button flowers

Button Flowers

The second piece was started in the cool seaside breeze and finished today in the stifling heat of the garden. Squints are us, here.

I wanted to make a simple flower picture using buttons for flowers. Sara had very kindly sent me these excellent brass buttons with flower patterns a couple of weeks ago, and I'd been looking meaningfully at them ever since. I used some mother-of-pearl flower shaped buttons as well, and sewed running stitch stems on the silk background.

There are seed stitches in different coloured silks all over the surface, which has come out a little more bumpy than I planned. Phoebe thought the vase dull so I added a touch of spangle with rhinestones and hope these draw the eye away from the unplanned relief of the piece. As if.

It's quite large (10"x15.5"/25cmx39cm) and was lovely to stitch, but it's not my favourite thing ever.

                           ***

Poor Alice is still trailing to school while the other two flop about at home. I can't believe that she has to wear a black blazer in this heat (it's 34 C today). I have a leetle, teensy-weensy problem with the whole school uniform thing anyway and this simply confirms my belief that the English are mad in the midday sun. Children deserve to be treated with dignity and making them melt in the heat does nothing to engender good feelings towards those in authority. I bet the teachers aren't coming to school in black jackets...

Comments

[Monica]

Coming from Italy, I can see how the uniform thing can be good at times (in my days you wouldn't dare going to school with the same outfit two days in a row, and that can be a bit stressfull for a teenager), however my son will have to wear short 'all year round' in his new school...
WHAT in winter? shorts? to the playground? I think traditions are a wonderful thing, but also we should move with the times too!

[Elizabeth]

School in July? In the heat? That's just nasty even without the blazer.
I do like the spangled vase embellishment. I was going to ask if that was the actual fabric.
I hope you have somewhere to hang all these lovely fabric pictures. You have quite a collection.

[Bee]

I do like the button flowers, so pretty.
Blazers in this weather! My sister teaches in a secondary school where ties must be worn at all times but not blazers, especially in this heat. She provides plastic beakers and water in her class too.
Glad to see you managed to finish The Soul of Kindness!

[Ash]

It's the last week of school here and due to the heat the kids are allowed to go home at 12 instead of staying the whole day. We are uniform-less and my boys go to school in shorts, t-shirts and sandals. I remember those awful awful blazers and I'm so glad my kids go to a non-uniformed school.

[mesclun]

Oh, poor Alice! In my opinion, making children wear clothes like that in sweltering weather is not only unkind, but also counterproductive. As if you could concentrate when you're melting! I grew up in a warm climate and had to endure the wool blazers too, but at least when the weather got really hot, they let us wear cooler clothing. My older son went to a school with uniforms and had to wear a tie every day. The younger one we sent to public school where he wore jeans, sweats and shorts. The difference now is that the older one refuses to wear anything except "sloppy" clothes (only relenting for his grandmother's funeral) and the younger one buys himself dress clothes and ties.

[anaromerodesign]

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[Amy]

School in July? That's a new one on me...

I think your little quilt is fun and playful. I've always admired that improvisational style -- but as you have confirmed, I've found it easier said then done! As I am, I'm sure you are used to working with cottons more than silks so I'm sure they didn't behave as expected.

[Dorothy B]

Good grief. A black blazer on a hot day should be considered a torture device. They may look nice, but I can't imagine they feel nice.

I like your flower design. So simple with clean lines and nice contrasting colours.

[eurobrat]

lovely piece!

[Amy]

LOVELY! Enjoyed seeing your projects from your Janet Bolton workshop. FedEx just brought issue no. 54 of Patchwork Quiltmania; in it are five wonderful pages on Janet Bolton! Coupled with part two of a snoop through Kaffe's house, what more could a quilt fiend want?

[caroline]

I love the button picture - I noticed that Janet
Bolton is doing a day workshop at the Quilt Room later in the year and after seeing your work am sorely tempted.

My son is still at school too - but luckily he can wear short sleeved shirt and shorts but school tie must still be worn. No blazers necessary though. I am so pleased he wears a uniform I think it engenders a pride in the school and because of the extreme mix of financial backgrounds (council estate to £4m+ houses) it means everyone is exactly the same so there is little or no one-up manship.

[Sherry]

Your new piece is very cute and cheerful although I admit that I can see why it isn't your favorite piece ever.

I have buttons exactly like the mother-of-pearl flower ones! I bought them for cheap at LA's garment district.

Sometimes I wish that my high school would have had uniforms. But then, the schools around my home that require uniforms are usually very sensible, with just khaki type shorts/pants and polo shirts.

[Amber]

In a grass-always-greener-on-the-other-side-of-the-pond way, I like the idea of school uniforms (in some ways). No deciding what to wear, no pressure to always have something different on, etc. However, I am SHOCKED that they would be required to wear black blazers in meltingly hot weather. And I have an extreme dislike for the inherent gender issues with school uniforms (if the girls and boys wear the same thing, then everybody gets in a hackles that the girls aren't being allowed to wear skirts/dresses and aren't those nicer looking, and if they wear different things, isn't that a load of sexist baloney?). And I just can't fathom that they just have one absolute uniform, with no variation for insanely hot weather at an insanely late time of the summer to be in school.

As my little pal Teddy would say, Thass ri-dik-i-lus!

[Acey]

Janet Bolton is always such a marvelous muse and instigator. This is my favorite piece of yours so far after quietly enjoying things for a few months.

[weirdbunny]

Tommorow is going to be the hottest day ever. You'll have to take her blazer off. Say you can't find it, or you tipped something on it.

[Robyn]

I really like both of your mini quilts, but especially this one. I enjoy the colors and the simple aspect of it.

[samantha]

I really like the button flowers, and loved the use of the ties in your other work. Hand stitching is just so relaxing sometimes.

and I am right there with you about the blazer - when are they going to admit it get's hot there in the summer?!

[Sarah]

Oh, you used the buttons! And so quickly! They look so beautiful, I feel so happy that something I sent could have been put to such a divine use.

[vanessa]

I was just looking at your 'Done and Dusted' section, and admiring 'My Favourite' scarf.
Would you mind me asking which Noro Kureyon you used to get those stripes, and did you use the same stich sequence that you used in your previouse scarves? I just love the gradation of colours, it's beautiful. Thankyou.

[taryn]

34? thats nothing. My school uniform was a wool skirt. Such a stroke of genius in Australia in the summer I can tell you where the temp is 34 most of the time. I hear now kids have airconditoners in their school now, we only had those ceiling fan thingys, my school days will forever be remebered as summers being stuck to plastic chairs... I love the quilt by the way, gorgeous colour scheme as always

[Ronke]

The same subject came up on BBC Radio London yesterday. One caller's daughter goes to a school in Wandsworth where they are also forced to wear a blazer in this heat from the time they get dressed in the morning to the time they come home from school.
The DJ thought this was outrageous and called the school to demand an explanation.
Strangely enough, the headmaster had a change of heart and allowed the pupils to remove their blazers...

[Jussi]

my girls wear wool skirts in Australia year 'round, and yes it is antiquated and ridiculous, prior to moving from NZ they went to a non-uniform school, which I was apprehensive of at first, but the kids had their own uniform - board shorts and t-shirts in summer, jeans and sweatshirts in winter,my fears of the constant fashion parade were unfounded, we all loved it.

[kmp]

I think that your Button flowers piece is so sweet! The colors and swirly stems and everything as just lovely. Thanks for sharing, I love visiting your site for some creative oomph! and inspiration.