Moms my age wear aprons because we want to, and because we think they're cute. We have a heritage, though, of the apron being the workhorse to help mom along in her day and in her life.
I have a small collection of sweet vintage aprons, like this one I'm wearing, above. Gathered from here and there, I like to imagine who wore them, and how they used them--and most of them are all handmade and totally adorable. Most of them cost me less than a dollar, and are gingham, or like this one, calico, adorned with rick-rack.
A friend shared this apron essay with me, and I'm sharing it with you, just because it's too dear not to.
Thank you, Mary C. for forwarding this along to me. I enjoyed it; and I know my readers here will, too.
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The principle use of grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few. It was easier to wash the apron than to wash the dress, and they used less material, but along with that it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion,was even used for cleaning out dirty ears. From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes, half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal for hiding places for shy kids. And when the weather was cold, grandma could wrap it around her arms. Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen by that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust ion a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields for dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes.
--Author unknown
