A lovely day out at the Button tin

 

So last weekend Kate and I (and our friends) treated ourselves to an afternoon at the Button tin in Rotherham. We had met Gemma this Summer at the Folksy Summer school and had always wanted to visit. Gemma has created the most magical space in the centre of a gorgeous old building called The Imperial building, which has apparently been abandoned for many years. The Button Tin is the sort of place that's really hard to describe but it's basically an ode to vintage sewing with neat little piles of unique fabrics, thread and of course buttons. I stole this photo from Georgina Humphrey as mine were a bit rubbish and Gemma looks lovely in it. (please click on the link to look at more of Georgina's work)

So the first thing we did (after a cup of tea) was decide what to make and look at Gemma's work for inspiration.

 I really wanted to have a go at sewing words and so I picked a simple phrase to use, this is my first draft. The Best Is Yet To Come always makes me feel positive, especially if I'm having a bad day, so I wanted it for my wall.

 I then rummaged through the vintage fabrics to find the ones I wanted to work with. Gemma has been collecting these for many years and likes the idea of each piece having a history. I picked lots of earthy greens and neutral colours & placed them together.

 Now the work begins!

 

 

 This was my workspace.

 

And lots of tea to keep us going.

 

 This is Kate working hard on her nautical creation.

 

 She picked a lovely shiney fabric for hers.

 Then we had some cake!

 

 I finally finished my letters and used the sewing machine to attach everything together.

I even had time to add some buttons! This is my finished product which will now live on my wall at home.

 Proud!

Gemma kindly wrapped it up and tied it with string.

And just before we went I captured some pics of the Button tin at night.

 A magical place indeed.

 
When we got back to the shop I remembered we had some chocolate button moulds and so I had a go at making lots of different flavoured chocolate buttons. Here are the ones I sent to Gemma to say thank you. Please check out her blog here and make a trip for yourself.