cooking | Apron Memories

The Apron Book And Their Stories

On December 20, 2017 By EllynAnne In Blog

I am so fortunate to have a space in our home dedicated to just my apron world. With southern and western window exposure, the room light filled year around. Seven years ago I painted it a perfect deep yellow, and even on the chilliest days, with the sun and yellow walls, it feels warm and cozy.

But for sporadic attempts to keep the space tidy, it represents my habit of not putting anything away. Peruse a magazine source, find inspiration, and set it down; years of such a practice, and not to wonder the result.

The habitual habit of never putting things back in their place

What finally motivated an epic tidying was not my conscience nor Prince Charming’s eye rolling, but that all the pieces had fallen into place for promotional activity in conjunction with The Apron Book. With the support of the publisher, Andrews McMeel, Beth flew from her home to mine, where we were joined by Tracy Wahl, the producer of my 2006 NPR All Things Considered segment.

I had but days to “make it work.” Without an idea of how to begin, I just did. Loathe to hide away the collections I so love being surrounded by, I chose a selection to display. The remainder went into cupboards and bins and suitcases, hidden by the quilt and oil cloth covering tables. So I’d know at a glance what was in each storage point, I hung clues on the doors: a child’s apron designated children’s books and games; an apron with a tea towel embroidered with a lady reading a cookbook = cupboard of cookbooks; a vintage sewing manual….and so on. A selection of sewing patterns is lined up in a child’s valise, a picnic basket holds vintage black and white snapshots, pamphlets on food, etiquette and household tips peek out of perfectly sized make up cases. I was on a roll! And the end result is amazing and wonderful and joyous.

Organizing the collections seemed impossible, until the tactic began to make visual sense

Using pieces of my collections to hold like collectibles brought order to the room

The computer screen is tucked beneath the table until its needed

The filming of Beth and me chatting aprons was the gift of Dustin Hodges, a professional in the field and a best friend.

A happy hug after chatting for an hour about our apron journeys in cute aprons and fabulous heels

The next morning, Beth, Tracy and I discussed The Apron Book and why the apron remains relevant in the modern landscape of women’s choices. That discussion is a podcast, which you can listen to HERE:

Contribute your written apron story and pictures at apronmemories.com/stories
Share your apron story recordings and videos at facebook.com/apronmemories
#theapronbook on Instagram & Twitter

This collage is a pictorial summary of our gathering. So many smiles, hugs, tears and love, as the best journeys are.

A summary collage shares the smiles, hugs, tears and love

Find us throughout social media! And join the movement of apron love by tying one on…an apron, of course!

Gratefully, EllynAnne

About The Apron Book:

Warm and inviting, but (like an apron) quite practical, The Apron Book is a celebration of a great American icon. Apron enthusiast Ellynanne Geisel, who curated the traveling exhibit, Apron Chronicles, returns us to hearth and home in this updated edition of the award-winning book. In this paperback edition, EllynAnne reflects on the grassroots movement of apron love in a new introduction, and a new foreword by the former editor of Apronology magazine expounds on EllynAnne’s mantra that aprons don’t hold us back; they take us back because the connection to the past is a strong one.

The Apron Book showcases full-color photos of new and vintage aprons from Geisel’s vast collection, patterns for four basic apron styles and myriad variations, recipes, tips on collecting and preserving vintage aprons, and heart-tugging stories from the traveling apron exhibit. The book also explores the history and heyday of aprons and looks at the various roles aprons still play when worn in the kitchen, around the house, by the backyard grill, on the job, or for a special occasion.

Available To Order:

Order at Amazon.com

Order at Barnes & Noble

Order at Indiebound

Order at Booksamillion.com

Order at Andrews McMeel

THE APRON BOOK : Podcast #6 – Cristie Coffman

On October 22, 2017 By EllynAnne In Podcast

THE APRON BOOK : Podcast #6
Cristie Coffman is a professional caterer, a career that requires apron coverage. But the apron she holds most dear is from her childhood – bright yellow gingham with a flower pot shaped pocket, sewn for her by her doting Grandma Lily.

Everyone knows what an apron is and everyone has a story to share!

Listen:

» Right-click and download here (9.6MB / 3mins 50secs)

About The Apron Book:

Warm and inviting, but (like an apron) quite practical, The Apron Book is a celebration of a great American icon. Apron enthusiast Ellynanne Geisel, who curated the traveling exhibit, Apron Chronicles, returns us to hearth and home in this updated edition of the award-winning book. In this paperback edition, EllynAnne reflects on the grassroots movement of apron love in a new introduction, and a new foreword by the former editor of Apronology magazine expounds on EllynAnne’s mantra that aprons don’t hold us back; they take us back because the connection to the past is a strong one.

