Button Challenge...

Embroidery Guild put out a challenge for our Christmas Lunch held in mid-November - a 3/4" cream silk covered button to be decorated in any way the maker chose.  The buttons were passed out by a member and came from either her wedding dress or her mother's wedding dress (I can't remember, I wasn't there being a day meeting and a button was collected for me).  Anyway, it was definitely a challenge from the beginning!  I thought of embroidering a little rose on the button but it was covered so tightly with the silk I coudn't get a needle point under even one thread let alone stitch through it.

The night before Christmas Lunch and still not done - I hadn't been able to come up with any other ideas to that point and while there is absolutely no obligation to play along with these little games at Guild I decided to see if I could come up with something.

I found some silk ribbon roses in a packet amongst the bits and bobs and came up with a plan (finally!) - make a bouquet.  A bouquet needs some greenery so leaves made out of felt with a backstitch central vein - all with the aide of craft glue, no need to get a needle through the silk.

Finished at about 1 3/4"...I was happy with it and have put it back in with the fancy buttons to one day decorate something or other.

And here are all the buttons...talented people at Guild...the stump work bird was the winner.

Happy Stitching...