Purple Purse embellished

I started on this purse last August, as something to stitch on while my mother was having treatment, and also to use a piece of tatting by Ann, from my mother's hostel.

It is now to the stage where embellishing is finished, and it is ready to be made up. I just need to get to a store to buy wadding and some stiffener. Can't find any of mine.

I was going for an "all-over" treatment that would allow me to show off the colours - all seams are in the same crossed herringbone I love, in Madiera Metallicas gold, with the same vine wandering across the block. It is in crochet cotton, which I am using increasingly. It is just random fly stitch, where I have gone over it with a second time to make each arm a leaf of flowers.

I spent a fair bit of time thinking about how to embellish the tatting. In the end I went for a small clear bead, sewn on with silver Madiera Metallica. The picture really doesn't do it justice. The beads in a packet are fairly ordinary clear, but once they are attached with the silver thread, they really sparkle. They were sewn on twice in the first pass, and then again once more on a second pass, with a different thread, to make sure they stay attached on a purse that may be handled a fair bit.

The beading took a bit of thought. I was right with the centre circle, then initially I wanted to fill in each loop. After a while, realised that a small bead for emphasis showed off the loops better, just sitting in there like a little flower, nestled in the pointy part.

The Christmas ornie I started is ready for piecing, so it is "what next". Think it might be a purple version of a doggie vest I have made once before.