How to Jazz Up an Apron

A friend of mine got me a lovely apron as a thank-you gift a while back, and as i'm a believer of actually using aprons when i cook, i ended up having an unfortunate accident with said apron. So, instead of tossing it aside as it is so lovely, i decided i needed to just hide the oil stains that just can't come out.What better way to hide them but with some cupcake cross-stitch from the lovely book Sublime Stitching: Hundres of Hip Embroidery Patterns and How-to (coincidently also a gift from another lovely friend!). I am not an avid cross-stitcher but i do enjoy the process of it. It's quite relaxing and peaceful, so i hope to start doing it more. Of course, i did do the bulk of it while watching The Wire, so maybe anything that keeps me distracted from the violence seems peaceful?

So, now that i have discovered how to hide (somewhat) a stain, i'm going to look through my stash of other bits of clothing with marks and tears and see what i can stitch onto them!

Remodelled Sweater

I'm slowly starting my holiday gifts for people - much later than usual but i'm trying not to overwhelm myself this year. I have some great ideas that i can't wait to share here, but for the time being, here's a sweater i finished this week. I got this sweet cardigan at a clothing swap 2 years ago but couldn't wear it because of the stains. I knew that there was something i could do with it, but an idea didn't strike me until recently - why not use a Sublime Stitching pattern?!
So, i went through my small stash and found the perfect fit - a unicorn! Since it didn't quite fit all the marks, i also added a shaded stomach and flowers dancing around the unicorn. Now i can finally wear it!