The Cottage Smallholder


stumbling self sufficiency in a small space

Surprise present

Photo: Handmade apron the final check

Photo: Handmade apron the final check

Until I opened the slim package I wasn’t aware that the one thing that I’d always wanted was a perfectly made mauve apron.

It arrived in the mail and was beautifully presented with a Christmas bow.  Danny tried it on first.
“It fits! How do I look?”
It’s so well designed that it fits both, although we don’t plan to wear it together just yet.

This wonderful present was sent to me by Pamela. She often comments on this blog and is clearly a talented seamstress. The apron is artfully constructed from a bistro table cloth. The expensive fabric gives it a weighty gravitas and the barely discernible bistro circular motif adds an aura of subtle mystique . Danny strutted and mimed ‘cooking on the hob’.
“I feel like a bistro chef.”
I felt the same too when I modelled it. The fabric felt luxurious and that type of tablecloth material is designed to be laundered regularly and still feel good.

Pamela regularly checks out the charity shops for duvet covers and lengths of fabric (curtains, tablecloths etc) to transform into different things. This is true recycling. The sort of creativity that any of us could take on board. I just wouldn’t have thought of that approach. I’d have bought materials from bales in a market and thought that I was a savvy shopper.

Pamela’s is a true,  green approach. She rewards the charity shop and then transforms the material into something very special. I’m amazed by her ingenuity – real thinking around the box.

And our apron came with a distinctive and professionally handmade card. This has pride of place on the mantelpiece.

Thank you so much Pamela. The apron will be actively road tested in semi hysterical conditions on the run up to Christmas. It already has old friend status. Luckily D and I tend to cook separately so there will be no fighting over your apron. We can share without tears.

Pamela doesn’t have an online shop but if you are interested in her range of products, which runs from pyjamas to laptop bags, email me through the contact us page of our website and I will pass on your details.

This is just the sort of great product that we’d love to promote through our online shop that we are planning to open by Easter 2009.


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4 Comments

  1. Yes – clever Pamela. I always read her comments on your posts. The mauve colour is very attractive and to have the Minpin seal of approval is the final accolade! x

  2. It’s beautiful and such a great idea.

    Charity Shop shopping is cool! Oxfam book shops are great for cookery books too.

  3. Great idea for recycling and what better than a bisexual apron?

    Looking forward to the e-shop too.

  4. So glad that my gift was a hit! It looks as if my work got the MinPin seal of approval too. I like an apron that wraps round the sides a bit, as I tend to stand and ponder with my hands on my hips which, of course, makes it “bisexual” (as my dad once said when he meant “unisex”. Perhaps I should have made a chef’s hat to match so Danny can really feel the part! Happy cooking.

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