Profile Picture by Victora Jenkinson.
I grew up in the greater Chicago area and with six siblings. I learned to sew in Girl Scouts. I attended college and lived in England for three years, which is where I met and married my husband. My family moved to the SC upstate in 2006. I work full-time and run my business part-time. You can visit me in person at local shows in and around the upstate.
My Grandma’s Apron - An excerpt from my memoirs:
My Grandma wore an apron to protect her dress. She only had a few dresses; so it was a way to make her dresses last longer. In those days getting a new dress was a rare thing as money was tight. It was easier to make a new apron, than a new dress.
Its pockets held special treats for her favorite grandchild visiting that day. It was used to play peek-a-boo with the newest grand-baby. It was wonderful for drying a granddaughter’s tears. Occasionally it was used for cleaning a grandson’s dirty face.
She used it as a potholder for taking her latest mouth watering made from scratch cuisine from the oven. Or wiping up spilled milk when the grand-kids were dunking the warm chocolate chip cookies she had just taken out of the oven. She would use it to shoo flies away from a cooling casserole.
She used it to carry a load of laundry outside and wiping the line before hanging the clothes to dry. She used it for carrying eggs and fussy chicks in from the chicken coop. Sometimes it was used to help the half-hatched eggs along when she gently placed them in her warming oven.
When company came her apron was the ideal hiding place for a shy grandchild. And for unexpected company it was used to dust the living room in a matter of seconds.
When the weather was cool she wrapped it around her arms for warmth. She would use it to wipe perspiration off her brow while tirelessly doing her chores on a hot and humid summer day. That was long before any kind of air conditioning. It was used to bring wood chips and kindling wood into the kitchen.
It carried all sorts of vegetables from Papaw’s garden. After the corn was husked, it carried the shucks out to the compost pile. She would use it to bring in fresh picked apples from the orchard.
When dinner was ready, she would wave it from the porch to call the men in for dinner; a welcomed sight to behold for Papaw after a long hot day working in the garden.
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Today most folks set them on the window sill to thaw.
Scientists have a hard time trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. But I don’t know of anyone ever catching anything from Grandma’s Apron except….love!!
With all its loving uses it will be a long time before someone invents something magical enough to replace My Grandma’s Apron.
Inspired by the poem; “Grandma’s Apron†written by Tina Trivett, Hartwell, GA; and from the other apron poems/stories on the internet that were inspired by Tina’s poem.
Tina we thank you!
Dedicated to all the loving apron wearing Grandma’s; past, present and future.
