Ohhhh buttons!

I found some new treasures at one of the flea markets here in Berlin last week. What fun these are!

They came in this box clearly labeled in Russian "ДОMИHО". Which translates to "Yankee Go Home". 

OK, I am wrong. It actually it appears to say "Domino". What fun it would have been to see what the dominoes looked like that were once the inhabitants of this box. But it is not to be.

HERE IS THE GREAT THING!!!! 
Instead of Dominoes inside were wonderful buttons! 

Mother of Pearl buttons, very large and heavy. There were 8 of them in the box and they measure 1-3/4" (4.5 cm) in diameter and 3/16"  (1/2 cm) thick. Also in the box were some interesting other Mother of Pearl buttons:

Yes those on the right are sort of half cut off, purposely. There are 5 of them like that and I need to do some research on the type of  mother of pearl, but these are red on the back and the way they are cut off shows that, see? 

They are very colorful and from just a little research so far it is amazing just how many different shells are used for buttons.

The button on the left is a light brown and has a carved face. So pretty.

At the flea market I also found these:

And these:

It pays to tell people what you are looking for. Many are more then willing to get rid of things in the attic to someone who will use them. Case in point, these large buttons were among many that were given to me by someone (Hi karen!). The carved one at the top is especially beautiful. The set of coat buttons are really fun too.

Now all I need is a project. Instead of a project in search of buttons these are buttons in search of a project. I am truly stumped by the first buttons. Coats and heavier items come to mind with no formed idea. The red ones are going to be something with boiled wool with an art nouveau look. The rest of them, who knows?

Lastly here is the latest of one of the blocks I am working on my crazy patch quilt. I'm liking this design. 

The lace in the background is from a broken handkerchief found here in Berlin. The blue bead of the center of the flower is from a second hand store here. The other beads came from various shops either here in Berlin or stateside.

This week I am joining:
Shabby Art Boutique
My Salvaged treasures