The reasoning behind my 'grandmas buttons' (or grammys buttons) name, is because I'm a grandma, albeit a young grandma, and have been sewing since around the age of 8 or 9, and saving and collecting all kinds of fun sewing 'stuff' (notions, patterns, dress forms, sewing machines, FABRIC...etc.etc.) for many many years now. It has kind of taken over my home, and I'm trying to get to a point where I feel that I won't disintegrate, if I part with some of it. It's almost as if my life is built out of these 'things'. I still feel a sense of joy sorting through my hundreds (probably thousands) of sewing patterns. I sort them, organize them, and then decide to 're-organize' them a little further down the road. Maybe I'll sort them into categories (crafts, women's sizes, children's sizes..etc.) and then the next round through, I'll sort them by decade. (Do hoarders sort and categorize things???)
I also collect vintage linens, as they would be so beautiful incorporated into a piece of clothing. I made a little coat for my grandaughter, when she was so young, out of old bark cloth drapery and vintage doilies, and some chenille from an old bedspread. Some old doilies are simply perfect pockets.
Within the last year or so, I have also taken up spinning. And where this comes into play is here...you can have an old damaged piece of linen or lace, and it can be cut apart, and spun into some wool to be used as a very beautiful and creative yarn. You leave some pieces of the old linen or lace hanging out, after it's caught up in the twist, and then you still have the quaintness and detail of some long forgotten work, dangling out here and there in your knitted or crocheted piece of work. It's quite charming, and it leads the mind back to simpler times. A very quick and easy project could be a charming hat, woven on a knitting loom, or a pretty scarf, knitted, crocheted, or again, woven on a knitting loom. (some baby booties would be totally precious!)
It's almost frightening to think, what would occupy my thoughts, if all of these wonderful creative, inspirational pieces of my life were gone? My mind (and my self) continually wander from one project to another. How wonderful would this be? How wonderful would that be? How wonderful would it be to create that ultimate piece...which involved an ingredient that would be so special, from all of my loved ones that were, and are, so special to me? Say perhaps a throw, that had a piece of my grandma's apron, a piece of my other grandma's nursing uniform, my father's shirt, my mothers most beautiful sweater, my daughter's clothing from when she was a small girl, my grandaughter's first dress, and on and on and on. I'd probably drift into senility while fingering each of the memories. It's as if you could actually build your life into a piece of art.
Well, I'm drifting now...so, I'm signing off.
Until the mood strikes me again, farewell. Lori

This is my first attempt at blogging. Well, hopefully, my first successful attempt! I tried to help my daughter, via telephone, the other night, make her first blog. Boy did we screw that up.