Sunday, October 2, 2011

A New Take On An Old "Joy" :)

As you might recall from my last post, I wasn't satisfied with the buttons that I had chosen for my Rustic Joy Ornament. My reasons for chosing the ones I did is lost somewhere in the distant misty fogs of the past, but it was clear to me after reading the many kind responses to that post that Change was needed!

So, after an evening spent rummaging furiously through my button cans and my Stitchy Guru Mother's considerable button stash, I finally unearthed the perfect ones from my Great-Grandmother's button tin :) I knew that they were the right ones, because when I put them against the work, they just felt like they belonged.

And, come to think of it, I believe that the little white button - the only one that I was happy with! - that I had stitched on there originally came from GG's button tin, too, so now it has been reunited with its friends and so will be lonely no more ;)

Here is Joy, as it was:


And here is Joy, with the new buttons:


And here is Joy, with the new buttons, and a major omission remedied:


You see, when I added the new buttons the other night, I was very pleased with them. I put Joy away, feeling very happy that it was finally finished.

Only, when I took it out to photograph it this morning, I realized that there was still something missing. I am almost ashamed to say that I had never noticed that I had forgotten to put in the backstitching on the star! And this is remarkable, because this patchwork-like outline stitching (along with the buttons!) is what had attracted me to these works in the first place! *shakes head at silly stupid self*

Anyway, I am very pleased with the final result! Both of the buttons I added are white plastic, from the 1950's or 1960's, and are odd ones. I'm always happy when I'm able to find new homes for single solitary buttons that have lost their fellows :) Part of what I loved about the little white button was its interesting texture, so I kept the colour and material the same and focused on the texture instead.

So what do you think? I'm very interested to find out :)

For those of you who might be looking for pictures of button tins (yes, I'm looking at you Karen, lol!) I'm afraid that's going to have to wait a little while. For one thing, it's going to be a very loooong post. For another, I have yet to take the pictures, and am hoping to lure Mr. Sun out from behind all these dreary rain clouds so that I might better capture the sparkle and the finishes in the photos :)

In other good news, I had to pick up my needle and thread in order to remedy my mistake with the star, so I am hoping that this is a sign that my missing Stitchy Mojo is nearing home again and will be returning shortly! *fingers crossed*

And never fear - the Mint Green button and the Black and Silver button are now back in my odd button stash, waiting for another project to come their way ;)

6 comments:

Shannon said...

I really like it with the new buttons! :)

Karen said...

The white buttons look great! Much better! I was wondering why you omitted the backstitching, cause that was one of the things I liked most about this little piece too.

I'll patiently wait for the button tin pictures. :) My mom has some pretty interesting tins too. I found a button "vial" in my Grandmother's old sewing machine the other day too. It was seriously like a glass vial filled with buttons... very odd I dare say lol. I find them most interesting and am curious to see what other people use or have used to store buttons in. Sometimes the tins are just as interesting as the little buttons themselves!

CrazyStitcher said...

I must say that the 'new' buttons look so much better. :-) x

Rainy Day Crafter said...

I love your new buttons - they're so pretty and wintry looking with all those textures. I'm so glad that you kept the little white button as I really liked that one (I don't know why but I couldn't help thinking of that one on top of the tree as the star, lol!).

Also, now all the buttons are white, the co-ordinating thread colours you've used to sew them on really stand out and look lovely!

Oh, and I can't believe I never noticed that you'd missed out the backstitching on the star! How observant am I?! I think I'll have to give my proofreader badge back! Lol! Anyway, the backstitching finishes it off just beautifully! :)

Mouse said...

ohhh yeahhh :) it looks so much better and really pops now .. good choices there .. love the textures on those buttons and sorry I don't get to see the button tin photos just yet ..lol :) love mouse xxxx

Aurelia Eglantine said...

Thanks very much for all the lovely comments! I'm sorry that this reponse is delayed, but I can't thank you all enough for stopping by to share your opinion with me. Sometimes another set of eyes helps you see more clearly :)

Shannon: Aw, thanks so much!

Karen: LOL, yeah, I can't believe I did that either! You have no idea how stupid I felt *rolls eyes* And even worse, I had taken a picture of it and put it up online for everyone to see just how stupid I was! *looks embarassed*

Re: The Button Tins - I'm so with you there! A month ago I came across what was obviously once a very well-loved button collection bagged up in three parts at the local thrift store, and I couldn't help wondering where those buttons had been and what stories they'd be able to tell, if only they could talk ;) I was going to buy one of them, but I thought that all three should stay together. May sound silly, but I'm sure you know what I mean. A few days later they were gone, so I hope they've all gone to a happy new home, and a shiny new tin, together :)

CS: I'm so very happy you think so too! :)

RD: Thank you so much! I've managed to grow quite fond of that little white button, LOL. It totally might've made a good star center, if I hadn't been lazy and left it exactly where it was to avoid the little bit of extra work. Which is just SO out of character for me, right? *rolls eyes*

I'm very happy to hear that you like the contrasting threads too :) I just had the idea, and then acted on it immediately, so I didn't have time to think of all the ways that wouldn't look "right", and I'm so glad I did. That sneak, Spontaneous Stitching, strikes again! Woo hoo!

And you totally SHOULD NOT hand your well-earned Proof-Reader's Badge of Honour back! If I managed to miss it, while stitching the thing, taking it out several times over the years and looking at it, resewing the buttons AND photographing it, closely, several times, YOU can hardly be blamed for overlooking it once, now can you? I, on the other hand, may be half-bat (or blind as) and not know it, which is a disturbing thought, LOL! *shudders*

Mouse: Your button stash is safe, LOL! Thanks so much for your kind comment, I'm really glad that you like the new buttons. And I'll keep the second vote in favour for Button Tin Pics in mind for the future! *looks in vain for Mr. Sun*