Buttons revisited

One good thing about tidying up is that you rediscover things that you had forgotten about. Like these buttons that I made some years back. There was a time when making buttons from polymer clay was all the rage, and I must have made hundreds. Some were used as embellishments on quilts, and handfuls of them were handed into eager little nices' and nephews' hands to take home and play with. I was such a cool auntie, always making things with them and for them, until they became more grown-up than me and too cool to be impressed anymore. Luckily the tide is turning again now, and they are becoming old enough to let go of that cool attitude from time to time - wow, how the years have flown by!

But I digress. The buttons: I used polymer clay rolled into thin sheets and tiny heart- and star-shaped cookie cutters. I added a bit of pattern with the end of a drinking straw, and a darning needle was used to make holes before they were baked. And I see that I've still got some carrot ones too, made to stitch on the snowmen on the kids' Christmas stockings.

The funny thing is, that once I had rediscovered these, I kept coming across articles about making your own buttons via Whip up and Craft Stylish. Have a look at these tutorials: Singleton Buttons, a great alternative to buying those costly kits for fabric covered buttons, and how about these Dorset Buttons made with embroidery cotton. And while we're at it, we can make hand stiched buttonholes too, or how about this Appliqué Buttonhole?

Buttons, buttons

I promise I won't be going on and on about these buttons, but here is one last look before they get tucked away. I had a brainwave about how to clean them the other night as I was preparing dinner: the salad spinner! It's like a little washing machine with it's own spin cycle and all! I just poured the buttons into the basket, filled the bowl with water and washing-up liquid and plunged the basket in. Some agitating by hand and a few spins with the lid on, a couple of changes of water and a thorough rinsing to finish them off and that's it. I spread them all on a towel in the sun to dry off before I had a proper look at them. Not surprisingly there are a lot of black, white and brown ones, but also some really nice bright coloured ones, like the round green ones that look like little peas - my mum remembered them from a blouse my gran had. She also recognized several from outfits she had worn in the 50s and 60s, so there's a bit of family history in there too. It will be fun to find some use for these. I remember seeing a quilt with rows of buttons around the border and in the sashing - maybe something like that? I would need a rather sturdy batting or backing though, because it would be very heavy. Well, we'll see.
I thought I'd spend some time sewing today, but before I'm off I thought I'd show you my attempts at making fabricpaper, inspired by this book by Beryl Taylor. I've been having a bit of fun experimenting with this technique. What you do is that you brush a piece of muslin with a 50/50 solution of PVA-glue and water, place pieces of pretty paper on it, more glue and then cover it all with a layer of tissue paper before you add paint or ink - all when it is still wet.
When it's dry, you can use it as part of a quilt, to make cards or whatever. These were my first attempts, and I might have been a bit heavyhanded on the glue side, because it is a bit stiff (but I don't really know what it is going to be like, though - do I? ) On the green piece I should have diluted the paint more, because you can't really more than glimpse the papers through the paint, so it was a bit dull at first. I added some stamped motifs once it was dry, and I must say I like it better after I did.
On the peachy piece I added more water, and here you can glimpse the pieces of old maps and floorplans of the V&A through the paper. I really like the effect, and I'm going to try stitching through it and see what it is like to work with. As if I didn't have enough plans for things to make already! But you know us girls, we just wanna have fun!

Hidden treasure?

I've been to see my uncle. He has finally got round to sorting out my aunt's stuff after her death a year ago, and look what he found!
My sweet, lovely aunt was a seamstress and spent all her life designing, sewing, repairing and re-fashioning garments for other people. I'm sure it is due to her that I developed an interest in sewing. I remember sitting by her feet playing with scraps of fabric and buttons while her sewing machine was purring on the table above. As I was growing up she always took a great interest in my sewing projects, so naturally one of the first big quilts I made was for her, and it was greatly appreciated.
So when my uncle placed a big bucket of buttons on the table and asked if this was something I could use, it really brought back some happy memories of time spent with my aunt.
At first glimpse it didn't look all that promising, but poking around inside brought some gems to the surface,
and maybe some more...
There are buttons in all colours and some of them look quite old. I will really have fun sorting through these, but first of all they could do with a little bath to rinse off dust and grime from years of handling.
I can't wait to see what treasures might hide at the bottom of the bucket... Now if only they could talk: think of all the stories they could tell of fine garments they had belonged to, parties they had attended, or maybe tales of woe, having been discarded as too plain and been replaced by fancier types. Or humble tales of ordinary button-lives dutifully serving their purpose and being relied upon to hold up a stocking or a skirt or to hold a shirt front together, preserving it's wearer's modesty.
Now let's see if I can find ways of giving them their day in the sun again, be it useful or decorative. Any suggestions?