A Nice Surprise at Quilt Guild

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle

My favorite night of the quilt guild’s year is the garage sale, hands down. There are always things to be shared and treasures to be found. My small guild in Holdrege, Nebraska had a garage sale in January. I tried hard to find interesting things in my studio that I no longer needed to benefit the group in a small way.

I recreated this image and it doesn’t do justice to the hundreds of 1-1/2″ strips I had on hand. The strips were passed to me from a co-worker (I think) at Quiltmaker quite a few years ago. They were of every persuasion and they weren’t terribly appealing. I knew they wouldn’t do well just stuffed in a bag but I had an idea.

Playing Drezzup in Hastings, Nebraska

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Trunk Shows

I had a delightful time with Hastings (Nebraska) Quilter’s Guild last night, presenting Let’s Play Drezzup to about 50 people. This program is in three parts:

  1. A hands-on experience to make, trim and join the Dresden blades. Everyone takes home her samples.
  2. A trunk show of blocks showing the endless variations possible with Dresden Plate.
  3. A sampling of new and old Dresden quilts with quirks, oddities and interesting details.

I have to rush to fit it all in one hour but it’s getting good feedback. Whenever I pull this trunk show out in preparation for a program, I get all excited about Dresden Plate again! I could spend the next five years on these quilts alone.

President’s Blocks, Part 3

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle, Trunk Shows

Hello and welcome to Stash Bandit! I’m Diane Harris and it’s nice to have you here. 

I’ve been telling the story of some blocks I received in the late ’80s.

Read Part 1.

Read Part 2. 

 

 

 

 

This takes us up to The Rest of the Story, in the words of Paul Harvey.

When the quilt top was finished, I still had the other half of the Nine Patches left over. It seemed a shame to throw them away.

All of those fabrics had been cut into patches for me. The stitches had been taken for me. The blocks had been gifted to me. I just couldn’t pitch them.

I brainstormed for what to do. Making another quilt wasn’t sensible, but using them in this quilt was. I toyed with creating a border but decided to sew the halves together into wonky Nine Patches.

Only one of these has a signature. It belongs to Lorena, my renegade friend who had to sign one name in each white patch, of course. Two of her names are on the quilt front and two landed here, on what will become the back. (If you knew Lorena, you’re laughing.)

For the quilt back, I set the new wonky Nine Patches into columns with scrappy pink setting triangles and sewed the columns together. Lengths of two more pink prints went down each side to make it big enough. And now we are ready to quilt.

While this is no masterpiece, I had so much fun making it! It brought back memories of so many people and our happy times together. There’s even a block from one person whom I didn’t really care for, but I’m glad she’s on the quilt. Funny how time softens the edges.

These blocks have stayed with me for around 32 years as a UFO of sorts and as soon as the quilting is done, they’ll be an FO instead! What a victory! I guess it’s never too late.

In case you’re wondering, these are the names found on the quilt.

Kathleen Ernesti, Donna Rector, Ellen Boyle, Gloria Nelsen, Penny White, Velesta Halbur, Sandra Renli, Wilma Amen, BJS, Doris Volk, Joyce Pick, Shirley Anderson, Maxine Kraemaer, Sue Sindelar, Sandy Eckert, Inger Hansen, Lavonne Hornik, Mattie Niewohner, Daytime Friendship Quilters, Mary Goetsch, Lila Brown, Marilynn Heller, Julie Deering, Carol Monk, Elsie Acklie, Joan Waldman, Lorena Edna Marie Kouba, Peggy Haas, Genelle Trowbridge, Shirley Hassler. There’s an unsigned block from Sherry Stuifbergen. 

I can’t wait to reimagine another long-stored project, but right now I have my mind on Dresden Plate quilts. My next two programs will feature my Dresden collection and I want to have some new things to show. All of that upcoming. Until then, keep on scrappin’!

I’m a quilter who loves everything about the process and I enjoy sharing it with others. My energetic trunk shows are lively entertainment for your quilt guild. I’d love to come to your city so give me a call and Let’s Talk Quilts! 

President’s Blocks, Part 2

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle, Trunk Shows

In case you missed Part 1, you’ll want to catch up by reading President’s Blocks, 32 Years Late. I have an idea for reinventing blocks I received from guild members more than 30 years ago.

The blocks are 9″ (give or take) Nine Patches in ’90s blues and muslin, with signatures in ink or embroidery. I have about 40. I’ve decided to create blocks like the one above by slicing the Nine Patches 1/4″ to the side of the diagonal center and joining them with a big red triangle.

President’s Blocks, 32 Years Late

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle, Trunk Shows

I was president of a quilt guild in Norfolk, Nebraska for two years in the late ’80s. We were babies then—as women, as quilters and as a group. But we did figure out that it’s nice to do something for the president at the end of her term.

I’m not sure why I thought muslin and blue Nine Patches would be attractive, but that’s what I requested when the members offered to make me “President’s blocks.”

UFO Bonanza: One Down, Many to Go

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle

I’ve continued sorting my UFOs and there are several I am really excited about. A couple of ideas have evolved along the way. (If you’re not a quilter, a UFO is what we call an UnFinished Object. It’s a project you started but didn’t complete.) Here are the takeaways so far.

  1. It will be more interesting, more challenging and more fun if I finish these projects creatively. In other words, they won’t necessarily look as they might have five or 10 years ago. Blocks, borders and units may be put into other quilts entirely! This gets me jazzed in a big way!
  2. If I work on UFOs all year, I can create a new program for guilds with the finishes. How much fun would that be?! I need to come up with a catchy title. The working title is A Year of UFOs, but that’s not clever enough. If you think of something, please let me know!

Pattern Errors: Kindness and Empathy

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle, Uncategorized

There’s an error in the Yule Glow pattern, my recent design in McCall’s Quilting. A mistake is a drag for everyone: the editors who wrote the pattern, the designer who wants the pattern to do well, and the reader who just wants to make a quilt without a lot of hassle.

But do you know what can make all the difference in the world? 

How someone asks about an error.

This time, the reader was gracious and sweet. She emailed me this:

I think there might be an error in the quilt pattern, “Yule Glow”, McCall’s Quilting. p.20

In the Cutting Instructions, I believe the 3 squares, Red tone-on-tone, (E) should be 2 3/8″ not 5 1/2″. If I’m wrong, or if it’s already been reported, please ignore and forgive my note.

I’m loving the pattern and construction process, using scraps. Your directions are very clear. 
I mean, WOW. Did you ever hear someone ask about something that inconvenienced them in a kinder way? She even offered a compliment! How was it possible that she practically made my day?!
😊😊😊😊😊
Every designer and magazine will tell you that they receive letters from disgruntled readers that could scorch the earth. They can be scathing, and mean. It’s demoralizing, depressing and disheartening. It ruins your day, sometimes your whole week.
And it doesn’t end there. A friend of mine was about to present a guild program when a lady told her, “I just really do not like your dress.”
So I wanted to put this out there, to say thank you to the gracious reader whose words were full of kindness. To say I appreciate every person who has ever said a nice word after a program, or expressed their delight during a class. These things are incredibly valuable and such a lift for those of us who do this.

Thank you, thank you.

And here’s some good news: If you want to make Yule Glow or any of the other great designs in the Nov/Dec issue of McCall’s Quilting, the digital issue is on sale for two dollars! TWO BUCKS. That’s less than I’d spend to print the pattern, so grab it up!
And remember, there’s a typo: the red E patches for the berries should be cut at 2-3/8″.  😉