wear an apron to try to protect my clothes. I don't wear one to be cute, stylish, or to keep up with the latest fashion trends. It's pure and simple practicality.

Since aprons are a part of my daily wardrobe, I must admit I'm quite picky on apron design and fabric. I cannot stand aprons that must be tied! Ugh, there's nothing worse than having draping tails that get caught on everything, come untied, or worse fall in the toilet (um yeah been there a time or two ~ insert eye roll). I've tried smocks and they never fit right I'm constantly pulling at the straps. Trust me when you've got your hands covered in dough from kneading bread and your apron is falling off, it can get quite annoying! 

Well the other day, I was perusing Pinterest and I saw several tutorials for making this cute apron. It's kind of like a smock but not. The straps aren't nearly as drapy. Apparently, its a popular apron style the ladies are wearing ideally made from linen. Ha ~ that ain't happening in this house. Linen is expensive and I'd never have a solid colored apron, I actually use my aprons and they get DIRTY and stained. I like to make my aprons last as long as possible and the more I can hide inevitable stains the longer life I'm likely to get from my apron. While I do think the solid color linen aprons are quite lovely, they just wouldn't work for me. But I do think the pattern sews up just as nice not in a linen and it's an extremely easy apron to make. 😊

I decided to tweak the pattern I saw to meet my needs. I never take a pattern and use it exactly the way it's written or designed. That's one of the one things I love about sewing, you can create anything you want and customize it to fit your needs. I really love this pattern and think I will make a couple more just like it. Especially since it has been several years since I've made new aprons; my current ones have seen better days that's for sure! 

My apron measurements were

45 inches wide

35 inches long

The straps were 7 inches x 21 inches

The pockets I made 10 inches x 10inches

The instructions to make this apron are super simple. It's basically just 3 finished rectangles. If you want to get the best fit for the apron, measure the fabric so that when it drapes around you, it kind of overlaps in the back at the top. And then measure how long you want it to be adjusting for hemming. 

• First, I took the long sides (35 inch side) and folded them in 1/2 inch twice pressing after each fold. And then I stitched them, staying as close to the edge as possible. 
• Then I finished the top of the apron. I wanted to make it a little more decorative so I folded down 1/2 inch, pressed and then folded down 1.5 inches and stitched as close to the edge of the fold as I could. 
• Then it was time for the pockets. I simply turned them in about 1/2 inch on all sides and then added the double fold bias tape to the top. If I had not added the bias tape I would have turned the top of the pocket twice and stitched the top part before sewing them on to the apron. 
• After pressing the pockets and finishing the top of the pockets I laid my main apron part on the floor and situated my pockets where I wanted them to be (no scientific method just personal preference) and then I stitched them in place as close to the edge of the pocket as possible.
• Now it was time for the straps. I pressed them in half long ways (right sides together) and stitched around all sides at 1/2 inch seam allowance leaving an opening to turn the straps right side out. After turning the straps right side out I pressed them (making sure to evenly adjust the opening) and then topped stitched around all the edges.
• The hardest part of making this entire apron was honestly attaching the straps. First I attached the back straps placing them directly at the edge of the apron and stitching them in place (on the inside of the apron). 
• To get a good fit on where to place the front straps I grabbed my pins and headed to the bathroom, lol. I wrapped the apron around me, crisscrossing the back straps, and then I pinned the front straps where I thought they fit best. Once I got them the way I wanted I headed back to my sewing machine and stitched them in place on the inside of the apron.

And now your apron is finished!

 I know clear as mud right? I'll add some pictures for making the apron soon. 😊

But, seriously with minimal sewing skills you really can make this apron, and it is absolutely perfect for homemaking and homesteading!

If you're in need of an everyday-around-the-homestead type of apron I highly recommend this pattern. If you're not so inclined to sew, I've seen quite a few on Easy. I'm all about making life on the homestead easier and more conducive to productivity. When you don't have to fool with tails and problematic straps trying to keep your apron adjusted properly; you can more effectively manage your daily tasks!

