Wednesday, April 20, 2011

THE APRON BOOK






As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been reading a lot lately. My renewed interest in vintage housekeeping lead me to this book, also a recommendation from the Mary Jane's Farm forums. Aprons are one of the new hot topics and collectibles. There are numerous books that have appeared regarding aprons and the fabric stores are full of apron patterns.



This book is for anybody that loves to wear aprons or just loves aprons period. It has multiple patterns for making different styles of aprons but the biggest draw of this book for me were the stories associated with the aprons. Each style of apron has a story of a person who was impacted by someone wearing an apron. Did you know there use to be specially designed aprons for baby's bath time? It was made from chenille or terrycloth and the mother could wrap the baby up in her apron to dry off as soon as she took the tyke out of the tub. So practical! There were cleaning aprons to store rags and cleaning supplies in, not to mention keeping their dresses clean while cleaning. There were also laundry aprons with pockets to keep the clothespins in (I want one of these). There were pictures and stories of aprons that people had saved from grandmothers or mothers long since gone.



For those that enjoy aprons and like a homemade one but don't have the time or knowledge of how to sew I can highly suggest Dave & Grace's Country Aprons . I bought one from them in December and enjoyed wearing it through the holidays. They also have a blog about their aprons and farm called Country Grace Home. I think this may be my next apron whether I buy it from Dave & Grace or find the fabric and make a similar one myself. I love the chickens and sunflowers.








SISTERS ON THE FLY



With the wet, damp weather of late I've been reading constantly. One of the books I recently read that I enjoyed so much is Sisters on the Fly. I heard about this book on the Mary Jane's Farm forums as many of the members of Sisters on the Fly are also members of MJF - no surprise really. I absolutely have fallen in love with these wonderful little vintage trailers that they've brought back to life.


Sisters on the Fly started with two sisters (Maurrie & Becky) and their mother (Mazie) and expanded from there. The name came from the fact that they all love to fly fish. I think the website said they currently have almost 2000 registered members with multiple subgroups in each part of the US and Canada. The Sisters take their glamped up campers that they've rescued and customized on camping trips which frequently include fishing expeditions and horseback riding. They even have a Cowgirl University camp where you can go for a week and learn to herd cattle and brand them. These are the girls that are fishing in dresses or skirts (if they chose) with a fishing pole in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. They have Cowgirl Proms at the end of the trips. They also enjoy antique shopping. Oh, in case it hasn't been obvious yet, these trips are typically girl only trips. They travel together and stay together so no Sister gets left behind.


I was raised camping from the time I was probably about 5 or 6, which is probably why I was drawn to this book. We used to live in a popup camper from the time school got out until school started again every summer. We started with a straight sided popup (no wings) with my mom, stepfather, brother and myself and then they traded that up to a larger popup with wings. I grew up spending my summers swimming, watching the beavers in the pond, and sitting around a fire every night. I currently only have a tent for camping but I try to glamp up tent camping as much as I can to make it more comfortable. We occasionally get the comments about the supplies we bring on a camping trip, especially the futon, but after they see the tent set up we get the "Dang, you guys know how to camp!" comments. Hopefully we'll be able to purchase a camper in the next couple years as tent camping is getting a little rough nowadays even with a futon. A bathroom is an absolute requirement too.