The conversation centred around how it is possible to spend hours sorting buttons, and it reminded me that one of the last things I was given by my Granny B was her precious button tin. Although I've had it for years, I open it very rarely. It seems too special to have out or to play with, so it lives on a high shelf in my studio. I have never removed a single button from the tin for the entire time I have owned it, I don't feel as though I should disturb anything in there - it's exactly how my Granny left it.
I'm intrigued by what it contains though, and I would love to delve into the tin and explore the buttons, but I feel it would be disrespectful. I know that probably sounds ridiculous, but that's just how I feel. I just wish I knew the stories behind them all, where they had come from and which items of clothing they had once adorned. Granny B had the tin of buttons for such a long time that I imagine there are some in there from my dad's childhood. I never thought to ask before the tin was actually in my possession, but oh how I wish I had.
I know deep down that Granny B gave me the tin of goodies to look at and to "play with" and maybe even to use, and I am honoured that she felt I was the grandchild most likely to appreciate it, but I have to have a long hard think before I decide what to do with them. It's all well and good having the tin act as a little shrine, but I don't think she would have wanted them to just sit in their box - she would have wanted them to be used or at least looked at. That's most of the reason I want to know their significance - I don't want to waste extra special ones on something that isn't worthy enough for them.
Perhaps I should display them instead of having them locked away? I would like to keep them all together, so perhaps a nice display might be the way to go...
What do you think?
Do you understand my crazy sentimental logic, or just think it's silly?
