Unfinished apron with Ballerina.

I forgot all about this one! I was in the process of deleting photos from my PC when I saw this and thought I'd better check and see if I'd posted it here. I hadn't! I did mention it on Patra's Place - it is the apron that LeeAnn included in her pack of linens for me. The stitching is all complete - the apron just needs to be cut out, hemmed with bias binding, and straps sewn on. It'll only take five minutes...yeah, sure.

Another unique design: an ice-skater!

Aprons and books about aprons.

I never cease to be surprised by the designs that pop up on aprons. This lady might have been me 200 years ago!

...and a close-up

It is incredible what you find when you go looking on Amazon.com. Type in any subject, and there are bound to be dozens of books about it. I read about these books on another blog dedicated to aprons, and finally decided I had to have them. I had lunch with two friends today, who are very understanding about my passion for linens of all kinds, but they raised their eyebrows when they saw these books. "What would anyone find to write about aprons??" Well, there are lots of photos of course, but a lot of fascinating history and information too... fascinating to apron lovers only, I suppose..

Some old aprons from Hubby's Mum!

Ken's Mum has been cleaning out some more cupboards and found these aprons stuffed into a drawer. She thinks she made most of them, and had forgotten she had kept them! She was probably going to use them for dusters until I came along and begged her not to throw anything out!! These two pictures were taken tonight when I brought them home and laid them out on the kitchen floor. They are all half aprons as you can see, and will have to be well soaked and pressed to bring them back to their former 'glory'! I might have to alter the title of my blog to "Patra's Aprons" as most of these are not actually embroidered...nah, I'll leave it alone!

As you can see, they will all need a good soak before I iron them and photograph them again to put on here individually. Notice the apron at the bottom right corner, with the coloured bands. It is pleated - I've never seen a pleated apron in my life!
Don't you just love this one! Right out of the 1950's!

More aprons, a variety of subjects.

Isn't this sweet! "Are you coming out to play with me?" one little dog seems to be asking the other!
How often do you see an apron with a teapot stitched on it? Not often enough! This is lovely - very appropriate for serving tea and cake to your family and friends!
This full apron has great sentimental value for me. One of my home care clients made it when she was a school girl (about 1930)and told me she has worn it often. But this lady always takes great care of her clothes, and even this apron has been well preserved. She said her daughter and grandchildren weren't interested in it. Their loss!

The design on this apron makes me think of Paris, for some reason. The horse and cart outside a cafe just looks French! I have no idea where it originated, as it was an eBay win.

Flowers in a basket with a white ribbon in satin stitch.
Oh this is a cutie! One of the prettiest gingham* half aprons I have seen, it has been pleated, and the cross stitch sections are surrounded by lace.
*This isn't traditional gingham - it is another type of material that resembles gingham, and is often used to embellish in the same way.
I am so pleased to read everyone's comments on this blog. It sounds like you are all enjoying seeing my apron collection; I am certainly very happy to make it available to so many people online. The idea of an online museum that was suggested to me some time ago appears to be taking off!

Some more of my aprons.

A few more aprons, which don't fit into any of the categories I have set up here for the others...What's the point of putting 'labels' on them here if nothing shows up on the blog? Or am I missing something?

One of several gingham half aprons embellished with cross stitch and ric-rac.
Detail on the pocket.
My friend Helen gave this to me for Christmas a few years ago. She found it at an opshop in Violet Town, in rural Victoria.
This doesn't need any detailed explanations - everyone knows the Willow Pattern from somewhere!
Vine leaves and grapes; this would be good to wear at a wine tasting!

Apron from around 1930-40 - what do you think?

This arrived from rural Victoria yesterday, and I haven't washed or ironed it yet. I was so excited I just had to photograph it immediately!