Button making

is an art I have yet to master. I will keep trying because, not so long ago, I stood looking at the buttons in the "untidy" shop which sells haberdashery and there was nothing there that was even remotely suitable for the intended purpose. 

Having stood and stared for some time I went off to another place, a place which sells just fabric - mostly for quilts - and the sort of haberdashery which is used for that or costumes. There was one possible choice there but it wasn't really right. The buttons would be the right colour but they were the wrong size. Sigh....

And then I saw the "cover your own" cards of buttons on the wall behind the other buttons. Could I use those? No. They would not work with what I had knitted. I bought some of the cover your own sort anyway and came home to think. Eventually, in a distant charity shop, a friend found some for me. I had told her of my problem and she had one of those "these might do" moments. They will do. There is no "spare" but said friend also sat there and sewed them on what I had made - sewed them on very tightly indeed. I passed the little jacket on to the little friend for whom I had made it. He lives in a rather chilly part of the state and loves to be outside.

But I thought more about buttons. I have a little heart shaped dangle on the inside of the linen cupboard. It may seem an odd thing to have there. It may seem particularly odd when you realise that what decorates are the buttons that were once put on the fly of men's trousers. Look closely. Look very closely. Yes, that is my grandfather's name on those buttons. He had them made for his tailoring business. The dangle was made by a friend who realised the significance of those buttons.

I have a collection of buttons, mostly useful buttons. Middle Cat knows she can ask for something that "might do for S....'s shirt" and we will look and find something that is a "near enough" match or she will take a button from the bottom and put it higher up before putting the other button at the bottom.  

There are buttons I am saving for specific projects. They are gradually being used. I kept some buttons shaped like pansies for years knowing the right project would come along. The buttons came from a women's collective in South Africa.  I had two sets. One set went on a cardigan for my late friend E... When she died her sister asked if she could take over the cardigan "because I love the buttons".  I wonder what has happened to that now but I put the second set on a vest for me. I have some buttons shaped like sheep from the same place and the wool to go with them. They will go on something for my SIL and we will remember the occasion on which we bought them.

There are buttons which will be reused too. I eventually took the buttons off a cardigan which had been patched and darned until I could no longer justify doing anything but throw it away. The buttons were pewter and I bought them on a brief visit to schools in Norway. They were on the counter in a shop the woman showing me around had stopped to visit. "Come and look," she told me. I looked and found a small reminder that has lasted so many years. I will make another cardigan much like the previous one but this time I will make it in the traditional way. Over the years the buttons have encouraged me to do that. 

But there are buttons that cannot be replaced by anything else either in value or my memory. This morning I am writing this while wearing a cardigan I made from many odds and ends. I can look at the many different coloured stripes and think, "Yes, I made that for... and that one for...and I remember those two I made for..." I brought them altogether with the only wool I bought for it - a charity shop find. Down the front there are ten wooden buttons.They are made from "blackwood" but are actually a rich brown colour. People who see them often comment on them. I love those buttons. They were made by the Senior Cat.