The Housewife's Uniform

It has been a little over two years since I have embraced the Housewife's uniform. The apron, that is. It has been a staple in our home since we were married, actually, I have always had an apron hanging around even before I was married. The first one I was given, was a white half apron with grey kitten print, hollies and Christmas bells. It belonged to my late great grandma, Margie. There had always been something charming and nostalgic about them. To me, aprons meant warmth, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, lavender Pine Sol and the comfort only mom could surround you with. They, as cheesy at it might sound, symbolize love.

On those ominous house cleaning days, with my trusty yoga pants, a less Ava dirtied shirt, my favorite lemon print half apron, I begin to tie my sneakers as Ava toddles up to me. She knows what this uniform means. She knows mommy is getting down to business. So, Ava gets down to business. She then precedes to disperse all her toys, clothes and yes, even dirty diapers out of her diaper pail throughout the house. And, not to mention, her crackers she steps on and crushes into the carpet, just for fun.

Since my fascination with aprons, and the fact that after a year of contemplating buying a sewing machine, I finally broke down and had my husband buy me one, a Singer. It is the prettiest sewing machine I have ever seen. I hadn't sewn for over a decade since I took several sewing classes in college. What finally pushed me to the realization that yes, in fact I needed a machine was Ava's hand stitched Pilgrim dress for her Thanksgiving photos. I LOVED sewing her little dress and I know as a housewife and mommy, there will be countless school plays and recitals in which I will need to sew costumes for.

My first project was an apron for my niece Moriah's 13th birthday, I unfortunately didn't get enough pictures of. The front of the apron consisted of purple gingham, an iPod mini pocket and a larger pocket with her name hand stitched on it in pale purple thread. Purple is both of our favorite color so I had a ton of fun making this apron.

My second apron was for my friend Caroline. I had bought an apron book and flipping through it she fell in love with this cocktail number. The fabric in the book was a gold brocade pattern with flowers. She loves cheetah print and I had luckily found the same exact fabric as the sample, but in the print she wanted. This apron is able to be worn on both sides, with black sheer fabric covering one of the sides and the same little pocket with a tailored bow on each side of the apron. I had fun making the little bows and I am very, very happy how this apron came out. I almost didn't want to give it to her, but keep it for myself.

The most recent apron I made was for our friend, Jessie. Jessie and Jason Hall have been friends of ours for quite some time, they've been married for about a year now and there son, Josiah is about to turn one. When we were over for dinner, I brought Jessie this apron and Aaron brought Jason a six pack of refreshing beverages. I thought the black buttons would fit her style, and the black ribbon edging complement it nicely.

The next apron I want to make is for another friend of ours. She recently had a baby boy and is now a housewife, learning things for the first time that a lot of us were raised doing. I know how hard and frustrating it is at times to be at home, all day taking care of a baby and the home. So, I wanted to do something that might, I don't know, help solidify her calling and hopefully make her smile. I think her favorite color is green and I absolutely love that green snake print fabric, so I think I'm going to do something with that and maybe ribbon, I love ribbon. I'm not sure yet. I just need to wait until I finish Ava's Easter dress and Josiah's pirate monster for his birthday. I sure hope his monster turns out. It looks good in my head but getting it from my head to reality, might not work.