The "Mother in the Kitchen" or "Prayer Lady" by Enesco has become a hot collectible item over the years.  These wonderful ladies were sold in small town department stores, gift shops and five and dimes starting from 1956 into the 1960's. 

    I started collecting  "Prayer Ladies"  a few years ago after I received a pink napkin holder from my Great Grandmother's estate.  The beautiful lady fascinated me and I wanted more.  My collection has grown and I see many items for sale on Ebay and still can't help myself from buying more.  For the new or even for the more experienced collector I decided to write a short guide to hopefully give more incite to what is available in this wonderful line.

    On Ebay you will find pieces of this wonderful collection listed on a regular basis.  Keyword search:  Prayer Lady,  Mother in the Kitchen or Enesco Prayer.  The listings are not consistent so try all of them.

    These beautiful ladies are kitchen and household items and were purchased to be used.  A basic description: 

    The "Mother in the Kitchen" line consists of: 

    The most common color is Pink and these ladies are the easiest to find.  Other colors they are available in:

• Blue with white trim - not as common
• White with blue trim - harder to find
• Yellow with brown or green trim -harder to find
• Turquoise with white and she has puffy sleeves - The most elusive
• Rose white and she has puffy sleeves - RARE she is not a variation of pink

    The head of the Prayer Lady is very easily broken, as you can see by the number of items that have the neck repaired. Broken and repaired pieces  don't have collectors value with the exception of the Prayer Lady Planter, but can fill in a collection until a perfect piece is found. Use care when handling your collection.

    Other bits of information about individual pieces:

• The Ring Holder - The crown she is holding is painted in Gold and Red.  The Red color easily washes away!!  Therefore you will find many white crowns, because the color has simply been washed off.  Also the crown points can easily be broken as seen with many pieces.
• The Egg Timer - The egg timer was originally held on the its lady by a piece of Elastic which made turning the timer easy.  Many of the egg timers I see for sale either have ribbon, a twist tie or other type of material in its place.  Simply the Elastic wore out from use.
• The Scouring Pad holder - There are three different inside messages in the basket.  Scouring Pad, three four dot flowers or a gold label that says, "Use my basket for holding soaps, scouring pads, etc", if there is nothing it is because the label has probably been washed off.
• The Spoon Storage - The circular slots that hold the spoons are easily chipped and a piece that was used will probably have chips in this area.
• The Cookie Jar - Many have repaired necks and chips around the inside ring of the jar from use.

    Hard to find pieces:

• Cookie Jar in Blue with white trim or White with blue trim
• Sugar Bowl and Creamer any colors - note there are two different prayers so don't be surprised if you find two different versions!!
• Sprinkle Bottle any color
• Flower Pot - Very difficult to find in any condition!!  This piece is often broken and finding a perfect planter is extremely difficult.
  
• Canister sets
• Picture Frame
• Candle Holders - Very hard to find
• Turquoise or Rose Puffed Sleeve napkin holder or salt and pepper shakers

    Pieces I have not listed or made reference to, can be found in "Mother in the Kitchen and other prayer pieces" by Donna Kopish.  This book is available on Ebay and is a wonderful guide for the collector of these marvelous ladies.