Buttons Shared with a Friend... Family...

I am so thankful for people I meet along the way.
I met a kind woman when I was in college.
She was an antique dealer who dealt in lace,
paper, ephemera, buttons... well~ you know!
ALL those things we love so much!

My dear friend, now twenty years later...
Is having to downsize.

My sweet daughter and I are helping her organize,
clean, move, toss... restore... save.
It must be so difficult for her to know she can
only keep a smidgen of what she owns.

In a long, round about way, we have discovered
that this wonderful woman is related to my husband...
Therefore, our daughter.
It was amazing when she and this woman first met.
They liked the same things, laughed at the same jokes...
Who would have thought? One day, while we were busy
working away, my daughter picked up a photo
album from the mid, to late 1800's~ A family book...
She saw her great, great grandfathers name!
We travel to her home every now and then~
They connect for an hour or so...
Then we get to work!

Yesterday was buttons!
We have so many buttons I will NEVER in my
lifetime be able to use them...
But I can share!
We purchased a huge lot of more common ones.
I'll be adding them with my fabric illustration sales.

My friend shared, when money was tight, that women
would sew these buttons to muslin or scrap fabrics
to try to sell. Much like the chipboard, card stock pages.

She unearthed a small collection of mother of pearl...
They are my favorites!
Natural, remind me of watercolor washes~

I tried to capture the details to share with you...

Just fussing with these makes the day sweeter.
Thinking of the times these were used...
Who tucked them inside a button hole~
Where were they off to?
Some place in time~

Hope your day is relaxing~

More fabric originals coming soon!
Chickadees, acorns, ladybirds and Hummingbirds!