{"id":10482,"date":"2026-06-11T09:49:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T14:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/?p=10482"},"modified":"2026-06-11T09:49:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T14:49:33","slug":"samples-are-timesavers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/?p=10482","title":{"rendered":"Samples Are Timesavers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>My regular readers know I&#8217;m keen on making samples<\/strong>., and they&#8217;re are worthwhile investments in time for the following reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>if an idea, material or technique is new to me, I learn just how it works <em>in my hands<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>trying out any options and making a sample of each enables <em>valid comparisons.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the relatively short time spent making a sample or two really <em>does save time<\/em> (and sometimes, heartbreak)  Often art quilt makers in particular talk about having so many unfinished works, and sometimes it&#8217;s obvious to me that taking a little time &#8211; an hour, morning, or day &#8211; to work through a sample or two would have saved heartbreaking waste of effort and\/or materials. I don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s <em>just<\/em> an older person&#8217;s pov, though there&#8217;s a lot of pressure these days to just hurry up and get on with things &#8211;  &#8220;<em>quick and easy<\/em>&#8221; everything appeals to people whose whole lives are in a constant rush. Craftsmen who take their time to be meticulous and attend to fine details are a pleasure to observe, and as I wrote <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYmS4noq4rs\/\"><strong>elsewhere on this blog,<\/strong><\/a> I find it quite hard for me to produce something that looks &#8220;rough&#8221; or &#8220;damaged&#8221; as my Out of Order series requires.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"230\" data-attachment-id=\"10483\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/?attachment_id=10483\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Leaflets-on-ghinko-leaves-colour-corrected-blog.jpg?fit=500%2C230&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"500,230\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Leaflets on ghinko leaves colour corrected   blog\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Leaflets-on-ghinko-leaves-colour-corrected-blog.jpg?fit=300%2C138&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Leaflets-on-ghinko-leaves-colour-corrected-blog.jpg?fit=500%2C230&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Leaflets-on-ghinko-leaves-colour-corrected-blog.jpg?resize=500%2C230&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10483\" style=\"width:636px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Leaflets-on-ghinko-leaves-colour-corrected-blog.jpg?w=500&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Leaflets-on-ghinko-leaves-colour-corrected-blog.jpg?resize=300%2C138&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong><em>The little green leaflets on the top of the ghinko leaves are beautiful &#8211; poppyseeds on a bun? small grubs like little silkworms? and, speaking of silkworms reminds me of a writhing mass of bullion stitches&#8230;. <\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Walking in our neighbourhood recently, I took this photo of some fallen Ghinko leaves. The tiny green leaflets from a nearby tree instantly struck me as little seeds\/tiny grubs\/and of course, stitches&#8230;. stitches in a random pattern holding down leaflike shapes&#8230;.Feeling sure must I have already done something like that sometime, I found several photos just like this one, but <em>I hadn&#8217;t been thinking of sheer fabrics until seeing it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"474\" data-attachment-id=\"10484\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/?attachment_id=10484\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Leaflets-on-ghinko-leaves-suggested-pattern-1-blog.jpg?fit=500%2C474&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"500,474\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Leaflets on ghinko leaves suggested pattern 1   blog\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Leaflets-on-ghinko-leaves-suggested-pattern-1-blog.jpg?fit=300%2C284&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Leaflets-on-ghinko-leaves-suggested-pattern-1-blog.jpg?fit=500%2C474&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Leaflets-on-ghinko-leaves-suggested-pattern-1-blog.jpg?resize=500%2C474&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10484\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.0549241297232967;width:249px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Leaflets-on-ghinko-leaves-suggested-pattern-1-blog.jpg?w=500&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Leaflets-on-ghinko-leaves-suggested-pattern-1-blog.jpg?resize=300%2C284&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>so here&#8217;s another good reason to make samples &#8211; another possibility may come to mind during the process of making one<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>browsing on Pinterest and Instagram I sometimes find something I need to try out <em>immediately<\/em> to keep an idea in my mind before I forget that poster&#8217;s name. Yes, I could have drawn a diagram too, but probably needed to get up and walk around, anyway \ud83d\ude42    A case in point this week was discovering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYmS4noq4rs\/\">an IG post by well known English embroiderer Karen Turner<\/a>, (who my UK stitcher friends in PINKS <em>did<\/em> know of)  I was smitten with the beauty, simplicity and potential of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYmS4noq4rs\/\">this one <\/a> so I rushed upstairs to do this quick sample to hold the idea in my head, <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"311\" data-attachment-id=\"10486\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/?attachment_id=10486\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/triangular-stitch-sample-blog.jpg?fit=500%2C311&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"500,311\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"triangular stitch sample     blog\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/triangular-stitch-sample-blog.jpg?fit=300%2C187&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/triangular-stitch-sample-blog.jpg?fit=500%2C311&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/triangular-stitch-sample-blog.jpg?resize=500%2C311&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10486\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.6077294685990338;width:406px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/triangular-stitch-sample-blog.jpg?w=500&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/triangular-stitch-sample-blog.jpg?resize=300%2C187&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>and instantly discovered (1) if I use it this way, the corners need either a touch of glue or misty fuse to prevent them lifiting during handling, and (2) <strong>the stitch motif itself is divine to do !<\/strong> so I&#8217;d most likely use it as either a texture\/filler or quilting motif. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color\">The sample&#8217;s up on my pin board to exert some daily influence \ud83d\ude42<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My regular readers know I&#8217;m keen on making samples., and they&#8217;re are worthwhile investments in time for the following reasons: Walking in our neighbourhood recently, I took this photo of some fallen Ghinko leaves. The tiny green leaflets from a nearby tree instantly struck me as little seeds\/tiny grubs\/and of course, stitches&#8230;. stitches in a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6uxpF-2J4","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10482"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10491,"href":"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10482\/revisions\/10491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alisonschwabe.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}