The Lost Button

Ten years ago, I cross-stitched and assembled this sewing case. A friend of mine had stitched the same case and she found a beautiful silver-coloured button with a floral shape to finish hers off.

She had an extra floral button so she gave it to me to use on my sewing case.

By the time I stitched and got the case put together, I had forgotten about the special button so I used the one you see in the photograph.

When I showed her the case a few months later, she asked me why I hadn't used the button she gave me.

I've been looking for that button in my stash of stuff ever since she asked me about it over 9 years ago!

A couple of weeks ago, it came to me that I had sewn the button onto the button vest that I had made that you can see in this photograph.
I thought it was hilarious that the button had been right under my eyes all that time and for a few days, I had in the back of my mind that I would share this story with you.

When I got around to photographing the vest I realized that I hadn't used the button on the vest after all!

I'm still trying to figure out if I had a dream that the button was on the vest. I could see it there so clearly in my mind's eye.

But the button is still missing. I'm not giving up, it's got to be here somewhere.

Late-ish Happy New Year!

Happy New Year - I know it's late-ish but I picked up this really cute New Year's Postcard at The Sunday Market last weekend and just had to share it. Isn't it cute?

Sunrise on the Lake

I had to photograph the sun rising up over the water this morning. One picture was taken from the porch; I just opened the door and took a shot, the other was through the window in our living room.
A building developer recently bought the property across the street from us and has proposed two different structures (one was a massive single family home as close to the water as possible, the other a seven-townhouse development four-storeys high) that would obliterate our view of the lake but, good news so far, because of opposition from the community and our local elected city councillor, both applications have been withdrawn. Hooray for that. Now it's a waiting game to see what the developer comes up with next.

For now though, a deep breath and a prayer of thanks for the view.

Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle ... puff, puff, puff

I'm finally switching all my craft supply stashes - cross-stitch, rughooking, stamping, scrapbooking, dollmaking etc - from the basement to the attic. Three flights of stairs with a bag or basket loaded with pens, papers etc. With each trip, I debate if I really want to do this. I think it will be worth it once it's done, the attic is so much brighter and I'm hoping I'll be more inspired to actually make more things.

You can see the challenge of the attic is that it's very narrow and the sides are not tall enough for tall bookshelves so where am I going to put my books and magazines?

This morning I came across this blog. The blog owner is moving her studio space as well. Hers has a much more romantic flair than mine. Check it out - enjoy!

There, I've had my little tea break and now back to work. More pictures will follow as I get more done.

... coming out of blogging lethargy for Button Week

I found out from Dawn of The Feathered Nest that it's International Button Week as declared by
Abbie of Button Floozies. Just what I needed to bring me out of my great, long blogging lapse! Dawn wrote an ode to buttons that you'll see on her blog when you visit there.

Some picture of buttons from my stash:

My favourite quote about buttons -

"A button asks little more than to be held, admired and worn close to the heart. "
I first saw this in Victoria Magazine a few years ago.

Friday's Outing with Friends - Afternoon

As if we hadn't had enough eye candy in the morning, we paid a visit to Christine at The Primitive Heart in St George in the afternoon. Above is a view from inside the shop looking out the burlap covered window. Love how the outline of the star shows through. Hmm, I should have bought one of those stars to put in my window. So many possibilities.

Here's another view - above - inside the shop - we thought we'd died and gone to heaven. Quite a change from the morning with the elegant and mostly white linens, but we love it all! We're just not sure how to marry the two styles in our homes.

And then we went outside again and I had to take some photos the shopowner's home.

Maybe we can talk her into serving lemonade or wine on her back porch, we wanted so badly to take a seat in those comfy chairs.
This little twiggy fence surrounds Christine's side garden.

We had our fill of elegant and primitive all in one day and arrived home worn out but happy in the late afternoon.

Friday's Outing with Friends - Morning

We were off to the semi-annual Vintage Linen and Lace sale in Greensville. After missing our turnoff and circling back, we made it right on time for the opening of the show. What a feast for the eyes; in every direction, we saw antique lace, buttons, pincushions and other sewing tools,clothing and jewellery. The four of us fanned out in all directions, oohing and ahhing over all the goodies. Isn't this a great display piece - I love her face and that hat. We all admired this plastic handbag with a matching scarf although none of us bought it. After circling around we all met up in the foyer for coffee - I'm the only one who caved in to the baked goods, I just couldn't resist a little butter tart which was as scrumptious as it looked.

Refreshed by our coffee, we went in for a last look around. Not sure if that was a good idea, because we all succumbed to treasures that we had missed or resisted the first time around. I bought a handmade over-the-shoulder hemp purse, Joy got lovely linens for her kitchen and dining room plus a pincushion, Lynne bought a vintage sterling charm bracelet as well as a rhinestone pin and Jacqui got a unique button card and pretty fabric to sew a child's dress.

After leaving the sale, we continued driving to St George where we had lunch at the local pub. We all resisted the Ultimate Fried Cheese appetizer and went with the House Burger with Sweet Potato Fries - yum.