The Button Search
You never know when a button might come in handy. Sometimes though, great abundance can really set you back. Buttons, buttons everywhere, but none of them quite right...
I'm slowly inching my way to finishing my current sweater project, but I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to knit a couple of cuffs on the sleeves and sew a couple of buttons on for accents. I spent an hour digging through my button jar, only to resign myself to the fact that none of them were quite right. If you're going to sew a button on, it might as well be the right button... right?
Luckily, I've discovered there is no end of wee vintage shops and antique malls here. That means that the probability of finding the perfect button is high. Used, vintage buttons are my favourite. A couple of weekends ago, we made a trip to a nearby village that happens to have several vintage shops. I was determined that I would come home with the buttons I needed that day, come what may...
I have two shopping styles depending on who is with me on the day: shopping-with-hubby-mode entails a quick duck into a shop, frantic scanning with my eyes, hurried questions with the shopkeeper, and a quick exit. Not that the hubby is pushy or impatient, mind you. I just don't like to keep people waiting. The other style is quick-once-over-and-slow-second-scan, which I only do when I am on my own. That is a rare circumstance, but this is my preferred shopping style for vintage shops.
Having the hubby and the Rascal in tow meant I needed to think carefully about how I was going to keep my button-finding mission on track. First step: let the Rascal meet and greet his worshippers. We got into the town and immediately got Rascal on his leash so we could wander around for half an hour, through the town and down to the park and back, with people greeting and petting His Highness the entire time. I'm sure he believes the rest of the world ventures outdoors only to meet him. And maybe they do, I don't know for sure.
Second step: lunch. A stop in a popular cafe, a bowl of squash soup and a drop cheese scone for me, a bowl of split pea and ham soup and a blt for the hubby. Everyone is fed, everyone has run about for a bit. And that means the stop in the antique mall is way more fun for all (except for Rascal, who had to wait in the car, but I swear he waves at people from in there when we're not watching).
The antique mall is large enough for the hubby to wander around and find interesting things while I putter about, picking through baskets and shelves. My button mission was sidetracked momentarily by this little Corningware bowl, which I decided needed to come home with me and become my lunch bowl at work. Isn't it pretty?
Then, the button hunt began in earnest. I eventually brought home three batches of autumn-coloured buttons to audition for the sweater:
I'm slowly inching my way to finishing my current sweater project, but I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to knit a couple of cuffs on the sleeves and sew a couple of buttons on for accents. I spent an hour digging through my button jar, only to resign myself to the fact that none of them were quite right. If you're going to sew a button on, it might as well be the right button... right?
Luckily, I've discovered there is no end of wee vintage shops and antique malls here. That means that the probability of finding the perfect button is high. Used, vintage buttons are my favourite. A couple of weekends ago, we made a trip to a nearby village that happens to have several vintage shops. I was determined that I would come home with the buttons I needed that day, come what may...
I have two shopping styles depending on who is with me on the day: shopping-with-hubby-mode entails a quick duck into a shop, frantic scanning with my eyes, hurried questions with the shopkeeper, and a quick exit. Not that the hubby is pushy or impatient, mind you. I just don't like to keep people waiting. The other style is quick-once-over-and-slow-second-scan, which I only do when I am on my own. That is a rare circumstance, but this is my preferred shopping style for vintage shops.
Having the hubby and the Rascal in tow meant I needed to think carefully about how I was going to keep my button-finding mission on track. First step: let the Rascal meet and greet his worshippers. We got into the town and immediately got Rascal on his leash so we could wander around for half an hour, through the town and down to the park and back, with people greeting and petting His Highness the entire time. I'm sure he believes the rest of the world ventures outdoors only to meet him. And maybe they do, I don't know for sure.
Second step: lunch. A stop in a popular cafe, a bowl of squash soup and a drop cheese scone for me, a bowl of split pea and ham soup and a blt for the hubby. Everyone is fed, everyone has run about for a bit. And that means the stop in the antique mall is way more fun for all (except for Rascal, who had to wait in the car, but I swear he waves at people from in there when we're not watching).
The antique mall is large enough for the hubby to wander around and find interesting things while I putter about, picking through baskets and shelves. My button mission was sidetracked momentarily by this little Corningware bowl, which I decided needed to come home with me and become my lunch bowl at work. Isn't it pretty?
Then, the button hunt began in earnest. I eventually brought home three batches of autumn-coloured buttons to audition for the sweater:
The winners? The green ones up front, which are the perfect size, a great colour, and beautiful to boot. I only need two, but the three leftover will find a use sometime. The rest will join the others in the button jar. I hope they don't languish in there for too long, though I'd hate to get rid of them. You never know when a button might come in handy...
Which is sort of what got me into this mess in the first place, isn't it?
Comments
I'll just say I love your buttons and your bowl. I need to go second hand shopping and find a new Pyrex bowl or two.