Aprons are my Happy Place

It began with a couple of aprons I'd just completed, I took a photo to ask my daughter which one she wanted.

I have loved sewing since I learned from my Grandma Gandy; she was my favorite person while she was alive. I started sewing doll clothes by hand when I was about 10 years old. My Mom encouraged me to experiment and trusted me to use her "GOOD" scissors. You know the ones, the beautiful, heavy, steel scissors that were to be used only, ONLY for fabric and thread. My designs were simple and hand stitched; I loved the process and the freedom of creating something unique and completely mine.

Fast forward through 20 years of marriage, 10 years of single motherhood and 5 years of living alone for the first time in my life. I found myself in a job that didn't require a lot of mental energy but delivered a conversely generous bundle of stress. I know I'm not alone in this. Burnout is real and I was on a fast, straight road toward a stress-induced flameout.

A girlfriend who sat in the adjacent cubicle was a graphic designer and antiques dealer. She shared plenty of antiquing and "junking" anecdotes and frequently talked about the textiles she had found. Generally speaking, textiles are offered as a large black trash bag that's sold by weight. (Read: Junker's Grab Bag!) She loved the exercise of removing the contents and seeing if she had anything she could clean up to sell in her stall at the Antique Store. I showed her my photo of the aprons and I could tell she wanted to ask me something.

"If I bring one of the pieces I just got, can you look at it and see if you can make something out of it?"

As soon as I laid eyes on the table runner, I could see exactly what I would make. It was about 36" long and almost 11" wide. The fabric was a natural, loose weave cotton, with a hand-embroidered heart on each end, an open lattice trailing down each side, with a petite lace along the outside edge. All I needed was about a yard of fabric that would bring out the colors in the embroidery. She picked the perfect cotton print and I couldn't wait to create the "pinafore" apron I had in mind.

There was damage on one end; a big gravy stain in the middle and a couple of small burn holes. I was able to use the undamaged end in its entirety to create a bib by removing the center and keeping all the embroidered flowers along the edge to create long straps to criss cross in back. I didn't even realize I'd created something wonderful, I just knew I really had fun doing it and wanted to do more!

So we teamed up and I started creating aprons out of the damaged textiles. Anyone who's started a hobby that produces something tangible knows what's coming next! We quickly realized that I was producing enough of these antique hybrids that we needed to find an outlet in addition to her booth at the Antique Store. I love how serendipitous timing has played a role through out my life. It was summer and we started looking for the right Holiday Market to share our collaborations for the holiday buying season. The experience was delightful! We made a good profit, learned that we were a good team and decided to continue to work together making our hybrid creations.

I've loved sewing for most of my life, but until that time I hadn't really been consistently sewing on a frequent basis. After that holiday event, I started sewing every day. My routine looked like this: Work, Dinner, Sew. On weekends I would frequently work until the wee hours of the morning because time was nonexistent in my sewing room. Eventually, I did have to put a clock in the room because I had to manage myself on week nights! I started listening to audible books as entertainment, after all, my hands and eyes were busy but my ears were idle!! LOL

The act of creating beauty from a scrap of damaged household items became my passion. Truly, I loved thinking and designing, and creating something out of a discarded piece of cloth. The act of looking at the original piece, considering the time, love and energy that was imbued in the piece itself. I thought of the person who created it, usually a girl or woman from the 1950's or 1960's. Was she creating something for her "hope chest"? Was this Tea Towel hanging on the oven door handle which she grabbed to wipe the tears of her children? Did this table runner take pride of place on the dining table when she moved into her dream home?

Most of the items I worked with had been discarded because the generation who created it, and possibly the generation after, had passed on and left it to be handled or managed or distributed by the younger family members who couldn't see the value in an "old towel" or a table cloth made of 100% cotton that required ironing and didn't reflect the contemporary style of today. I understand that, I also began to see a trend among this generation that surprised me.

I saw Pins and IG posts showing "Aunt Martha's apron" hanging on an ornate hook or "Grandma Winkler's favorite tea towel" draped over a cool old steel hanger. I could see that even if she didn't wear an apron in her own kitchen, and would not be likely to spend hours embroidering her own collection of towels, she could value the love and history that was passed down to her.

I use traditional steel scissors and rolling cutters, to shape the large pieces. Tiny scissors are essential when carefully trimming a piece that will be an applique or creating flowers out of ricrac. Last Christmas I made a sewing kit for my 7 year old grand daughter that contained scissors that were small enough to fit her hand (with a PINK handle!), plus little snippers to use while hand sewing. As well as buttons and thread and "fat quarters" to use to make what ever she can dream of!

Her birthday is coming up soon and I'm headed to their house for a visit. We'll make something together and even if she throws it away in a few months, the time we spend together and the love will be hers to keep as long as she lives. And me too!