Nostalgia - Apron Collection by Jean Adler
 
Jean Adler, a musician, mother, and wife in Monticello, Wisconsin shares her apron collection with The Dining Room at 209 Main:
My apron collection was inspired by one worn by my grandmother.  It was embroidered with the saying, "Never Trust a Skinny Cook."  Born in 1903, Grandma Alice was a young mother at the height of the Great Depression.  Like all women of meager means she prepared meals with the few items that were in her pantry.  It was often said of grandma, "She could make a shoe taste good."
I don't recall either of my grandmothers not wearing an apron when they were in the kitchen.  It was a habit born of necessity.  However, aprons served more than one purpose.  Pockets were catchalls for clothes pins, produce gathered in the garden, and sewing supplies.  Aprons could also be an "instant" dust cloth.  But first and foremost, aprons kept your dress clean.  Anyone who bakes and cooks knows that these are messy jobs.  In a day when a woman owned but a handful of dresses they needed to stay clean as long as possible.

If you have an apron whose age you are unsure of,
this chart will give you a few clues:

 
20's
30's
40's
50's
60's
COLOR White Muted More Color Brights Brown
DESIGN Long Close-Fitting Close-Fitting Flared Varied
FABRIC Sheer Cotton
Lawn
Flour, sugar
grain sacks
Sacks
Organdy
Gingham
Organdy
Varied
left-over
dresses
TRIM Cutwork
Drawnwork
Embroidery
Bias Tape
Lace
Bias Tape
Lace
Rickrack
Pompoms
Sequins
Beads
Embroidery
Rickrack
Bias Tape
Lace

Photos  in the display used by permission:
APRON MEMORIES by EllynAnne Geisel, Andrew McMeel Publishing, 2006.

 
Ruth Knight Sybers
Knitter's Treat
Monticello, WI 53570

www.209main.com - Textiles - current and past exhibits at The Dining Room

knitterstreat@wekz.net - to join e-mail list for announcements of knitting workshops/new exhibits at The Dining Room at 209 Main

knitterstreat@wekz.net - to order patterns, books, Vivian Hoxbro kits, yarn, etc. 

Annie Modesitt workshop - March 25,26,27
Joan Schrouder - June 11,12,13, 2007

 
As always, a heartfelt thank you to Rhoda Braunschweig who plans and 
David Braunschweig who assists in "hanging" each exhibit.

Photos by Lori Manning
Copyright © 2007.
Web Designs by Lori

The Dining Room at 209 Main

Current Menu

Past Displays:
TEN YEARS OF TEXTILE EXHIBITS - Ruth Knight Sybers
SILVER THREADS -- Lee Ann Kleeman
Point of View: thread-work by Beth Blahut
Latvian Textiles
HANDKERCHIEFS
Hooked Rugs by Ellie Beck
ELIZABETH ZIMMERMANN
JOYCE MARQUESS CAREY
AESOP'S FABLES
First Knitting Invitational
Weaving and the Structo Loom
Valentina Devine Creates
JAPANESE TEXTILES -- OLD  AND NEW
Wearable Art
Moving Weft
Men Who Knit
Quilts by the Thursday Friends
WEAVING WITH SEWING THREAD
HISTORIC MONTICELLO WOOLEN MILL
Katherine Pence Inspired by Everything
WHY DO I SPIN?
THE EARLY KNITTED WORKS OF JOYCE WILLIAMS
EMBROIDERY - the late Ellen Scheidler
QUILTS OF MONTICELLO
23 HATS BY ESTHER AND OLGA
FROM GRANDMA'S TRUNK
JEAN NORDLUND - Ewe Hues
NAVAJO RUGS Weavings - Fran Potter
KNITTED LACE
SOCKS
FIRST SHOW Knitting - Ruth Sybers, Wall hanging - Kathy LaBeil