It has been well-documented that I have a problem with buttons.  The same way someone with a caffeine addiction has a problem with coffee, or a shopaholic has a problem with shoes.  It won’t kill me or anything (and thank god they’re not too expensive), but, well, I can’t stop myself.

And so, despite the fact that I have an entire jar of vintage buttons, a Zip-loc bag full of sets of buttons I just “couldn’t pass up,” and I find cards of buttons sprinkled here and there around my studio, I “had to” get a new set of perfect buttons for my cardigan.

We had friends in town, and they wanted to ride the ferry and visit one of the islands (they’re from Texas and riding a ferry is a fun, new experience for them.  I’m from the Midwest, and even though I’ve lived here for almost 5 years, I still love it, so I’m not going to argue.)  We went over to Bainbridge Island and spent a day beach combing, shopping and eating.

On Bainbridge there is a gorgeous knitting shop, Churchmouse Yarns and Teas (they make lots of patterns that you might have seen.  I love their Turkish Bed Socks.)

And they have a gorgeous selection of beautiful (and super-classy) buttons.

I almost got a set of vintage-looking silver buttons, but changed my mind at the last minute because I was afraid they’d be too heavy and weigh down the front of my sweater.  Instead, I picked out four beautiful gray mother-of-pearl buttons.  They are subtle and classy, and pick up on the beautiful variegated blues of the yarn.Of course, mother-of-pearl buttons are hard to photograph, so you’ll have to imagine their color being a little less silver, and a little more rainbow-y and beautiful.What do you keep collecting, even if you don’t need to?