Yes, Yes, More Buttons

You guys, I just can't say no to a batch of mystery buttons.  No matter how bland it looks at first glance, there are sure to be treasures in amongst the basics.  And if one or two treasures are peeking out, I'm a goner.  And so.....

This batch came from the giveaway table at my local needlework guild.  There are always people de-stashing and we reap the benefits.  It'a a great, albeit dangerously tempting, tradition.

And here are my favorites:

Today is My Day

Ever since childhood, I've relished having my birthday as My Own Special Day.  So today is that kind of special!  It's also, as a friend of mine noted, my Beatles Birthday.  Can you guess why that is?

So I'm posting a few pix of my celebrations so far.

Two Conversation Prints

A fiber friend is going through the sad process of clearing out her ailing aunt's home.  The aunt was quite a crafter, and had amassed a huge collection of craft supplies over many decades.  My friend found it was way too much for her to take on, and offered us the chance to choose some goodies for ourselves.

I always take a moment at times like these and at estate sales to thank and honor the person who loved the same things I do, and who found such fun ways to express her personality!

Feedsack Fabric Bonanza

What a gift!

Not long ago I was the happy recipient of a cardboard box labeled "old fabric."  

The story:

Just For Fun Embroidery Projects

Tablecloth update:

Having finished embroidering and doing the cutwork in all but one corner, the tablecloth is on hiatus.  My daughter is going to finish up the last corner so we will end up with an heirloom stitched by three generations.  The whole story of the tablecloth is elsewhere on this blog.

Next project:
I always like to have some carry-along needlework at the ready to fill tedious waiting times and to doodle away on when watching some show with loads of commercial breaks.  So.....

A House, A Book, Zippers, and Buttons

I popped in to an estate sale at this historic register house near my neighborhood as much to visit the house as to shop.  The house was built in 1860, with a single story addition just visible on the side that was built in the 1950s.

The previous owners had collected wonderful antique furniture and accessories.  Their daughter was there and said her parents had moved there after their children moved along, and lived there for 30 years.  The house is in great condition, small rooms, loads of wood.

Missouri Daisy

 

I received an email query about the name of this quilt block.  I've seen flower blocks with gathered petals before, but usually the gathered pieces are rounded not straight-edged like these.

I did find a block with this shape petals in Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Quilt Patterns.  It's called either Golden Glow (if it's made in gold and white) or Missouri Daisy.  Both were published in the 1930s. 

The similar block with rounded petals has been published as Missouri Daisy, too, and also as Star Flower, Sunflower, or Star Dahlia.

The range of fabrics looks like the blocks were made from the proverbial "deep scrap bag."  I think I see fabrics from the1930s, maybe even a few from the 1920s, through the 1960s!

The stories this woman was telling me during our discussion were so entertaining that I asked her if she'd like to share them on my blog.  These are her words (several e-mails edited together by me for flow) and her photos. 

I Love a Good Coincidence

Remember this sweet baby quilt I posted about a couple of months ago?

Well, look what I found at an estate sale this weekend!

I think I squeaked out loud when I found it....

I don't have any intention of making this quilt, but somehow just had to buy the pattern anyway!  Really, how could I not?

And now, I can add the pattern name and info to the quilt's story:

Egyptian Appliqué Art

Welcome to Egypt!

Having just visited Turkey during the ancient Roman era in my previous post, let's continue the tour with a stop in Egypt for a little needlework history.

A friend brought over a gracefully appliquéd pillow case that had been purchased for her in Egypt. It's about 33" square, for a floor cushion.  She asked me to put a sleeve on it so she can hang it on her wall

..... But Wait, There's More

Yep.  One week later, the next estate sale.  Another button collection......

I pawed around in a little basket of little ribbon bows, so ancient and decrepit, destined for the garbage bin.  Underneath, there was this nice-looking button collection rattling around.  They'd only sell it as a "set", so I bought the whole thing.  You understand, I'm sure.

