SydK: Love your Tahitians with the gemstones.
As a hand weaver and spinner, I've often overdyed items that had beautiful color, but were too much. I've had some interesting results when one fiber didn't dye like the other fiber in the same piece of fabric, too. Your sweater works well with the pink button holes, though.
I never liked BIG pearls (in my previous life), so coin pearls were sort of a compromise. They had the big look without looking like gumballs. These coin pearls are particularly lustrous in real life, which is why I was drawn to them. Now, of course, Pearl Shrinkage Syndrome has hit me, and I can't believe how big some of my round pearls are. I now find my 8mm to look rather small, and I thought they were so big when I bought them.