Friday, October 18, 2013

One can never have enough buttons! and Trims and rick rack and lace and "stuff"

My button holder....just some of the buttons I have....
I have 16 drawers and they are filled with trims and buttons and good stuff...I am not taking a photo because they are messy but,,,
On this pretty white bin there are many carded buttons...vintage and collectible...
The bin on the top is filled with all kinds of loose buttons and the bin on the bottom is packages of buttons (LOTS) of various colors and catagories....I have packages of buttons with a couple hundred of many many colors and I have containers of theme buttons and coat buttons, and bakelite and celulid and all kinds ....
    My Dad used to do this as a hobby- he would go out to garage sales on Fridays and Saturdays and hunt down buttons and fun things for my quilts. He bought hundreds of them and it was so much fun for both of us.
I plan to do a quilt this year called "The Button Man" and want to do him running with trails of buttons in between the houses....I think he would like that. :0)
     When cleaning my sewing room my friends told me I can never ever buy another button or fat quarter of fabric....
We'll see. :0)
    
The black and white drawers on the right have 1940' buttons in there and they are wonderful and fun.
The cherry bin on the bottom is all carded and special buttons for special quilts or projects....Love what is in there!
OK so these don't look so tidy but they are awesome and fun to go through...lots of German glass and Susan Clarke buttons- I LOVE her things. If you do not know who she is you should look her up.
In drawers I have milagros for my Southwest quilts and some day of the dead things and some cracker jack toys and some charms and some beads that go on top of buttons and some doll buttons and some 3" buttons and some large buttons that look like tires....it would take a long time to see what all I have and this is the fun of it! Will take some close up's of fun things soon.
I may start selling some of these off with rick rack for fun and to bring some cash in to help my husband's bills. My Dad would like to know that though he is not here he is still helping us. He was such a nice man. Alot like my husband.
This little Mexico wall hanging is a nice sample of what I use buttons for. The buttons hanging on the tongues of my folk art bird are from South America and when I teach this class in wool, I offer a set of these awesome buttons in all kind of shapes and beautiful colors.
I have six wool workshops I am teaching as well as the wreath class that I am now doing in beautiful wools. The feel and look is so pretty.
My dear friends Sandy Fisher and Wendy Price gave me this platter. Many people have sent me cards with this saying since I love tiaras and wear them from time to time. This sits in my office and makes me smile daily. It is nice to have friends who stand by you and are kind and like family. Really I feel like of like quilters are cousins...it doesn't seem enough to just say they are friends. Do you know what I mean?
    Last week was a tough week for me and it was my friends who wrote little notes or emails and made me smile. It is nice to know that I am not alone and that others understand. It is nice to be able to ptay for friends and their loved ones too as it gets you to think of others which makes YOU feel better.
I go to Houston for the cow show next week. They are calling it "MOOston." Haha.
Hope to see you there!
Hope you find some buttons YOU like. Stay tuned for a few photos of how I use buttons on quilts...they are so fun. Give me a day or two please.
 

8 comments:

  1. You have a fun collection and I love your idea for a button quilt, what a great memory.
    I always save the buttons from clothes that I cut up and the wool jackets, great for prim pieces and eyes.

    Debbie

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  2. It is our passions that give us pleasure. Whether it be buttons, quilts, family, friends, children. Doesn't really matter what the passion is, only that we have some.

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  3. I cannot imagine so many buttons, Mary Lou! What a marvelous collection indeed!!!

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  4. Your button quilt sounds like it's going to be a fun, fun, fun project!!

    I have tin boxes of buttons from my Mom and my Aunt - thank you for the inspiration to make a quilt with them!

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  5. What a stellar platter your friend gave you! If you did save the world, what a wonderful, colorful, happy place you would make it for everyone. The selfish meanies would have to sit in the corner until they learned to play nicely.

    Love, LOVE your buttons and the kind and generous daddy you had who bought you so many of them! What fun! My button collection pales in comparison to your bazillion glorious buttons, but I do have my mother's buttons and those that belonged to my grandma, plus some I got on eBay, some I bought for myself, and ...!

    Hope the week ahead is better for Mark and for you. Sending hugs!

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  6. Have fun in Mooston. I love buttons and have been holding on to a jar my grandmother cut off her housedresses. They found a home on my SanDiego Memories quilt (Home Sweet Home pattern) which seemed appropriate since the quilt has all my husband's and my addresses where we lived in San Diego the last 65 and 68 years and I lived with my grandma for 18 of those years.

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  7. What a collection of "good stuff". Hope this is a better week. Every time I come to your blog I smile. I also think of another cow quilt idea.....I must make one and get
    on with these ideas.....you are contagious in a good way. Love to you and Mark on
    this journey we call life.

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