I am in love with old fabrics. Whether it be a vintage sheet, an old quilt sewn together with bits of old pajamas and clothing, a hand embroidered tablecloth, or vintage apron (complete with traces of dinners past), fabrics represent a special history I love to touch. I love to look at the little stitches, examining the work of another displaced from me in time. Their stitching mistakes and their successes are appreciated and learned from, as I follow a flow of stitches so neatly and carefully pieced together for necessity in the home.
I have little collections of each of these stashed away in my Grandmother's hope chest that sits in our bedroom. I also treasure the delicate tablecloths that grace our dinner table, and the aprons that I wear and that my children dress up in.
"The principle use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a holder for removing hot pans from the oven; it was wonderful for drying children's tears. From the chicken-coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs. It was also near at hand for dusting furniture before guests arrived, or as a flag to wave to beckon the family in for dinner." -Anonymous
Some of my apron collection came from a lovely woman who has a little shop selling apple butter, jam, vintage aprons, and apples that grow from her apple orchard behind a shop set up in her barn. She takes joy in wearing a new apron each day while she tends to her orchards and her shop. She is truly sad to see them go, but also happy to give them a new loving home. The kids put a quarter on the counter for her to find when she comes back in from the orchard, which they exchange for a cup of homemade trail mix. She leaves out all types of crispy apples on her counter for us to cut into and sample along with her perfected jams.
We enjoy apple season at her farm walking up the hill and gazing out across acres of gorgeous fruit laden trees and looking out further still to the surrounding mountains. She hangs her laundry from an apple tree alongside her house, setting up quite a beautiful memory in my mind.
When I bought my aprons there, she had a fascinating anecdote to share about each one. She recounted that the children's aprons had come from a local school. Each child had been instructed to bring in a handkerchief from home that would be sewn into a child size apron.
Some of the oldest examples she sold me were actually made of feed sack material. Since it was most often the job of the farmer's wife to shop for supplies and feed, the feed companies attempted to influence her purchases of feed with attractive feed sack patterns. The sacks could then be re-purposed into a Sunday dress or an apron. I treasure my aprons and am happy to wear them and happier to see my children playing dress up with them, creating memories for our family and adding our stitches to times past.
Stay tuned for a GardenMama giveaway...
