Posts Tagged ‘baby windmills’

Need a winter pick-me-up?

Written by Diane Harris on February 19, 2022. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Open Classes for Everyone, Trunk Shows

How about a scrappy trunk show? Come and enjoy!

On Thursday, Feb 24 (just five days away) I’m giving Windy Wonders on Zoom to everyone who’d like to get a ticket and come.

Scarlet Spin by Diane Harris for Quiltmaker. Photo by Mellisa Karlin Mahoney. Used with permission.

This live event on Zoom will begin at 7:30 pm CST.

Tickets are $15 at eventbrite.com. Grab yours now!

Tilting Windmills by Diane Harris. Photo by Mellisa Karlin Mahoney. Used with permission.

You’ll hear the story of how I started making Baby Windmills, and how I built a trunk show of designs based on one simple block.

The start of an early Baby Windmill quilt design

Plenty of tips on scrap quilts will be included, along with how-tos for making Windmills in any size you choose.

I’m in! Take me to tickets!

Most basic Baby Windmill quilt. Photo by Kristin Laing Photography.

The trunk show lasts about an hour, to be followed by Q&A. Ask anything you like about scrap quilts!

If you’ve heard Windy Wonders or another Stash Bandit trunk show, feel free to leave a quick review in the comments. I’d appreciate it!

Get your ticket to Windy Wonders now.

I’ll see you on Zoom!

Welcome to the Stash Bandit Studio!

Written by Diane Harris on August 11, 2021. Posted in Blog, Complimentary, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Quilt Lifestyle, Trunk Shows

If you’ve arrived here because you saw one of my videos for Annie’s and Quilter’s World, welcome! I’m happy to have you. Things you might be interested in:

The free pattern for Baby Windmills, which is my favorite little block.

Baby windmills in a small quilt called Christmas Dance by Diane Harris

Petit Patchwork, designed and made by Diane Harris

If you’re in a quilt guild that hires speakers, you can check out my trunk shows full of unique scrappy quilts.

The easiest scrappy brick quilt ever! Designed and made by Diane Harris.

I have taken much of the summer off to preserve my own mental health. It has been a very difficult season, and I know I’m not alone in that experience.

Father & Farmer, designed and pieced by Diane Harris, quilted by Julie Lechner.
Pattern: Fons & Porter’s Quick + Easy Quilts Feb/March 2021.

I do have a few upcoming magazine designs that I’m excited about. It’s always a challenge to keep that sewing under wraps until the pattern is published. I usually make those quilts six to nine months before you see them in a magazine. By the time the magazine appears, I have moved on!

This quilt is in the “to be quilted” pile. Maisy Daisy was designed by Maho Schwartz and is a complimentary pattern from McCall’s Quilting.

My pile of tops to be quilted is ridiculous. I did a lot of piecing during 2020 when we were at home for weeks on end. I can’t say it saved my sanity but it probably helped a little.

Framework, designed and made by Diane Harris.

I’m in the process of scheduling more on-demand classes. Ticketing is always a challenge, and I have to balance on-demand events with guild events for which I have contracts. I am also a gardener and that takes up a fair amount of time during spring, summer and fall. It seems there are never enough hours in the day.

So these are just a few random thoughts to give you a sense of what my scrap quilts are like and to say thank you for visiting my website today.

Quilt on,

How My Climate Quilt Bit the Dust

Written by Diane Harris on August 16, 2019. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle, Trunk Shows

At the end of last year I decided I would make a climate quilt to record the high and low temperatures of each day in 2019.

I would use Baby Windmill blocks, which have a way of creeping into everything I do.

I messed around with some ideas.

Giveaway! Color Coded Rainbow Quilt in AP&Q

Written by Diane Harris on May 23, 2019. Posted in Blog, Giveaways, How-tos and Ideas

I am really, really excited to have my rainbow Color Coded quilt in the June issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. Those folks have been so nice to work with and they made my quilt look amazing!

This weekend, I’m taking over their Instagram feed so I hope you’ll check it out. They’re @allpeoplequilt and I’m @stashbanditquilting. So much to see! I’ll have giveaways and a new free pattern for a popular quilt, plus I’ll highlight some how-tos and other fun quilty stuff.

Color Coded in American Patchwork & Quilting

Written by Diane Harris on April 10, 2019. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle, Trunk Shows

The latest edition of American Patchwork & Quilting went on sale this week, and I’m delighted to share that I have my first quilt design in its pages. This is Color Coded from the June 2019 issue.

I’m so pleased with the photography! That yellow door makes my heart sing. And the rainbow bookshelf? Oh my word. I love it so much. Jay Wilde was the photographer.

Thoughts on Purple and Some Big Magic

Written by Diane Harris on February 5, 2019. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle, Trunk Shows

I’ve been working on a new quilt design to add to the Windy Wonders trunk show. That program is booked for Omaha Quilters’ Guild next week and I want to give them lots of eye candy. I thought a few more quilts would be nice, and since my sketchbook is overflowing, it wasn’t hard to do.

I grew up near a little town called Battle Creek here in Nebraska. Our colors were purple and gold so I spent many days in those colors.

Add Movement with Diagonal Lines

Written by Diane Harris on January 4, 2019. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Trunk Shows

My lifetime adventures with Baby Windmills have led to quite a few quilt designs. Some of them have been sewn and some are still only on paper.

Christmas Dance by Diane Harris. Photo: Kristen Laing Photography.

The first designs were just sewing blocks together using a particular color recipe. Nice little scrap quilts like Christmas Dance, above, but pretty simplistic.

Stash Bandit in Modern Patchwork

Written by Diane Harris on June 25, 2018. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Trunk Shows

Happy mail arrived this week! The newest Modern Patchwork, in which I have a quilt. I’m really pleased to be included.

It’s my first time in Modern Patchwork. You’ll find the July/August issue on newsstands by Tuesday, June 26.

To tell you about my quilt, I have to back way up.

My Little Christmas Tree Quilt

Written by Diane Harris on December 24, 2017. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle, Uncategorized

Merry Christmas! I hope your holiday is full of the love of family and friends. Let me tell you about my little Christmas tree quilt, Twinkling Bright.

It all started with this small block that I call a Baby Windmill. I’m on a mission to design as many interesting quilts as I can with this as the starting point. You can read more here.

How to Build a Windmill (Quilt, Farm, Whatever)

Written by Diane Harris on October 8, 2017. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle

A few years back I had an idea to build a trunk show of quilts based on one simple Windmill quilt block. I’ve been working feverishly on the quilts because I’ll give the presentation for the first time next month in Holdrege, Nebraska.

I hope to present it many more times in 2018 and 2019. So you could say I am building a wind farm of quilts.