Shirt Aprons & To Pin or Not to Pin

Back in September... while on a retreat... my friend Lori Holt talked me into getting onto "Pinterest". (Dangerous!) For those of you that are not familiar with it... it is a place where you can organize and share all the beautiful things that you find on the web by pinning them onto boards that you create. It's also a place where you can browse pinboards created by others. So FUN!!!

Well... for some of you that would be no problem... but for me it has become quite an addiction! The question today is... " To Pin" or "Not to Pin". 

One part of me says... "I love it because I am so inspired by all that I see! I find so many wonderful quilting ideas, DIY's, recipes and so much more!" 

On the other hand... 

The other part of me says... "If I am pinning I am not getting anything done. It is keeping me from my quilting, blogging, crocheting, genealogy and such!" It actually causes me to loose track of time!

My feelings about it all are that it really isn't a bad thing! In fact... there is good that can come of it. I just need a little self control... LOL! Let me explain!

The first week that I was pinning, I found a site from Japan that had the cutest shirt aprons re-purposed from used shirts. Well if you know me very well... then you have to know about my obsession with aprons. I immediately got my friend Susann and off we ran to the thrift store to buy used shirts. My... did I ever hit a gold mine! I found soooo many darling shirts for so cheap and bought everyone of them for under $5.00 a piece. I came right home and began dreaming of how I would remake those shirts into cute aprons. Well... Here are the results of two!

I will show you the after... then the before. Oh... BTW... I will also be sharing a tutorial for them in the next two posts... so be ready!

This is my blue shirt apron made from the shirt below. I simply added trim to the upper existing pocket.

For the lower pocket I used the cuff and part of one sleeve adding trim on the edge of the cuff. If you look close enough you will see the under seam of the sleeve in the pocket.

There was a label in the front on the lower part of the button placket that I left to give it a little more character...

 along with the black lettering on the side that said "Wonderwall". I found that to be quite charming so this will now be known as my Wonderwall apron! :)

The shirt was an XL in mens. It had feld seams which made it so easy and quick to make. I can't wait to show you!~

This second apron... which was actually the first shirt apron I made... was made using the women's XL shirt below.

The minute I saw it... I fell in love with it! Mainly because of the red eyelet trim around the bottom of the shirt and sleeves. I also adored the tucks and red buttons down the front. My tutorial will show you how I used the sleeves to make the bottom ruffle. It was extremely fun to make!

The pocket was actually cut from the back. You can see on the right that it still has part of the dart left in it. I think that just gives the apron a little personality.

Now back to the original question... " To Pin" or "Not to Pin"... that is the question! If you would like to have a look at my Pinterest boards... You can find me by clicking on the "Follow me on Pinterest" button on the right side of my blog. But I MUST warn you... You will be there a while... Tee he hee!

Any ideas? Maybe I should give it up for a week to show myself what all I can get done if I am not pinning! Tell me what you think!!!