Button Joy

Colorful. Round. Tactile. A few months ago I found a bag of bright buttons in the fabric store and brought them home, thinking the Little Misses would enjoy playing with them. I've been amazed at their popularity. 

For safety's sake, the buttons only appear when an adult is there to supervise. One of the first questions either Little Miss asks, is "Nana, can I play with the buttons?" (Miss A) or "Buttons? Buttons?" (Miss S). A recent reaction to the appearance of the button box had Miss S's mother and me laughing out loud. She danced. She clapped. She exclaimed. Such a hoot.

So what can be done with buttons? More than I ever imagined. 

Shake the box and enjoy the rattle.
Scatter them all over the floor.
Put them into the teapot, then shake.
Try to pour them out of the teapot.
Scoop them with your hands.
Sort them into an ice cube tray.
Pretend they are candy or cookies.
Pour them into a pile on the floor and jump over them.
Pour them into a pile on the floor and stamp on them.
Give them to people.
 

Nothing nearly so exciting happens with my buttons. But I enjoy running my fingers through them, savoring their tactile smoothness. There's a silver tray on my sewing desk that I fill with the threads and notions I'm currently using. It does end up a mess after a few weeks. Today I cleaned it out and filled it with buttons and threads. How fun to have something pretty to look at. 

Buttons - what do you do with them?

Scrappy Pillow

 
The new Blogger format has been foisted on me. I know the change is inevitable, so I'm trying to get used to it. I don't like it, nor do I see any advantage over the old Blogger. But I will get used to it.

The above pillow is another of my "use it up" projects - more leftover four-patch squares alternating with striped fabric from an old shirt. The buttons came from my button box and the white border fabric from my stash.  It's good to see something finished, but at the same time, I could sew constantly for a year without running out of fabric.

This project is part of Stumbles and Stitches "Feather Your Nest" project to (1) make something for your own home, and (2) recycle, use up supplies. I have plans for more projects, but am unlikely to finish them before the end of the month.

Have you read Annie Dillard's books? I love An American Childhood, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, and The Writing Life. I did not know that she wrote fiction until this morning. While shelving books in the library I ran across The Maytrees, set it aside and started reading it during my break. So far, it's intriguing.

Love of buttons

Abbie, at the Button Floozies has declared this to be the International Week of the Button! What fun. I love buttons. Right now I'm too busy to do much, but here are a few projects I've made with buttons.

Just a few buttons on a spring pillow. These are mother-of-pearl, not old, but pretty nonetheless.

A few white buttons in different sizes and shapes around the top of a linen bag. I hang this in my kitchen in the summer to hold flowers or herbs.

A cozy fall pillow made with a recycled sweater (felted) and finished with wooden and leather buttons. I love the textured look.

A summer Sunday afternoon spent stitching and thinking resulted in this collage piece. It's still pinned up on my bulletin board - I don't really know what to do with it, but I surely enjoyed making it. I added buttons here and there.

And this little pillow sits on my bed. I embroidered the words, then added buttons all around and then appliqued the heart to the toile with a buttonhole stitch. This pillow makes me smile when I see it.

I'm writing two exams this week - next week I'm starting on Christmas crafting, finishing up of projects and more....