Tag: Handbag Sampler

Handbag Sampler Returns

Handbag Sampler - ready for binding
Handbag Sampler – ready for binding

The Handbag Sampler is back from Colleen. She was able to drop it off for me when she did an errand in the neighborhood. It was great not to have to drive to her place. 

I wanted this ready for the BAM BOM start at the meeting yesterday. I had to stitch the binding on quickly. It was a little challenging, because I used a black and white diamond patterned fabric for the binding. That meant that choosing the thread to be invisible was a challenge. I ended up with white and was very careful about getting the stitches on the underside of the binding so they wouldn’t be visible. They were fairly hidden on the white fabric, but screaming against the black.

Handbag Sampler - quilting detail
Handbag Sampler – quilting detail

Colleen did a great job on the quilting.

She quilted a lot of different motifs in different places around the quilt. The swirls/spirals in the background of the New York Beauty are a particular favorite.

Working on this quilt and the Patchwork Palooza make me want to start another sampler. How many samplers are too many?

Handbag Sampler Top and Back

Handbag Sampler top finished
Handbag Sampler top finished

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.

Handbag Sampler – More Blocks

Handbag Sampler - new blocks
Handbag Sampler – new blocks

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
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.

Lost and Found….Again

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
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.

FOUND! Handbag Sampler

Handbag Sampler blocks
Handbag Sampler blocks

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.

Handbag Sampler

Handbag Sampler
Handbag Sampler

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
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.

How to Sew a Curve in 3 Easy Lessons

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
Drunkard’s Path

Good graphic look on this one.

Drunkard's Path #2
Drunkard’s Path #2

I really like the way the middle circle comes forward in this design.

Drunkard's Path #4
Drunkard’s Path #4

Not sure what the heck this is supposed to be, but it obviously doesn’t work.

Drunkard's Path #5
Drunkard’s Path #5

I like the way the pinwheel type design shows up. This is my second favorite.

Drunkard's Path #6
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
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
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.