The Apron Book showcases full-color photos of new and vintage aprons from Geisel’s vast collection, patterns for four basic apron styles and myriad variations, recipes, tips on collecting and preserving vintage aprons, and heart-tugging stories from the traveling apron exhibit. The book also explores the history and heyday of aprons and looks at the various roles aprons still play when worn in the kitchen, around the house, by the backyard grill, on the job, or for a special occasion.

Available To Order:

Order at Amazon.com

Order at Barnes & Noble

Order at Indiebound

Order at Booksamillion.com

Order at Andrews McMeel

THE APRON BOOK : Podcast #2 – Judith Olson Gregory

On October 7, 2017 By EllynAnne In Podcast

THE APRON BOOK : Podcast #2 – Installation artist Judith Olson Gregory was seeking an object through which to explore the word ‘Grace’, when she received an apron that ultimately inspired an exhibit.

Contribute your written apron story and pictures at www.apronmemories.com/stories
Share your apron story recordings and videos at https://www.facebook.com/apronmemories/
#theapronbook on Instagram & Twitter

Listen:

» Right-click and download here (9.92MB / 4mins 9secs)

About The Apron Book:

Warm and inviting, but (like an apron) quite practical, The Apron Book is a celebration of a great American icon. Apron enthusiast Ellynanne Geisel, who curated the traveling exhibit, Apron Chronicles, returns us to hearth and home in this updated edition of the award-winning book. In this paperback edition, EllynAnne reflects on the grassroots movement of apron love in a new introduction, and a new foreword by the former editor of Apronology magazine expounds on EllynAnne’s mantra that aprons don’t hold us back; they take us back because the connection to the past is a strong one.

The Apron Book showcases full-color photos of new and vintage aprons from Geisel’s vast collection, patterns for four basic apron styles and myriad variations, recipes, tips on collecting and preserving vintage aprons, and heart-tugging stories from the traveling apron exhibit. The book also explores the history and heyday of aprons and looks at the various roles aprons still play when worn in the kitchen, around the house, by the backyard grill, on the job, or for a special occasion.

Available To Order:

Order at Amazon.com

Order at Barnes & Noble

Order at Indiebound

Order at Booksamillion.com

Order at Andrews McMeel

THE APRON BOOK: Podcast #1 – Apron Memories

On September 27, 2017 By EllynAnne In Podcast

New: THE APRON BOOK : Podcast #1 – Author EllynAnne Geisel, foreword contributor Beth Livesay and producer/interviewer Tracy Wahl, formerly of npr, chat about their connection to aprons, the continuing relevance of aprons in today’s world, and connecting to the past while moving forward.

Enjoy listening to the podcast!

» Right-click and download here (31.3MB / 27mins 47secs)

About The Apron Book:

Warm and inviting, but (like an apron) quite practical, The Apron Book is a celebration of a great American icon. Apron enthusiast Ellynanne Geisel, who curated the traveling exhibit, Apron Chronicles, returns us to hearth and home in this updated edition of the award-winning book. In this paperback edition, EllynAnne reflects on the grassroots movement of apron love in a new introduction, and a new foreword by the former editor of Apronology magazine expounds on EllynAnne’s mantra that aprons don’t hold us back; they take us back because the connection to the past is a strong one.

The Apron Book showcases full-color photos of new and vintage aprons from Geisel’s vast collection, patterns for four basic apron styles and myriad variations, recipes, tips on collecting and preserving vintage aprons, and heart-tugging stories from the traveling apron exhibit. The book also explores the history and heyday of aprons and looks at the various roles aprons still play when worn in the kitchen, around the house, by the backyard grill, on the job, or for a special occasion.

Available To Pre-Order:

Order at Amazon.com

Order at Barnes & Noble

Order at Indiebound

Order at Booksamillion.com

Order at Andrews McMeel

Julia Child and Me

On August 15, 2012 By EllynAnne In Blog

On June 22, 2002, I interviewed Julia Child at her home in Santa Barbara. After ten minutes of ringing the front doorbell, I timidly ventured round to the backyard to find her seated on a patio vibrant with plantings and comfy outdoor furniture. She greeted me with a hand wave and smile, gesturing that I should join her.

I came bearing gifts: an apron I’d sewn especially for Ms. Child and a bottle of champagne. Ms. Child unwrapped the apron – all ruffles and at least 10 sizes too small – held it up and in her distinctive voice said, “Oh, dearie, dainty doesn’t do in the kitchen.” Then she sweetly handed it back to me. I quickly produced hostess gift #2. Sliding the bottle from its bag, she rewarded this present with a nod and murmured notation that this gift she would not be returning.

