Her Checkered Apron....Mother's Day 2014

My mother was a seamstress. She loved her old treadle sewing machine, but when Dad got her a new Singer portable...she really went to town, sewing. I can remember being in bed late at night, and hearing the whizzing of the machine... and wonder what she was making now? She and my Aunt Helen had an upholstery business. They made slip covers, draperies, bedspreads etc for many people. They were so busy in those days. When my aunt died and Mom was getting old, she started making smaller things. When a new baby was coming in our family, her receiving blankets were a gift to treasure. She would pick the finest flannelet and make them bigger than the ones you could buy in the store. She often trimmed them with pretty rick rack and other fancy trims. The new mom would open this bundle and be delighted. I think that these along with aprons were her favorite things to make. I have a couple of her aprons....one is hanging next to the fridge in my kitchen right now. I hung it there to have just a little bit of my Mom in my kitchen. I use it quite a bit. I found this poem about an apron in an old Ideals Mother's Day book...here it is. 

Her Checkered Apron by Linnea Bodman

Stored in a trunk in the attic,

Forgotten for many a year,

I found Mother's big checkered apron,

So familiar to me and so dear.

I still see her sitting and peeling,

The peaches and pears that she canned,

Then screwing the lids on glass jars,

With a corner of it in her hand.

Made from a square of checked cotton,

Practical, simple, and plain,

It was handy on many occasions,

And served her again and again.

Not only while cooking and cleaning,

But also for carrying things

Such as apples or kindling or kittens,

Or flowers that summertime brings.

Or gathering eggs from the hen house,

Shooing away a mad bee,

Flicking the crumbs from the table,

Or shining an apple for me.

And two of its comforting functions,

Were drying a crying child's eyes,

And wrapping her up in it's vastness,

While she cuddled away her hurt sighs.

Now back it will go where I found it,

It's edges all neatly aligned,

But the memories stored in it's sweet folds

Will endure for all time in my mind.

Hope you enjoyed this.....Happy Mother's Day to every woman who has ever loved a child.

Balisha