It's a....

Here is ...something. It's about 6 inches high, and is either a small conversation piece (do they still have conversation pieces?) or a rather baroque pincushion. It is jumping into a box tomorrow to be send off to Made4Aid, a new auction site to raise money for charity (Darfur at the present time) which was dreamed up by a couple of bloggers. If you would like to contribute an art piece to the site, there are directions for doing so there - they are interested in a lot of different kinds of things, although no chandeliers, please. You may also  may purchase art work there if you are so inclined. There is a more extensive post about Made4Aid by one of the masterminds here.

Edit: Please see comment by eat-a-heaps (blog here), in the cap, an epic tearjerker. Mifune has left the building.