Picture of the day - October 17, 2008

"Spare Buttons"

Photo courtesy of Kym McLeod. My mom and dad raised a rather large family on what people today might call a shoestring budget, and although we never went lacking for the necessities of life, luxuries were few and far between. One of those rare luxuries was a set of new clothes. Like many large families of my childhood era, our clothes and shoes were handed down from kid to kid until they were literally worn-out. But when a shirt, blouse, skirt or pair of pants had been worn for the last time, instead of being thrown into the garbage the cloth was "recycled" into either a new garment or a quilt. By mom's skilled and loving hands a few scraps of cloth would soon be transformed into something even more beautiful than the original items had been. And whether it was an addition to our wardrobe or a gorgeous quilt to help keep us warm on those cold winter nights, we were always so very proud of what mom had created for us. Mom's sewing room was a magical place where this little boy would watch her for hours on end as she measured, cut, trimmed and sewed with the precision and skill of a surgeon. That room always had the smell of a fabric shop with freshly-washed boxes of cloth and "quilt pieces" packed away in the closet, under the bed, and stacked high in the corners. But there was one thing in mom's sewing room that always seemed to catch my eye... I can never remember a time when mom didn't have a big glass jar filled with hundreds of colorful spare buttons. Most of those shiny buttons came from the worn-out pieces of clothing that she recycled into our treasures, but a few were leftovers that she had purchased over the years when she needed a special set for a new shirt or blouse. But all those buttons had one thing in common: they were colorful and shiny, gleaming brightly in the sunbeams that always seemed to enter the window at just the right angle to provide perfect lighting for mom's sewing. I loved the red ones most because they reminded me of pieces of candy - one of those other luxuries that were few and far between. Although she is now enjoying her 8th decade of life, mom still measures, cuts, and sews just as she has done since she herself was just a child. And yes, her sewing room still has the tell-tale smell of a fabric shop, and on the table beside her sewing machine still sits a big glass jar filled with hundreds of colorful and shiny spare buttons. She is still creating one magnificent quilt after another, but these days they rarely make their way onto a bed. You see, these handcrafted patchwork masterpieces are now in high demand as keepsakes by everyone who has ever known and loved my mom...which means that few of them will ever be used for their intended purpose. The gleaming buttons in that glass jar are rarely used anymore since mom now dedicates her time and talents almost exclusively to her quilting, but they will always be there just in case someone happens to lose a button or two. But more importantly, they will always be sitting beside her well-used sewing machine to remind this country boy of a simpler time when one amazing woman could turn something worthy of being thrown into the trash into something worth much, much more than the items from which the scraps of cloth originally came from.   Click here to comment on this picture.   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!                                 Place the "Picture of the Day" on your website, for free! Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"