Well, in amongst the buttons was this packet, mailed in 1957 for 3 cents, to Miss Mae Awe.

And inside the packet, Mae's thank you gift for filling out a customer survey.  Uh-huh!

I do so love estate sales!

.... and More Buttons

Yep, another estate sale, another button jar.  I just can't pass 'em up.  All these for one dollar, folks.  Score!  (Thanks to my friend Gloria who spotted these while I was reveling in a box of sewing room odds and ends.)

I have now reached the point of no return.  I must DO something with all these buttons!  Jewelry?  Quilt embellishment?  (I've already done a bit of that, see links below.)  A quilt design executed entirely in buttons?

Vintage Music

At an estate sale, I found some wonderful old music magazines.  I bought a few and gave them to a musician friend for her birthday.  A couple are from 1910, and a couple from 1933.  I photographed some interesting bits to share with you here.

Covers went from black and white to color at some point during the intervening years.

  

   

Wooden Art

My recent estate sale excursion found this lovely little box, which I bought for my daughter who crochets.  The design is marquetry, inlaid with dyed wood, not painted.  And very sweet and springy, too.

As a child, I worked on several marquetry kits, and loved doing it.  I still have them - that's how much I enjoyed making them!  

Pewter Buttons

I was at an estate sale this weekend, and found several dusty, dingy cardboard boxes filled with dusty, dingy old sewing supplies.  In amongst them, I found these unusual, to me anyway, buttons.  So of course, I brought them home.  

My brilliant husband identified them as pewter.  We found out that in the late 18th and early to mid 19th century, many, many buttons were made of cast pewter.  These, according to some Q&A pages and blogs, were made for the folks who do historic reenactments.  These are easily identifiable as reproductions and not originals, because the shank is cast on as one piece instead of being added after casting just the circle.  So, no Antiques Roadshow win for me this time!  I am still quite happy with the purchase and my new knowledge, don't get  me wrong.

These are Revolutionary War style, proudly displaying the initials of the new country.

Vintage Metallic Trim

A while back, I posted about an incredibly lovely vintage silk jacket.

One of its many gorgeous features is the wonderful metallic braid trim.  Yesterday at an estate sale, I found a length of the same kind of metallic braid.  I am so excited to have some of my own!  There is a little over 5 feet of it.

Van Gogh

I found this vintage smock at an estate sale.  I bought a bunch of craft supplies and doo-dads at this sale, all the while wishing I had somehow known the woman whose house I was in.  I think she and I would have been good friends.

Lovely Tablecloth

This lovely tablecloth was rescued from the bottom of some huge piles at an estate sale. Hooray for salvage operations!

I'm finding myself drawn to all sorts of textiles and other art with a multi-color, full-spectrum palette.  So this cross-stitch embroidery is just the thing for me, really cheerful and pleasing.

My New Friend

She was rescued from the bottom of a bag of unwanted linens at an estate sale.

I'm guessing, going by the print on her robe, that she was made around 1970 or so.  She has a little bit of an attitude, and I was celebrating the new year by only doing things that I don't have to do, so I decided to spiff her up.

Magic Vine

This is the Magic Vine quilt I was working on in the photos in my previous post.

When a picker brought the top into the antique quilt gallery where I used to work, I fell in love with it immediately.  All the appliqué was completed, excepting the corners of the borders which were basted in place.  The backing fabric was folded in along with the top.  It was a total no-brainer for me to buy it, especially since green is my favorite color.

All I had to do was attach the borders to the center panel, baste it up, and start quilting.

Me and the Magic Vine

Today, I came across these photos that I meant to use and never have.  They were taken a couple of years ago now, by Raimonda Daras.  I was demonstrating hand quilting at the annual Fine Art of Fiber show.  It's a wonderful event - the weavers, quilters, and needlework guilds all participate, and we pretty much take over all the exhibit spaces at the Chicago Botanic Garden.  

This quilt is an antique top that I bought many years ago.  I save it for those times when I need a demonstration project, so it has been in progress for a very long time now.