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer

How NOT to Get Overwhelmed with the Harvest

                   

                  

4 gallons of fresh picked bell pepper

This past Monday we found ourselves swimming in produce. Apparently after a couple weeks of some refreshing rain, our summer garden took a massive turn for the better! We had thought that everything was on the verge of dying and sadly we did lose our first big batch of green bean plants to the mini drought. Despite them prematurely dying we are grateful we were able to eat fresh from them several times, even if there was no canning like we had hoped. The corn also took a hit and instead of long, full ears of corn we only got a couple cobs from each stalk and they weren't the best we've ever had. But, that is the life of a homesteader and growing your own food; the outcome is all dependent on the Lord and what He sees fit to give.

It never fails no matter how well you plan your garden and stagger planting your crops; it's inevitable that at some point everything is going to hit in major quantities all at once. This is where you can quickly become overwhelmed!! NO worries, after years of experience I've got a list of steps to help you stay calm so you can quickly and efficiently conquer your awesome garden haul!!

This is what we were looking at Monday evening and I'm not going to lie, I was in a slight panic. But, thankfully I've been here before and after taking a quick assessment we began tackling what needed to be done to make the most of our blessed harvest.

On Monday we picked about 19 dozen EARS of corn. Most of which we left on the cob and put in the freezer. I'll be posting soon how we do this and how easy it really is to preserve corn on the cob! 

Next we had 6 gallons of cucumbers to come in adding to the 4 gallons we already had.

Then we picked 5 gallons of yellow summer squash.

A couple gallons of hot peppers.

Some zucchini & eggplant

A mess of green beans.

And a gallon of field peas or as I affectionately call them 'dirt peas'. 

We had a mighty fine blessing through our gardens to say the least, but now we had to figure out what we were going to do with it all. Here is how I typically handle a bumper garden haul like this:

1. Determine the produce which you collected the most; that one takes priority, unless it's corn. Corn must be done within 24 hours or it ruins. 
2. Decide what is going to be canned, frozen, dehydrated, or eaten fresh.
3. Wash what needs washing.
4. Put away what you plan to eat fresh in the fridge.
5. Fill the dehydrator with what you want to dehydrate (In this haul we dehydrated the peppers).
6. Chop and bag what you want to go in the freezer. (For this picking we skinned the corn, chopped the bell peppers, and shelled the peas all to go in the freezer ~ the peas we will can at a later time, but for now they can go in the freezer until we're ready to can them).
7. Prep for any canning you plan to do, such as the squash, it can be cut the night before or just simply make sure you have all the supplies you needs for whatever you're canning the next day.
8. If you got a super bumper crop coming in you can always try to sell some of it ~ we don't typically have good luck with selling, but you can always try.
9. Go in on halves: this means someone helps you process your produce using whatever method you're using in return to take some of the harvest home with them.
10. Give it away. After all it's better to give than to receive and I'd rather share our blessings with others than let it go to waste.

** And here's a BONUS TIP **

If you're going to be having a marathon canning day ALWAYS plan for simple meals throughout the day. I highly recommend putting something in the crockpot for dinner. Trust me when I say, you will not want to cook by the time folks are hungry for dinner!

Hopefully this simple guide will help y'all when it comes to dealing with the harvest. I like to remember it's all for just a short season. Maybe two months at the most when you feel like you eat, live, and breath the garden. And then all at once it's done and your larder is full and you can rest; enjoying the fruits of your labors throughout the fall, winter, and spring. And ironically, when the main summer garden rolls around again somehow you forget how much work it is to grow your own food. It's like the joy of enjoying the harvest in the off-season overshadows the reality of the time and effort you have to put into the main summer garden. It's a wonderful mercy from the Lord, that's for sure.  

Thankfully, our Monday harvest has all been taken care of and none of our produce went to waste. We're filling our larder one day at a time and I give all the glory to the Lord for giving us the harvest as well as the wisdom and strength to get it all done.

