Hey Mom, Can you...?

 

An hour and fifteen minutes before we were supposed to leave for the wedding (which was an hour away), my son texts me... "Hey Mom, can you sew a button? It needs dark gray thread."

Can I sew a button?

Is the sky blue? Is the Pope Catholic?

I grabbed my portable mending kit, threaded a needle with dark gray thread and went outside to wait for them. They arrived a few minutes later, and I got into the car and sewed the button on the drive to the wedding venue*.

Crisis averted.

Memories preserved.

My son was an officiant and my granddaughter was the ring bearer. A very good time was had by all.

*My portable mending kit is nothing more than a chocolate tin with a small magnet affixed to the cover. Inside, as you can see, are pins, a small pair of scissors, a needle threader, thimble, set of tweezers, seam ripper, needles, thread and of course, a band aid. The whole shebang is smaller than my wallet. It's handy as hell, and quite a little lifesaver.

 

Duck, Duck, Tin

I bought this little paper mache duck box about 34 years ago at a gift shop in California. I use it to store my hand sewing tools.

Inside are a couple of different thimbles, some tiny sharp scissors, a small container of pins, a few needle threaders (my favorite is the bug shaped one that has a light), a seam ripper and my hand sewing needles. I wish I could tell you what kind and what size I use, but I don't know. I like them fine and sharp.

I call this box the Mending Duck because there are a few buttons in there too. I've long forgotten where the buttons go, but I find them charming, so there they live. 

The Mending Duck normally rests on my bureau in my bedroom along with my collection of small interesting boxes. It moves to wherever I want to do some hand sewing. Because it is rather handsome, it looks nice wherever it is, and because it is so unique, it's easy to find if I forget where I put it.

The Mending Duck clearly isn't for traveling. I have a small tin that I have converted to a "portable duck."

As you can see, it was originally a chocolate tin. You can find these anywhere. I found one at the Getty Center last summer (not this one.)

I put one of those sticky magnet things on the cover to hold my steel pins and a needle. As you can see I also have scissors, needle threader, seam ripper and a bit of thread. It's small, light and works like a charm. If I lost it, or anything in it, it's easy enough to replace. I probably wouldn't get this through airport security, but if this was traveling with me, it would be inside my checked luggage.

At any rate, this is part of the binding tutorial, which has moved to the editing stages.

The Mending Duck

I keep all my hand sewing, or "mending," tools in this little duck-shaped box I call the "Mending Duck."
Inside the box are my tiny little Gingher scissors, my thimbles, needles, a box of pins, a tiny seam ripper and, alas, some needle threaders, because I just can't seem to thread a needle as quickly as I used to.If a button falls off a piece of clothing, I put it in the box too, so I will won't lose it. (of course, then I forget what it belongs to...)

I bought this little box over 25 years ago in California. It is paper-mache and I think it was made in Thailand. The head broke off, and I glued it back on, but otherwise it's in pretty good shape. Strangely, though, this little box lives in my bedroom, rather than my sewing studio.