I finished the Handbag Sampler and it is now with Colleen getting quilted. I am pleased with the way it came out. I am even more pleased that it is done.
I am kind of amazed at the colors and fabrics I chose for this quilt. It is super bright and there is a lot to look at.
I rearranged the blocks before I sewed it together. I thought I needed to move some of the diamond fabrics away from each other. They were sort of concentrated at the bottom of the quilt, so I moved the Nosegay block to the top.
I have to admit that I feel slightly bereft finishing this quilt. I have others on my to do list, but this one seems like it might be the oldest.
I couldn’t help myself. I said I wouldn’t, but I really couldn’t help myself. I made two more blocks for the Handbag Sampler.
I decided that the quilt needed a few more blocks and I took the time on Sunday morning to choose a couple of easy blocks. I chose Sawtooth Star, because it is a favorite. I also chose Fox & Geese, because I thought it would look good with the other blocks. I really had to stretch that blue fabric, because I had barely enough to make the background.
Handbag Sampler – all the blocks
The blocks went relatively quickly and I think they look good with the other blocks. I am well on my way to finishing the quilt.
My appointment with Colleen is coming up quickly and with Triumphant well on its way to being finished I went looking for the Handbag Sampler. That project was found a year ago and nothing has happened, so I decided to sew it together and get it quilted as is.
OMG! I have no idea what the deal is with this project. It has hide and seek in it’s seams. As mentioned, I couldn’t find the blocks. I KNOW I put them somewhere easy to find. I took boxes off the top shelves of the fabric closet and looked through them again. Stay tuned for some posts on the projects <insert eye roll here> I found.
Handbag Sampler July 2025
No dice so I started working on zipper pouches, but I couldn’t get my mind off of these blocks. I had a couple of more ideas for where they could be, which didn’t pan out, so I looked through my project boxes. I found them, eventually, in a box of random blocks. They were easily accessible, but not visible. Now they are on the design wall and will be sewn together soon.
I am not putting them away until the top is done and it is ready to go to Colleen’s.
I finally found the Handbag Sampler blocks!!! They were in a bin at the top of my fabric closet
I need at least a few more blocks, which means I have to find the fabrics I used. I have the focus fabric, the handbag fabric, but the others weren’t with it. I haven’t looked for them, but I am confident that they are together and I didn’t use them for something else.
This sampler start has a really different look than the Aqua-Red Sampler and the Original Sampler, though many of the blocks are the same or similar.
In going through old photos, I found photos of the Handbag Sampler I have been talking about recently.
I haven’t actually found the blocks, but, at least, I have a photo and sort of know what I have.
Handbag Sampler Nosegay
I found a photo of a Nosegay block that I made (or am in the process of making as well. The 9th block is good, because that means, if I find the blocks, I can just put the quilt together. I don’t have to search out fabric, which is all very distinctive. Of course,in terms of learning, it isn’t quite as comprehensive a Sampler as the Aqua-Red Sampler. There is no applique completed.
I have to find the blocks before I decide what other blocks to make.
I spent time this week catching up to my students on my blocks. I had the pieces to the Drunkard’s Path blocks cut for weeks, but couldn’t seem to get them together. I pinned and pinned and pinned and pinned and pinned and something didn’t seem right. I couldn’t figure out what it was and I couldn’t sew the things with so many pins. Per chance, I picked up Ruth McDowell’s Piecing book. If you don’t have this book, get it. It is the best.
Anyway, I read the bits about sewing curves and found the problem. Clipping! I had forgotten to clip the concave part of the curve. I think I was so caught up in having problems with the block when I was a beginner and trying to make the Drunkard’s Path that I couldn’t think straight.
I sewed all the little blocks together then played with the layout for a few days and came up with the following layouts:
Drunkard’s Path
Good graphic look on this one.
Drunkard’s Path #2
I really like the way the middle circle comes forward in this design.
Drunkard’s Path #4
Not sure what the heck this is supposed to be, but it obviously doesn’t work.
Drunkard’s Path #5
I like the way the pinwheel type design shows up. This is my second favorite.
Drunkard’s Path #6
Again good graphic look, but the way the circles go off the side don’t appeal to me as much as the other layouts.
Drunkard’s Path #7
This is supposed to be an X, but the X doesn’t show up, because I used three colors (2 for the background) instead of just two total.
Until I finally decided on the design below. I did have a hard time deciding between this and the pinwheels:
Drunkard’s Path Final
This exercise, again, shows how great blocks are. I could make a whole quilt with this block and do each one with a different layout. I think that there is so much that can be done with block designs.
