This purse is a variant on the "fat-bottomed bag" pattern in the Stitch-n-Bitch Happy Hooker book.
Any crocheters who have the pattern and are interested: I varied the pattern by stopping after the second gathering row, then added a flap to close it with, button and a shoulder strap. (The original is a handbag - I can't or won't carry a purse that doesn't hang from my shoulder.) The yarn is lion brand suede.
Here's a shot of the lining, which used to be part of a bedsheet. I followed Kel's tutorial for doing the lining:
And finally, a closeup of the on-topic button. It's circular peyote, increasing on one side and decreasing on the other (though I ran into trouble with the decreases), using size 8 seed beads.
