How would you approach this situation with an ex-girlfriend?

I had a girlfriend during my junior year in high school. We were together for about 3 months. Afterwards I made a few mistakes that led her to not really want to "interact" with me anymore I think mainly because I kept bringing up the past and she got tired of it. It's a year later now and it seems like our friendship has recovered somewhat, although I can still sense that awkwardness between us. And that's what I want to deal with. I really just want to be regular friends again with no awkwardness. I've been thinking that maybe I could just be blunt and honest and basically tell her that I want to be regular friends again and if we're both honest with each other then the awkwardness will disappear (either that or it'll be even more awkward). I still have feelings for her but I'm willing to control them and not let them affect what I say or do (I don't know if I should tell her this if I do talk to her). I tried getting over her during the summer break. I felt like I was close to getting over her, but once school started again all the feelings came back.

So my main question is: Is this a good idea? If not, then how should I deal with it? And any advice would be greatly appreciated.