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer

Back to Basics

Sometimes life appears to be moving backwards. Not on purpose, but simply as a result of the reality life, which doesn't always turn out the we had planned. As Christians life can turn into a delicate dance of trying to discern God's will, giant leaps of faith, and praying with all your might that you've made the right decision. Sometimes we know without a shadow of a doubt that our choices are directly inline with God's will and other times not so much.

For most of my adult life (I am about to turn 39) I have longed to own a house and land. A house that wasn't prefabricated; a house that when in need of regular maintenance we could go to the local hardware store and repair it; a house where I didn't have to flee for my life and my babies live's in the pitch black Alabama night for fear of an impending tornado, and on and on and on the list could go as to why I deeply desire a 'site-built' house. The reasons for wanting land is just as long. We've been maxed out with our homesteading capabilities for many years now. Our space is limited. Furthering our animal husbandry isn't even an option. We do the best we can with what we've got AND we're grateful. But I know we could do so much more if given the opportunity.

Well, sometimes when you beg and plead with God unrelentingly for years, He gives you the desires of your heart despite it NOT being His will. The week of Thanksgiving 2017 we put in an offer on a massive 5,000 square foot 'fixer-upper' with 5 acres. We thought our dreams were finally coming true. Our patience and persistence had paid off, this was it, our homestead and final earthly resting place was finally ours! No more praying for land and a 'site-built' house. No more living in fear of tornadoes ~ this house was made of rock, brick, AND had a basement! The 5 acres was perfect for small animal husbandry and any large gardening we wanted to do. It was perfect, or so we thought.

Ecstatic, thrilled, over-the moon, elated, happy; those words don't even begin to describe the joy of finally finding our dream home and moving in. Sadly those emotions were short lived. All that could go wrong, went wrong. Within a few short months we wiped out our life savings and were in financial dire straights. What we thought was God's perfect will and design for our family was quickly replaced with the acute knowledge that we had made a HUGE mistake. The house which we thought was only in need of simple cosmetic fixes ultimately needed to be completely redone from electrical to plumbing and everything in between.

As first-time 'site-built' buyers we received a crude education on the harsh reality of buying a house in the American real estate industry. It's cruel people. It's hardly ethically and realtors will do anything to sell a piece of property. We were lied to and conned in the worst way. We learned valuable lessons on buying and selling houses that most people learn at a much younger age. We thought we had done everything right. We were God-fearing, honest christian folks simply trying to better ourselves and the future of our family. Well, apparently that agenda isn't the norm in this particular industry and any form of accountability is non existent.

Thankfully the Lord delivered us from our horrific house-buying nightmare within one year.
Since we were unable to sell our payed-for mobile home when we bought the big house, we were able to moved back into it after the sell of our house. (Thank God for unanswered prayers!) I won't lie; I was crushed and heartbroken beyond words. Why did this happen to us? Why? Sometimes there are no answers, it's just life. And life often includes set-backs and re-starts. Thankfully God promises he will never leave us or forsake us. Yes the journey can be painful and riddled with hurts that only God can heal, but God's mercies are ever real and present we just have to keep our eyes on the Cross, trusting that even when we make those 'wrong turns' He will always gently guide us back into His loving arms and perfect will.

 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10 (KJV)

If there's one thing I have learned through this whole house-buying experience; it's when you don't know what to do or where to go; go back to what you DO know, what's familiar and the last place you knew you were exactly where God wanted you to be. It's been four months since we moved back into our mobile home and I'm finally finding myself at peace with where God has us. I'm not convinced this is our final earthly resting place and I'm still hopeful one day we will have our 'site-built' house on some land. Will it ever really happen ~ only the Lord knows, but I won't give up praying for it, planning for it, believing one day the desires of my heart will be God's will too. But until that day arrives here we are back where we started 20 years ago ~ happily homesteading our little one acre.

With Love & Hope,
Jennifer