I have just "inherited" my mother's button tin

[SoupDragon]

[happy sigh]

I say "inherited" but she is alive and well :o

I am rummaging through it looking for the old favourites that were there when I was a child...

Oh, the main button tin story is less happy, though. I'd had a Very Bad Job with a psychopath boss. In less than a month he turned me from a good worker confident in her skills to a quivering mass of self-doubting.

When I went off sick (stress), my partner tells me I spent most of that week sitting on the living room floor sorting through my buttons - I think I felt it was all I was capable of doing. But it was good therapy.

I'm OK with buttons being sorted on threads, but not all - there's got to be something to rummage around. And I do use them, but they tend to go back sometimes, too.

Sorry for all the cross-posts - have only just discovered this thread!

My inherited one is one of those impossible to open Quality Street tins :) [sigh]

Of course you can start one. It is imperative that you do so as soon as you can.

Buttons as therapy - perfect!

I plan on keeping my two tins separately. My own tin can be added to and used as necessary, the Tin of History is to be used only in dire emergencies. The two can not be mixed.

And I am in no way the top bidder on a kilo of vintage buttons on Ebay

This is bringing back some lovely memories, I loved my mums button tin when I was little. She still has it and now has her mums tin too.

I have just looked at buttons on Ebay. There are some beauties there.

I only have a small bag of buttons. I hadn't realised until now that I need a tin of buttons. I do love buttons..... Why is that? And fabric. I do love fabric. And ribbon.

I'm relatively new to crafting too, so do you actually use your buttons? Or should I just sit and stroke them?

you do need a tin

you love them because you're normal.

you may use your buttons but they must go back in the tin when they're finished with.

And stroking them is encouraged

I inherited both my grandmother's tins. I love looking through them still (and so do the dcs). They've also got things like shoe buckles and military hat badges fromWWII.

I was particualrly pleased to find my grandad's Raf buttons from the war. I put them on a coat I made for ds from a 1940s pattern. Very appropriate I thought.

Just found this thread! I've started my own button tin, temporarily the 5 buttons I have are in a little pot but when my grandad died, my mum and uncles were clearing out his house and they found a really old biscuit/sweetie tin with photos in. We're hoping to sort through all the photos and catalogue them, after which time I'm going to nab the tin for my burgeoning collection

I went to my knitting group yesterday and someone bought a ferrero rocher box, half full of lovely, white and pearly and mother of pearl buttons, for whoever wanted them!! Some people took a few out, for projects they have on the go at the moment, and I snaffled the rest of the boxful.

I am ashamed to say that I watched the box as it went round the table, and other people took buttons out of it, and wanted to snatch them out of their hands and shout. "Mine, mine, they are all mine - leave my buttons alone!!" I managed not to.

After reading this thread I am going to start a button tin. Ebay here I come for a nice old tin!

Oh yes - half the fun is the vintage tin. In fact, I may go off to ebay for a little vintage-tin browse myself, but I won't buy any because I don't need any more tins. I really don't need any more tins. I really, really ....... oh fuck it, one more tin can't hurt!!

I've just won a vintage tin full of buttons on eBay. DH thinks I'm nuts

My dh gave me that look when I told him about the buttons I'd got at knitting group last week. If I recall correctly, he referred to it as 'more useless crap brought into the house'. I should leave the bastard, shouldn't I?

I think you should, sorry SDTG :(

But he does the ironing - even the sheets. Does that help at all?

It will be a huge sacrifice but send all your buttons to me and I will look after them so that family harmony in your house can be restored.

No no no soupy, you have enough. Share the wealth and have someone else benefit (like me!)

Ooh a button tin thread what heaven?! I have my nana's - tartan walker's shortbread tin - and my mum still has hers - octagonal with a cutesy 50s photo of a girl and a white dog driving a toy car!

They told us at parents' maths workshop recently that it was good to let kids play with a button tin and count each colour, sort them into piles, etc so I let them have a go and they adored the button tin, but I made them put them all back again afterwards of course!

Buttons or dh? Buttons or dh?? Oh the dilemma!

TBH, if he does the ironing I'd take you DH if you can't part with the buttons

You really are all heart, aren't you, SoupDragon. I am in utter awe at your altruism and kindness. > But then I would have to do my own ironing. This is a difficult one.

I missed out on inheriting one - one grandmother who didn't have one (that I know of - possibly DM has one hoarded somewhere) and the other GM was my father's stepmother, and the oldest of 3 sisters - so she had their family tin, which went in turn to her sisters/nieces. I did inherit her sewing box though, which I treasure (including tin of pins).

However, my DM bought me a tin of chocolates from France, and the tin is actually printed with buttons and says "ma boite a boutons" on it, so I have started my own . There were a few buttons lurking in the bottom of my inherited box, so they give the collection some history. I also have some gorgeous sets of fabric covered buttons from Japan which are still on their cards and will be for ever until I find a good use for them.

An inherited sewing box is just as good I think