It seems the apron theme in my life has come around again.

Almost exactly one year ago I was hanging a two-woman show with an apron theme at the TraillWorks Gallery, with owner and fine painter Jennie Traill Schaeffer. We called it “Two Sides to Every Story” and we both used the iconography of the apron to express our individual perceptions of “Women’s Work”.

That was a very exciting time for me – not quite a solo show, but close! It was a wonderful opportunity.

As it happens, my large quilt from that show, “Laundry Day”, will get another airing this Fall. I shipped it out this week for the “New Legacies: Contemporary Art Quilts” show in Fort Collins, Colorado. This year the show will take place in their newly built gallery. Along with the new gallery they have updated the name of the exhibit. It was formerly known as “Fabric of Legacies”. I like the new name – more modern. I wish I lived close enough to see the new gallery space and the quilt exhibit.

Here is the post that I wrote last year about the process of making “Laundry Day”.

So what should appear in my email inbox this week but a picture of a memorable apron? My brother found it as he was cleaning out some drawers at the old family summerhouse. A little worse for wear, for sure! But all of us ‘kids’ remember it well. It was (one of) my Dad’s aprons. My brother has been known to throw out old stuff like that, unlike some of us others in the family who hold onto just about anything (hence, having a nearly 50-year-old, moth eaten apron still in the drawer!) But since my family is all on board with my apron obsession, he knew that he had better hold onto it. Thanks Chas!

Here is a picture of my Dad wearing the red apron while carving the Christmas turkey in 1967.

At some point Dad’s carving apron got upgraded to what we fondly call the “Dead Duck” apron. That must be why the red apron got downgraded to the summer house. One of my other brothers has the “Dead Duck” apron and sent it to me, on loan, for last year’s ‘Apron Sharing Event’ at TraillWorks. It makes me ridiculously happy that these aprons still exist!

I find it interesting that I and my sibs have more vivid apron memories of my Dad than of my Mom. He was ahead of his time!

Here’s a picture of my Mom in an apron I do remember, but haven’t found again. Maybe it will turn up too! Who knows?

Clearly I’m not over my fascination with aprons. I still have a box full of tiny aprons that I made last year for my quilts. Perhaps it’s time to revisit the apron theme . . . . . . . . .

In any case, it was fun this week to recall many fond apron memories.

Until next time -

MCH