Aprons, Aprons, Aprons

About a year ago, I picked up a publication called "apronology" by Stampington & Company. I have been a fan of Stampington publications, and this one seemed so interesting. The magazine features dozens of aprons that were painted, elaborately embellished, and made from upcycled materials. I thought maybe I would make an apron.

Then last spring, while driving from upstate New York to Texas (I was driving back with my son from college), we stopped in Bardstown, Kentucky, which is in the middle of bourbon country. We discovered a modest antique store. It was there I bought my first piece of feedsack fabric. What a great start for an apron, I thought.

Back in San Antonio, I took that piece of feedsack, shopped for fabric that would match, and dug through my box of buttons and laces to find the perfect embellishments. I was getting hooked on the process of creating aprons. I sewed the apron (I hadn't sewed anything for years), and it turned out perfect! I was really hooked then, because the apron turned out just the way I had pictured in my mind (my crafts don't always turn out that way!).

Shown below is my first apron.



I made another one, and then another one, and then another one! The most fun I have making these aprons is the thrill of the hunt for materials. I am finding wonderful fellow Etsians who have beautiful feedsack and vintage fabrics. Today I went to one of favorite San Antonio antique stores, Back Alley Antiques at Artisan's Alley, and sorted through a box of old doilies and laces searching for apron embellishments.

Pictured below are some of my other creations:



The reverse side of the apron shown above:



I love the cheery colors of this apron. They remind me of cherries and blueberries!


This Thanksgiving apron lovers everywhere will make or purchase breads, wrap the bakery goods in an apron, and give them to someone who needs a lift up during the holiday season. I have included a link to "National Tie One On Day" to the right. Please visit the sites to find out more about how you can "Tie One On" this holiday season!

More aprons!







I had been considering opening another Etsy shop. I knew I wanted to have items that were tied to the past in some way. Well, here I was with these aprons, and I decided that they were perfect for the first items in my shop. Please visit my new new shop, Summer's Place (named for my youngest granddaughter, Summer). Come back often to find more treasures!

It is funny how many of my posts somehow lead back to my mom. She has been gone for many years now, but I still think of her often. She always wore aprons, and would make little aprons for me, too. I think that my new love of aprons connects me to her somehow.

Everything Old is New Again

I turned 54 in December. Not really a milestone birthday, but for me, there was something about this birthday that made me take stock about where I had been and what I wanted for my future. I wanted my future to be more relaxed, more peaceful, more giving, more artistic.

So, I made a decision to look at the world in a different light. I decided to look at everyday and overlooked objects and consider their past and think about what their future could be. And if I could, I wanted to muster my creative abilities and be part of their future.

My son gave me a very special gift for Christmas-his old camera, a Canon Rebel. He is studying photography at Rochester Institute of Technology and had outgrown the camera. Lucky me. I am challenged by its complexity (it really isn't that complex--I am just photographically challenged!), but I am working hard at learning how to use it. I am shooting photos of ordinary objects and will post my photos to this blog. At first I worried about how amateurish my photos are. But considering my resolution to be more relaxed, I have decided that my photos, no mater how amateur or primitive, chronicle where I am today. Time and practice (and input from my followers) will help me become a better photographer of the world around me. And, ike me, my photos are not perfect. But I think that is what makes them (and me) special.

So here is my first shots of seeing the beauty in the ordinary.

Travelers on Interstate 35 just north of San Antonio do a double-take when they see the giant armadillo standing guard at the entrance to Bussey's Flea Market. Some are tempted and turn around to enter the world where tables and shops overflow with things old and new. Bussey's has been there for as long as I remember, and I have been there many times. But I always stayed on the perimeter of the market on my visits. This time, I ventured into the heart of the market. I had no idea there was so much more to see. One store was filled with vintage kitchenware. Another had stained glass windows removed from a house in England. Another had dozens of pairs of lovingly worn cowboy boots.

I photographed a shop with wall-to-wall barrels filled with golf clubs. The clubs were arranged in a way that reminded me of flowers displayed in buckets at the neighborhood grocer's. I wondered how many ended up here as a result of wives who gave their husband the ultimatum, "It's me or golf!" I wondered how many clubs weren't here because the husband chose golf over the wife. I thought about how some of these clubs would be bought by wives who would learn to play because it "if you can't beat them, join them."



I love rust. I think it is because I am getting a bit rusty, so I can empathize with the patina. These stars aren't vintage, but they are rusty, so I photographed them. I was shooed away by the booth owners for taking pictures of their goods. I don't quite understand why. Maybe for the same reason I don't like to be photographed--I feel like all of my "rust" (translate:wrinkles!) show too prominently.