I got a basket!

I came home from a work-related trip today (purpose of trip: the gnats needed to be fed) to find an awesome quilted fabric basket from the swap I was a part of in my mailbox. My quilting fairy, Pat, picked marine-scientist-y colors and fabrics for me:

Batiks! My favorite!

There is some beautiful decorative stitching on the top edge and the handles, and the quilting on the accent fabric really complements it:

There were also some extra goodies inside--a few fat quarters and a little coin purse matching the fabric basket.

The coin purse has a neat spring top that's very cool and the likes of which I'd never seen before.

Thank you so much, Pat! I love it all, and the basket is definitely going somewhere prominent in my sewing room--I'm thinking it would be a great place to keep my favorite fabrics.

This was my first swap, and was a really fun experience. If you haven't tried it, I'd definitely recommend it!