My Grandmother's Buttons

My grandmother lived in the country....down an old country road in Ohio. When you drove up to her house the first thing you saw was the lovely sun porch and after that it was her beautiful flower garden. Depending on the season you may see lilacs, peonies, or roses. I never knew what my grandmother would be up to, but it was always fun for me. One of my favorite activities was sitting in her rocking chair and waiting for her to return with the basket of buttons. These were no ordinary buttons...nope...each of these buttons had stories.

Today she might be telling me about the shiny, gold buttons that were once part of a military uniform that my uncle wore. Or, the beautiful glass buttons that once adorned a lovely evening dress. Then, of course, there were the pajama buttons that may have seemed plain and white, but were once on her beloved childrens pj's.

Each time I visited I got to pick out a couple of those buttons with their treasured memories. Along with those buttons I have my own collected buttons that have special memories. All of those buttons are now in a safe place and are waiting for any grandchildren that I may have. I also have buttons that I have collected from antique & thrift shops, estate sales, and auctions. These are the buttons I use to create with. My hope is that once I have used buttons for a creation that they will take on a life of their own and will become a special memory for the person who owns that piece.

Featured In these Lovely Blogs

Over the last couple of months my creations were featured in these wonderful blogs

Scoutie Girl is a must read blog...fun to read, great reviews, and wait until you see the fabric that she designs --it is a must have too!
i'm all agog is written by a graphic designer in San Francisco. Her blog is written to "work out her inner shopping demons." I think we can all relate to that!Katie's Kreations is written by a stay-at-home mom and she features some of her "finds" from Etsy artists. She also creates beautiful accessories!

Queen Anne's Lace Fiber Necklace

Several people have suggested that I make necklaces based on my embroidery designs and this is my first attempt. I seem to be enamored with Queen Anne's Lace at the moment!

The necklace is 18" in length, so for many people it would fit like a choker. The pendant is approximately 2" x 2". It's very soft against the neckline. I used an old crochet technique that my mom taught me to make the "chain" tube. I added small crochet circles with glass bead embellishments and used buttons to attach the pendent. By using buttons and a neutral "chain" I have made this so that pendents can be interchanged. This necklace and my bracelets make a nice alternative to jewelry if you happen to have allergic reactions to metals.

You can find this necklace along with my bracelets and rings in my Etsy shop.

Hohokam Indians in my backyard and R. Carlos Nakai

It's not everyday that you can find evidence of a civilization, the Hohokams (or "those that have gone") that began in 300 AD and disappeared in the mid 1400s in your backyard. When we first moved here I would walk around our backyard and see these clay looking things and just thought they were clay pigeons. After hearing someone discuss the fact that they discovered Indian pottery close by --a light bulb went off. As soon as I got home I went out in my backyard and picked up some of those "clay pigeons." As I examined those pieces more carefully I got excited. Some pieces had non-descript markings and were red and black, but others clearly had patterns under all of that desert dirt. When I washed them off I found such beauty and I was overwhelmed by the fact that I was holding something that I knew was extremely old. When I did some computer research I realized, just how ancient. I have many more and there are probably 100s still in my backyard! (all pictures of pottery pieces are of the ones found in my backyard)
Last weekend we visited the Casa Grande Ruins in Coolidge, AZ. Which as the crow flys is probably no more then 10 miles away. I didn't have my camera with me since it was a spur-of-the-moment adventure. It's $5 per person to get in and well worth it. I was immediately drawn to the pottery. Finding in-tact examples that helped me identify my pottery shards. We stayed and took the tour of the grounds and the "Grand House." It was fascinating listening to the history and some of the theories why this Indian population disappeared.

These larger red and black pieces, 400 AD, were at one time part of a very large container, at least 2 feet tall and 60 inches around with a very small neck and opening, and were called Ollas and could hold up to 25 gallons of water.










This is a piece of red on gray produced around 600 AD.


These smaller pieces, red on buff, are specific to the Hohokams. They were the first to create buff pottery, 750 AD.


This building was built by the Hohokams and is 4 stories high and 60 feet long, built in about 1350 AD. It was called, "Casa Grande," or "Big House." It is one of the largest prehistoric structures ever built in North America and in 1892 President Benjamin Harrison made it the first prehistoric and cultural reserve established in the United States. (picture taken from the Case Grande brochure)






If you just happen to live in the area or are visiting the weekend of February 13 - 15, 2009 , there is an American Indian Music Festival that will feature many wonderful musicians, including R. Carlos Nakai. If you haven't heard his music and the others, you are missing out on some of the most beautiful, haunting sounds.