I thought that this week we would look at one thing that all young ladies should put into their hope chest but even be wearing it now and that is an apron!   I know at first when the thought of aprons came to me at the age of about 13 I thought it was so silly and only moms and grandma’s wore those, but not someone young like me (I was not too fond of cooking and baking at the time either)!  Our culture has not just downgraded the usefulness of the hope chest, but even aprons to an extent!  Now, they are starting to come back and almost everyone now wants to own one, but how many of those ladies actually wear it for what it is truly used for or just want to have it as long as it is “in” fashion?  In the prairie days, they were worn practically all day as they were constantly working on things in the kitchen and they would even use them while doing outside work as well such as gardening, collecting eggs, and such and would have special aprons for all the different kinds of work around the home (inside, and outside)!   To keep the clothes that they had (normally only one or two outfits) from getting stained and dirty,  the apron was the best item to keep them clean.  I have now come to understand the importance of aprons and have even come to appreciate them so much as I am now the owner of a few myself and wear them every time I am working in the kitchen (which is very often now), and I try to remember to use it in the garden as well!  This is one item I would encourage all you young ladies to use often, and to even put one or two in your hope chest for your future home!  You can never have too many aprons!  I am so blessed that I will be able to pass this special item down to my future daughters (Lord willing).

A neat tip if making an heirloom apron: Make the ties (or the whole thing) with an old sheet from an old relative (Great grandmother, etc) this gives a wonderful heirloom twist to an apron!

Here is one I did for my cousin’s new bride with the heirloom twist for the ties, and neck! You can see photos, and read more about it HERE!

Here is a couple photos of an apron I finished for myself not too long ago! next time I think I will add pockets, as I always seem to need them when I am cooking/baking! 

Side #1

Side #2

To end my post I would like to share a neat poem I found a few days ago that I thought fit so well with my topic for today…..

Grandma’s Apron
by Tina Trivett

The strings were tied, It was freshly washed, and maybe even pressed.
For Grandma, it was everyday to choose one when she dressed.
The simple apron that it was, you would never think about;
the things she used it for, that made it look worn out.

She may have used it to hold, some wildflowers that she’d found.
Or to hide a crying child’s face, when a stranger came around.
Imagine all the little tears that were wiped with just that cloth.
Or it became a potholder to serve some chicken broth.

She probably carried kindling to stoke the kitchen fire.
To hold a load of laundry, or to wipe the clothesline wire.
When canning all her vegetables, it was used to wipe her brow.
You never know, she might have used it to shoo flies from the cow.

She might have carried eggs in from the chicken coop outside.
Whatever chore she used it for, she did them all with pride.
When Grandma went to heaven, God said she now could rest.
I’m sure the apron that she chose, was her Sunday best.

God bless,

Miss. Antoinette K.

Well, tomorrow is my Dad’s 50th Birthday, so I wonder what we will do for him?  Tea anyone!

Love in Christ, Antoinette K.