Friday, December 16, 2011

Favorite Things Friday ~ Pins

I suppose the more accurate, fancy word for them is brooches.  But I have a hard time with the word brooch.  For one thing, it doesn't sound like it looks, although why that should bother me, I don't know; the entire English language is filled with words that don't sound like they look.  

So to keep it simple, I just call them pins.  I like them.  They're my favorite thing this week!

I'm not big on wearing jewelry, in general.  I wear no rings, and necklaces only occasionally.  I'd rather put a pretty pin on my sweater.  Here are a few from my jewelry box.

A lot of these are old, as in outdated (maybe most), but I still keep them.  I wore the pink one on a fuchsia sweater set to work last week.  It's one of my favorites.

Some are old, as in antique.  This one on my wool dress coat, for instance, came from my late mother-in-law.  

The green one is also one of my favorite antique pins.  It the only one I've bought from an antique jewelry vendor.  

None of these are expensive.  I just like them for one reason or another and have kept them to enjoy now and then.

If you're old enough to remember the late '80s or early '90s and big, poufy shoulder pads, you might also remember pins that looked like medals.  Was the military look in back then?  All I can think of is Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation.  I played the heck out of that CD.

The fish pin is another from my mother-in-law, but it's not that old.  I love the colorful enameling—cloisonne, if you're fancy.  (Miss Jackson, if you're nasty... I've got that song lyric in my head now.)

The swan pair is a set I think I got for Christmas probably 30 years ago.  Does that make them (and me) antique too?  Don't answer that!


Here's another real cheapie (but blingy) snowflake from mom-in-law.  No, I haven't pinned the family pet, silly, that's a fake fur collar on a sweater vest.

That's it for my last Favourite Things Friday linkup of the year.   Thanks for visiting!  Feel free to head over to Quilting in my Pyjamas for a look at other fab faves!

Edited to add:  I just had to add this.  Still love it!  I like her pins too!

10 comments:

thea said...

your pins are beautiful. I get what you mean about the word "brooch" -- pins works for me. I really like the fish pin. I don't wear pins but yours are lovely. Nice FTF! Thank!

Vicki @ DottyJane said...

So many pretty pins! What a cool idea for your FTF.

Kirsten's Cooking said...

I only have a few more gifts to buy, and I'm headed downtown today to buy a vintage brooch for my sister....
Fabulous favorite!

Karen said...

Oh my you crack me up :) Now I want to watch 80's videos on MTV...complete with the old spaceman MTV logo. Love your brooches, pins I mean...they are beautiful!

Sarah Craig said...

Such gorgeous pins! I absolutely love costume jewelry - such a wide variety is available at good prices! And the older vintage pieces are so beautiful.....

Shay said...

I love Vintage pins (see- I didn't call them brooches either !)

And I recall very vividly the days of military adornments on 80's clothes.

I think that green pin is one of my favourites too.

I have Miss Janet stuck in my head now.....

Michelle said...

You have some beautiful pins! Pins are not something I wear ~ like you I don't wear an overabundance of jewelry ~ but i always think they look so elegant.

Enjoyed the video. The choreography is just mind-blowing.

Suzanne said...

Loved looking at your pins. I also have jewelry that I love, but don't wear.

That choreography is so bitchin'. Until I was 13, I wanted to be a dancer, but as I only grew to 5'2" that blew that idea out of the water. Dance is the way I relate to music. Thanks so much for sharing the video.

Elizabeth said...

Those are all so pretty! I can totally see why they are a favorite. The swans are gorgeous. And I really love that butterfly. Is it turquoise or pink? I love cloisonne as well. That fish is so pretty. And I love the pearl pin as well as the green. Very nice.

Also, thanks for the Janet Jackson flashback. Those are some awesome dance moves. I've bounced around the idea of doing Michael Jackson as a favorite, but wonder if I'd get booed off the blogosphere because of what happened. I had such a crush on him as a kid.

Anyway, LOVE the pins.

xo -E

seabreezequilts said...

I love to fossick in second hand stores for vintage pieces and have a few that I have inherited from my Nan who always wore a pin.