tiny treasures

Like kids collecting rocks (or my daughter who collected rubber bands when she was five), I have my own precious treasures.  I keep them in my sewing room and somehow they make me happy just sitting there.

They are little items that intrigue me…

Like thimbles…none of them valuable…except to me.  Especially that beautiful wooden one. My dad made it.

It’s always fun to come across a cute tape measure and, of course, I especially love the yellow ones!

Over the years I kept every wooden spool that came my way

…and clear glass buttons

…and shell buttons. 

Very pretty.

This past week I spent my days helping my parents move. They tossed out this Lazy-Susan.  I watched them do it, thinking nothing of it.  Later I walked by the box full of stuff and the “yellow” caught my eye.

Hmmm…

…so I brought it home and gave it new life in my sewing room….a perfect place for some of my treasures.

Oh, I forgot to say I also have a growing pile of little scissors

… you know, just too sweet to resist. 

 

This morning I started reading The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers.  Five pages into it and so far so good!

I’ll be linking with Judy’s “Whatcha Reading” over here.

My friend the magnet

We’ve all seen this awesome idea to add magnets to the underside of a pin dish…well, it works great for me too. 

 

I also use magnets in other ways for sewing... I put a couple of them in the lid of my take-along Klosje project tin.  They keep my thread bobbin, needles and scissors nice and neat. 

 

 

There’s a little magnet under this yellow pocket of fabric that I stitched to the inside wall of my applique bag.  I never have to fumble around for my scissors and risk getting poked because I know right where they are.  And its so easy to put them back into place.

 

 

Another tin with a magnet for my applique bag.  Where it’s metal, I don’t even have to glue it down. 

 

This yellow plastic flower sticks to the lamp post by my work table thanks to a magnet I glued on the back.  I use it as a handy place to rest spare needles. 

 

And I’m thinking a button would work too…how cute would these be!

Button Tree

This little Christmas tree will be staying up all year long.  

I found the pattern by The Drawn Thread in a little stitchery shop while we were in Victoria Canada last year and just got around to making it.   

   

There 23 very tiny little pearl buttons.  All different.

I have a pearl button collection kept in a glass jar in my sewing room.  They are pretty to me and I love looking at them and playing with them. 

And now a few are sweet little ornaments on my tree.

Who’s got the Button?

My sister, Tricia, and I have been trading buttons back and forth through the mail. When I get a package from her and sit to sort through them it reminds me of when I was a kid looking at all the buttons in my mom’s button tin. There is just something fascinating about a button, or especially a whole bunch of buttons. Even at my age.

I keep my buttons in little box of drawers on a shelf in my sewing room. It was originally made for screws and such. I found it in the hardware store. I loved that it was red and not the typical gray that you see in men’s workshops.

I liked it so much that I went back and bought a second one to store my embroidery threads in.

My button box is decorated with a button flower:

If I can remember how I did it, I might make a tutorial for it.

I also have a small quilted wall hanging that I stitch buttons to sometimes just because I think they are fun to look at.. These are interesting but not keepsakes because I’m always taking buttons off to use on projects.

My favorite buttons of all time are Mother of Pearls. I LOVE these buttons. There is just something about them. Even old worn out ones look beautiful to me. I get excited when I find one and I keep them all as treasures. Like a little kid with a rock collection!