Seated across from one another at a small cloth covered table, we talked while she ate a simple lunch of an unadorned hamburger patty and sipped a pint carton of milk through a little straw. We conversed about my apron journey, the storytellers whose apron memories I’d collected, and her personal apron story. In case my tape recorder failed to capture every syllable of her priceless recollection, I took down her words on a little notepad, utilizing a sort of frantic shorthand I hoped to God would later be decipherable.

Ms. Child told me that she hadn’t much experience in the kitchen nor had she ever worn an apron, until she met her husband. Newly married in 1949, they moved to France, where she tasted French food and knew right then she wanted to learn about French cooking. Following the tradition of the Cordon Bleu cooking school, she began wearing the chef-type blue denim apron with a towel draped over the waist ties. When Paul and I cooked together, he wore the same type apron, only folding the bib at the waist and hanging a towel from the apron pocket.

As soon as she began talking about her husband, sadness misted her face, and no longer was I sitting across from an icon; rather, I was in the presence of a woman who’d lost the love of her life. Paul and I always had breakfast and most of our meals with one another. After his retirement, we often ate at home in our kitchen. Upon his death in 1994, Paul and I had eaten together for almost fifty years. Fifty years.

Perhaps it was her sigh, or the controlled tidying of her cutlery, but in that instant she was my mother, also widowed and emotionally adrift without her prince charming. And as quickly, my nervousness left me and for the next hour, we conversed easily, like old friends.

With Ms. Child in the lead on a shiny blue walker with handle bars, hand brakes and a basket, we walked single file from the back patio through the house. Graciousness personified, she acquiesced to my request for a photo of her in the doorway of the kitchen – a miniature replica of the kitchen in the home she and her husband had lived in and now housed in the Smithsonian.

Tying on her apron, she perched on a stool and noted the wall-mounted microwave as more an annoyance than convenience. Kitchen chit chat with Julia Child. I was in heaven.

The digital recording of that interview has been in a fireproof box for a decade, so fearful am I of erasing it.

There’s over sixty minutes of conversation, revelation, poignant recollection, homey, personal advice and her words of wisdom, which I’ve integrated into my life. Julia Child was a teacher of more than cooking.

Since misplacing the key years ago, I’ve decided to just let that day stay as is: locked away from sight, but not of memory.

Julia Child’s apron story is published in THE APRON BOOK (Andrews McMeel, 2006) by EllynAnne Geisel.

Julia Child’s Apron Memory

On August 7, 2009 By EllynAnne In Blog

On June 22, 2002, I interviewed Julia Child about her apron memory.

How I came to be seated at a cloth covered patio table across from America’s most beloved cook is a whole other blog (tags: serendipity, friendship, largess).

I arrived bearing two gifts: an apron I’d sewn especially for Ms. Child and a bottle of expensive champagne. Ms. Child unwrapped the apron – at least 10 sizes too small and ruffly-edged – held it up and in her distinctive voice said, “Oh, Dearie, dainty doesn’t do in the kitchen.” Then she sweetly handed it back to me. I quickly handed her hostess gift #2, along with a jumbled sort of pre-happy-ninetieth-birthday wish. Sliding the bottle out of its bag, she rewarded this present with a nod and murmured notation that this was one gift she would not be returning. Thank God I’d brought a backup to the apron.

For the next hour, I sat with Ms. Child as she ate a simple lunch of an unadorned hamburger patty and a pint carton of milk, and we chatted about my apron journey and her apron memory.

As soon as she began talking about her husband, sadness misted her face, and no longer was I sitting across from an icon; rather, I was in the presence of a woman who’d lost the love of her life.

Paul and I always had breakfast and most of our meals with one another. After his retirement, we often ate at home in our kitchen. Upon his death in 1994, Paul and I had eaten together for almost fifty years. Fifty years.

Sitting across the table from Ms. Child, I watched as she tidied the cutlery on the plate. One day,I thought, I could be you…alone at a table, with memories of my prince charming as a luncheon companion.

Right then, I resolved to be grateful my husband comes home every day for lunch, to make his sandwich with love, to sit down at the table as he eats, and to abide Sports Center in the background as he recounts his morning at work. For one day, I may know of Julia Child’s loss and heartache.

The digital recording of that interview has been in a fireproof box for the past 7 years, so fearful have I been of taping over it. There’s over sixty minutes of conversation, revelation, poignant recollection, homey, personal advice and her words of wisdom, which I’ve integrated into my life…all fodder for a whole slew of blogs (tags: foreign, food, language, writing, cookbooks, celebrity, chef, teacher, hostess, wife, wisdom). Julia Child was a teacher of more than cooking.

xxea

Tie One On…an apron, of course!

Hey! 4 more celebratory Sunday Giveaways to come. Entry is easy – just sign up for the Apron Memories newsletter!