Button, button, who collected all these buttons?

I have been sewing a lot lately, and not blogging very often, even though I think of many things I want to say.

When I sew, I miss my sister Janice, who passed away last Fall. She was an amazing seamstress and quilter. I received all her sewing patterns (yes, I will be learning how to sell some of these on the vintage pattern reselling market) and part of her stash of fabric and notions. I feel very connected to her while I sew, especially when I use something from her stash, like the jacket pattern I have been working on this week.

Imagine my surprise when, while looking for buttons, I found we had some of the same buttons, as well as the same shopping tendencies! If you look at the periwinkle buttons at the top of the photo, there’s two sets…Janice’s from Piece Good Shop. (Oh I miss that fabric store!), mine a mark-down from Walmart. Since periwinkle was my favorite color for a long time, I bet Janice bought these for me, but never sewed them up. (Janice’s collection of pink buttons, her favorite color, as well as the sparkly decorative grouping is even larger.). There’s lots of 10 and 25 cent labels through the collection…Mama taught us both to be bargain shoppers, but is it prudent to save this much?

Speaking of Mama, in February I made a red jumper from fabric from her stash. I think the fabric was older than me, as the tag read Florence’s department store, which closed before I was born. Mama liked a good deal….

I’m enjoying using Janice’s pattern. It’s a more structured style than I have done before, with my usual petite fitting challenges making me feel more like the tortoise than the Energizer Bunny!

I’m down to buttons, buttonholes and handwork like hemming the jacket. After my walk down memory lane selecting buttons, I think I will use the subtle yellow “Lucky day” marked 5 cents, from my husband’s grandmother’s stash. Then I will cut out and sew a matching skirt and wear a two-piece dress wrapped in lovely memories as I go out and make new ones!

So I have too many buttons, plenty of fabric and way too many patterns, and a big job of downsizing ahead of me (especially on the pattern collection), but when I sew with things from Janice’s, my mom’s or even Gram’s sewing stash, I feel wrapped in love.