Grandma's Sewing Kit

[zaika]

My poor grandmother had to move into an assisted living facility awhile back. They rented out her house, so they had to clean it out a bit. So, I brought home grandma's sewing kit. Behold...

 

[zaika]

and the buttons....JARS of buttons...

 

[zaika]

 

[Lady Day]

Oooohhh, buttons!

What a great stash!

I LOVE the 50s/60s Marks scissors boxes. I love modernism.

Could you post pics of the backs of the metal cap buttons? Im curious to see how they were pressed.

Thanks,

LD

 

[zaika]

Oooohhh, buttons!

What a great stash!

I LOVE the 50s/60s Marks scissors boxes. I love modernism.

Could you post pics of the backs of the metal cap buttons? Im curious to see how they were pressed.

Thanks,

LD

Thanks!! I have even more buttons that I'll post pics of later...and I'll remember to post pics of the backs of the metal caps.

Those scissors are THE BEST. They're still sharp and oiled and like new.

 

[i_am_the_scruff]

ooOOoo I like the snake buttons.

 

[dhermann1]

"Poor" Grandma

Those buttons are amazing, very, very cool. And that Scandinavian sense of order!
To me, one of the cool things about buttons, is that ever since they were invented (like, a few thousand years ago?), people have been collecting, saving and reusing them. Even in this day and age of throw away plastics, beautiful buttons can be little treasures.
But let me comment on your Grandma. If it's a good facility, it can be a new lease on life for her. When folks get past the age where they can properly take care of themselves, the tough decision has to be made. Staying alone can be very dangerous for the elderly. I know one reason she should consider herself very lucky. It's because she has a very nice granddaughter who will probably see her as often as possible, and will share all sorts of fun things in her life. That means a lot to old folks. I'll bet Grandma can still give lots of pointers on your sewing projects, even tho her fingers may be a bit gnarled.

 

[GwenLake]

Is that a Red Cross pin? And are those, *gulp*, snakes?

 

[dhermann1]

Snakes?

My guess would be salamanders. Salamanders were thought to have magic powers during the middle ages, so they appear in all sorts of odd places as decorative motifs.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

My grandmother's trick with buttons - put all the "like buttons" on a safety pin - the ones that match exactly - so when you dump out the jar, you know which you have complete sets of for perhaps replacing all the buttons on a shirt or blouse, and which are odd buttons to paw through to find a single to replace a missing button. And if she's anything like mine, your grandmother probably has a story about most of those buttons - why she bought them or what article of clothing they came off of.

 

[zaika]

Those buttons are amazing, very, very cool. And that Scandinavian sense of order!
To me, one of the cool things about buttons, is that ever since they were invented (like, a few thousand years ago?), people have been collecting, saving and reusing them. Even in this day and age of throw away plastics, beautiful buttons can be little treasures.
But let me comment on your Grandma. If it's a good facility, it can be a new lease on life for her. When folks get past the age where they can properly take care of themselves, the tough decision has to be made. Staying alone can be very dangerous for the elderly. I know one reason she should consider herself very lucky. It's because she has a very nice granddaughter who will probably see her as often as possible, and will share all sorts of fun things in her life. That means a lot to old folks. I'll bet Grandma can still give lots of pointers on your sewing projects, even tho her fingers may be a bit gnarled.

Ha! Scandinavian sense of order... lol
My grandma is definitely being taken care of where she's at, and it's worth the 3K a month. She can't walk anymore without assistance, so she needs 24 hour care. But...she misses being home, and I think she's grieving the loss of her independence. And that's why I feel bad for her. I can't imagine losing that.
Unfortunately, she lives three hours away (not too far...but still, quite a drive) so it's hard for me to just pop in whenever I want. We miss each other something awful.
Oh...and my grandmother doesn't give pointers. She just does it for you. lol

 

[zaika]

Is that a Red Cross pin? And are those, *gulp*, snakes?

Yes that is a Red Cross pin! I'll have to ask my grandma what she knows about the pin.

dhermann1 is right...they're salamanders. or some kind of lizard.

 

[zaika]

My grandmother's trick with buttons - put all the "like buttons" on a safety pin - the ones that match exactly - so when you dump out the jar, you know which you have complete sets of for perhaps replacing all the buttons on a shirt or blouse, and which are odd buttons to paw through to find a single to replace a missing button. And if she's anything like mine, your grandmother probably has a story about most of those buttons - why she bought them or what article of clothing they came off of.

see, that's exactly what i need to do. put the sets on a safety pin or something. i'm not sure if my grandmother would remember details like that, but it's definitely worth a try.

 

[miss_elise]

that's fantastic... my husband's grandparents were both tailors, and i imagine they would have had all fantastic things like that, but unfortunately they downsized quite a while ago, and there isn't very much left...

 

[zaika]

that's fantastic... my husband's grandparents were both tailors, and i imagine they would have had all fantastic things like that, but unfortunately they downsized quite a while ago, and there isn't very much left...

oh, that's a shame that you missed an opportunity to rummage through it all and hear their stories. i've missed opportunities like that with my family, too. so now, if i see something cool, i pounce on it and demand a story. lol my poor grandmothers. lol