Saturday, December 24, 2005

Rosemary, eucalyptus, button hooks

After getting out a few Santas yesterday, I decided to cut a bunch of rosemary and
eucalyptus and make some Christmassy arrangements. Rosemary is such a wonderful
plant and has such a pungent fragrance; it feels and smells like Christmas to me.

Then, after a look around, I decided that the clutter that has been accumulating must go,
so I did the Flylady 27 thing fling (well, actually, probably 127 thing fling). Dusted,
vacuumed, emptied dishwasher, washed and folded clothes, changed sheets, etc.
Used old red & white quilt and green & white quilt (in tatters) that I bought years
ago at fleamarkets years ago to cover tables. Love the Christmas look of these old
quilts; they really brighten things up. I regret not having my tree (covered with my
beloved button hooks) to gaze at, but simply too much trouble, and the rosemary,
santas, and quilts give me comfort and Christmas cheer.





















This is about half of the collection of button hooks that I hang
with little organdy bows on the tree each year, but many are
so similar-either advertising hooks or hooks that were part
of a set (brush, comb, nail file, etc.) Silver, silver plate, bone, ivory, celluloid, wood...all sizes for shoes to collar buttons or buttons for baby clothes and shoes.



The smaller hooks are some of my favorites - in this picture
with the quarters to give an idea of size. The smallest is 2"
and the largest with the pink flowers is 5" and was purchased
on our honeymoon for $8. For some reason, last year I didn't wrap them separately and now, I will have to spend the time cleaning, de-rusting, and polishing. Bleah!

I'm having trouble with this post. Lost some of it and sometimes the pictures don't show.
???

3 comments:

  1. Jen
    Fantastic collection of button hooks ... I never seen so many together and I be your tree looked wonderful .. do you have a pic of it from years gone by I would love to have seen it.
    Sandy

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  2. These are lovely. I've never come across button hooks before....

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  3. Button hooks were slipped through button holes to catch the button and pull it through. Same with button up, high top shoes in the 1800's. Tiny ones were for baby clothes, ladies' gloves, or men's collar buttons.

    http://www.morninggloryantiques.com/JewelChatHooks.html

    I have examples of all of the types listed here. The advertising hooks are less attractive, but fun. When we started collecting, they were cheap, the one we bought on our honeymoon for $8 - an expensive one. We'd looked at a lot of antique shops, but couldn't afford anything, then we found that button hook, and I loved it. Now they are relatively hard to find; sterling silver ones are expensive, but most of the rest are still quite affordable. I bought several a couple of years ago for $10-15 dollars each. Haven't seen any lately, though.

    ReplyDelete

Good to hear from you!