G a r d e n M o t h e r: Studio for Story People in Decorah, Iowa

One's Junk is Another's Treasure

vintage aprons with stories to tell
Audubon bird botanical prints
old blue fruit jars with zinc lids
my mother's handwritten notes to herself
colorful McCoy pots
vintage 50's floral tableclothes
my greatgrandmother's church circle recipe book
photos of wrinkled old women doing their chores
funky old lamps with elegant new lampshades
mismatched wooden chairs
concrete garden urns
50's christmas decorations and lights
hammered aluminum serving pieces
brown transferware dishes
metal birdcages
rusty gates
garden tools
flower frogs
ornate plaster frames
botanical prints
landscape oil paintings
mantel clocks

Aprons - memories from Mackey Church Ladies' Circle

I always had one for "good"; one for everyday.
We pulled up the corners and the center hem to make 3 pockets to stash toys, whatever, on a cleaning sweep through the house...
This was made from handkerchiefs bought at the 5 and Dime.
This was made by my mother, then passed along to me.
The women in my life have been wearing aprons all their lives. At work and home, everyday of their lives, so I threw them all away!
Mother Mackey always wore her apron inside out...when she spotted a visitor coming up the lane, she would turn it around to the "clean" side
I sewed these aprons late night while waiting for my son to come home...
I received this apron for serving at weddings, funerals, you name it!
I picked out grandma's old apron to remember her after she died. This was her favorite; she wore it everyday.
All my old aprons are locked away in a trunk and I lost the key, but I know they're in there...