Buttons!

I am a lucky lady to live here in Colorado.

Okay, I might be going out on a limb here but I think this might be the meca for all crafting.  No really, there are so many wonderful inspiring places to derive design ideas, many wonderful and famous designers to rub shoulders with, world class publishers all around me, leaders in the online crafting community just down the road, yarn companies and yarn shops that are at the top of their game.  But one of the best parts of living here in Colorado is that I get to go to the workroom at JHB buttons and browse all of their buttons new and old to find that right one for my projects.

Yes, the leader in the button industry is located right here in Denver, Colorado!

JHB is a family owned business that began in the basement of the family home.  The owner, son of the founder Jean Barr, and his wife are as delightful and colorful in person as the buttons they sell.  They have taken this wonderful company from a small beginning to a internationally known company in just 40+ years.  JHB has the best buttons around including some designed by our very own knitting goddess, Nicky Epstien!  Supplying buttons to all fields of the crafting world JHB especially cares about and support the knitting and crochet community.

They were a contributor to the wildly successful Yarn Thing Designers’ Dinner last June at TNNA.  To which many of my designer friends remarked that they LOVED the buttons that were included in the gift package and couldn’t wait to order more.  Since the dinner I have had several of my designer friends contact me thanking me for introducing them to JHB.

Why am I telling you all about this company?  So happy you asked!  I had a chance to take a trip to JHB Buttons just yesterday to choose the perfect buttons for over 10 projects.  You read that correctly, 10 PROJECTS!  The scary thing is that I have more that I need buttons for but I didn’t have the yarn yet to choose them!  CRAZY BUSY around here at Yarnsports llc.

Why did I pick all my buttons before I made the projects?  Well usually, I wait until the project is finished before I choose a button however, with so many projects heading out the door to contract knitters and crocheters I thought it would be good to have the buttons ready to go with the yarn so the contractor can make sure button holes are the correct size.  Nothing worse than having a button in mind to use for a project only to find out you made a button hole too small or too big!

Anyway, wouldn’t you know that my camera battery died as I was getting ready to take some pictures.  So there are no action shots of me and my fellow contractors looking at, sorting through and combining buttons with yarn.  It was a sight to be seen and I must say that it did take some time.  It was about an hour and 15 min worth of choosing the right button for each project.  Hardly anytime at all when you consider that the button is that one detail that can make or break a piece.

A button is that one detail that can really make your garment POP or your accessory look really finished.  Buttons are not something that you should rush though choosing.  And trust me…we did not rush!  LOL.

You can learn more about JHB Buttons soon on the podcast as they will be a guest.  But in the meantime, go check out their website (conveniently www.buttons.com) or better yet Fav them on Facebook!

Well, now I have the sketches, yarn, and the buttons…now I need to write the patterns and get these boxes of projects out the door to my contractors. Wish me luck!