My grandmother once made me a clown made of yo-yos and it
was my favorite toy.
Last year, I began to make some yo-yos, but the project was laid
aside as I was making quilts for Christmas.

As I was rummaging through the stash bins, I found a pretty good sized
remnant from the backing I used for my sister’s black and white chevron
quilt. I immediately thought I could make a tote from this remnant.

I measured two, 15 inch tall by 20 inch wide sections, with the polka dot on top of a black base.
Then I tried to figure out how I could quilt this and make a tote.

I remembered the yo-yos that were stashed away and pulled them out.
I couldn’t decide what looked good, and I was being very conservative,
thinking that I couldn’t mix all of the different designs with the polka dots.
I shared this with Nancy, and thanks to her artistic eye, she played around
with the design by placing the yo-yos in different layouts.
She is so creative and I learn so much from her.
So, I came home and tried different designs.

I found some great polka dot, striped, and solid black and white buttons.

4 inch wide strips for handles made from the same quilt remnant

Handles

The only fabric I bought for this purse was
a white with black polka dot fabric for the lining.
Pockets were made from remnants.

Tote lining has two pockets

I love the buttons!
   
There is a stitch in the ditch where the dots meet the black fabric.
I also stitched a line 1/4 from this stitch, and then another.
Then I measured 2 1/2 inches from the last line and stitched 2 more lines, 1/4 inch apart.