Gift for Nicola

I had fun creating a birthday gift for Nicola and decided to share photos ;o)

First up is a quilted tote for her to use. I find I can never have enough little bags to store items I want to take with me, so I'm hoping the Nicola will get good use from this. All but the green fabric are from my thrifting stash and I crocheted the flowers using thread that once belonged to my great-grandma. That means there's some history to this gift as well as love.



Here's a peek inside the bag ( the lining and back of the bag are the same floral that I used on the apron). Roxanne, do you recognize the zipper??? It was perfect for this project, thanks for sharing from your stash.
Sorry about the blurry photo below. My digital camera and I are at odds at the moment. Anyways, here is a apron that I designed. Nicola *hinted* that if I was to make her an apron, that she prefers one that extends to the neckline. This design is based upon a photo of an apron from the 1920's. The beauty of this design is that it's cut on the bias and only requires one yard of fabric. Finishing is easy, as you can see, the whole apron has bias tape edges. Maybe next time I will make the apron reversible. I guess I will wait for some feedback on this.
I had to show you a close-up of the pocket. The ric-rac is thrifted and the bias tape I made myself because I find the commercial stuff too limited in colour. I love to use self-made bias on my projects so I can customize and coordinate the colour and prints. I think the results are worth the extra effort. What do you think?