I was cleaning out a tub of sewing notions when my eyes were drawn to a trio of heart-shaped buttons that cost 70 cents a long time ago. My mother, a master seamstress, always had an ample supply of colors of threads, buttons, and laces for her next project. She made us matching dresses and taught me to sew when I was in elementary school, even though I never graduated to zippers, braking to a hard and fast stop at buttons. Today’s acrostic poem was inspired by these heart-shaped buttons, which I believe may have been destined to be sewn onto a Valentine’s Day top for me. Mom would have been 81 next week, and she still lives on in our memories.
Actual old buttons from my mother and grandmother’s age-spotted collection of notions
I Love Buttons
Because I wonder what Unfinished dress, never- Touched pattern, fabric- To-be-imagined Outfit Never quite got Sewn........
I’ve been cleaning out my sewing notions that I’ve collected over the years. When Mom died, I inherited many of her notions and her magical Bernina sewing machine. Mom sewed all the way through high school, making most of her formal gowns (and mine, later). She made us matching dresses when I was young enough to still think that was cool, on the before side of life for being able to appreciate those sweet memories. When I was nine or ten, I made my first pair of bright green Terry cloth shorts, crying in frustration at having to rip seams and all less than perfect stitches in between, and I’m certain that the thread spool that witnessed my fits is among these in the picture. I’m also fairly certain that my crying fits of sewing are the deciding factor that I’m a 1 on the enneagram and not a 3 or 5.
My goal today is to cut my supply of thread by at least half, keeping variations of the shades that I will use for rag quilting and mending and hemming clothes. As I look at this photo, one thing stands out to me that I may not have seen if I hadn’t organized by color. Mom wore bright pinks, reds, and bright blues – and to see this photo is to see her in all her handiwork right here on my kitchen counter. She’s urging me to take some lovely photos of the spools and then share the rest with others who sew so that others can squeeze more life out of items that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
On, now, to buttons, rick rack, and other notions. I’m thinking of converting our office into a sewing room……I much prefer being creative to paying bills and sorting paperwork that piles up and has nowhere to live.
Common Threads 