A Finish, Some Stash and a Surprise

First, the surprise: Patti Arbia made some fantastic buttons for me last fall to complete Raise the Roof's Crabby All Year piece --- I thought the flower buttons that came with the chart made absolutely no sense in the "Bills" box for December and had Patti make me a piggy bank and a hammer instead. Well, Patti must have the soul of an artist because she never sent a bill so I just paid what I thought they were worth. The upshot was she thought I had overpaid, promised to send more buttons but I told her it wasn't necessary. I was one satisfied customer since the new custom-made buttons worked so well in the piece. A few days ago, these arrived in the mail:

Second, stash in the mail: my order from 123stitch came. I added to my collection of Belle Soie silks ... it is a beautiful and terrible addiction.

Some rusts, some red, some blues. And some turquoise and green.

The last is a very dark green called Tortoise Shell that I will use for my Workbasket Quaker Turtle which I will be kitting up as soon as I complete my current WIPs.

And then, there are the last two charts in The Stitching Parlor's Pride and Prejudice series

Mr. and Mrs. Darcy at Pemberly

The Ball at Netherfield

And now for the finish: The Sailor's Jig from Diana Gallagher's Creative Needleworks Whale Watch leaflet.

I plan to finish this as a beach tote for my husband to carry his books, reading glasses, binoculars, etc. I am picturing blue and white mattress ticking for the fabric with rope handles if I can find a rope to suit my needs [and sewing machine's capacity] Even when you fray, flatten and spread the end of the rope that gets sewn into a seam, it can give your average home sewing machine some serious indigestion.

Well, that's the progress to date. Today, I hope to do some more work on Fertile Circles and hope to finish a Christmas ornament and at least get started on my tote finish for BaBa Black Sheep.