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Saturday February 14, 2009
Pandora's box
Actually - it's my Mother's button box.
Similar to Pandora's box in that, at the bottom, there is hope.
Hope that one day I may find the perfect project on which to use my favourite gems.
My digression into reviewing my buttons came because of a book that Sheila (George's Mother) found for me. It was on sale as an ex-Public-Library book, and, as usual, it was a lovely thought. In fact, it is a real collectors book, (rather than a showy coffee-table book), being a kind of glossary of button types. This is a completely new area for me, and as the book is somewhat dated, it is talking about really rare or old buttons rather that "collectible" buttons - which as my own collection demonstrates - includes plastic and more modern offerings. Anyway, I read it from cover to cover - sadly I fear, retaining little of the information and facts therein - and regretting that the illustrations are not in colour.
So here are some of my personal favourites from my Mothers box.
Posted by Christina at 1:46 PM. Category: Crafts
Comments
My boys love to play with my button box - as I used to with my nana's button box. My buttons are ones accumulated in my life and mostly represent my dressmaking history. "Oh yes - my orange coat, my brown tweed suit, etc etc"
I just knitted a hat with buttons off - you could show off a really nice button like that - for example the green rectangular one.
Posted by: Alison on February 15, 2009 8:29 PM
My Mother was not so much into dressmaking, but because of 1940s "make do and mend" everyone would take buttons off their clothes before they were discarded (no charity shops in those days - and most people wore their clothes to the extent that they would not be very useful to anyone else...).
So I remember her outfits with the buttons - for example, the orange "roses" were on a 1950s black and orange thick tweed coat.
Although she obviously had not reused the buttons in the box, I think keeping buttons is a good idea - the button book makes it clear that at any time in history there are restricted sources for buttons. And even though there seems a huge choice in the shops I often have trouble finding the "perfect" button.
Posted by: Christina on February 16, 2009 8:39 AM
How great to have that resource. Whether you end up using the buttons or not, they have such character. And it sounds like they will bring back memories!
Posted by: Cathy on February 17, 2009 3:46 AM
Your buttons are lovely. Won't it be fun to match them to a garment. Or will you chose the yarn and project based on the button? I remember playing with my grandmother's assorted buttons and wonder what became of her buttons.
Posted by: billie on March 1, 2009 5:07 PM
I think they are lovely too, but I do find that you really do have to match the yarn/project to the button. Even when I have been looking for a single black button (should be easy) I never seem to have quite the right one. When I buy yarn for a project - like the cape "Chastity" that I made my friend Helen which needed only one button - I try and get the button there and then.
I am always buying myself interesting buttons (and Alison sometimes buys me buttons as they are a lovely gift) but you need the right setting for a beautiful button. I can see my collection being passed on into the future...
They had an interesting bit of "concept art" at the Alexandra Palace show this year - they had collected old reels of cotton and buttons and put them into jars (they looked arty) and you could just go up and open a jar and pick what you liked out.... there were some rules but it was great seeing loads of young students rummaging.
Also on this blog entry, I should have mentioned Nichols Buttons - not sure I want to buy them but what an interesting story!
Posted by: Christina on March 1, 2009 5:26 PM
