Posts Tagged ‘Christmas quilts’

Trunk Shows: Ripe for Picking

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

Just a quick post today with info about my trunk shows for quilt groups. This is the main thrust of my business and it’s what I love doing the most—and where I think my strongest skills reside, too.

Petit Patchwork, designed and made by Diane Harris of Stash Bandit

When I share a trunk show, it’s more than “here are pretty quilts I made.” The quilts taught me lessons, which I’ll tell you about.

Father & Farmer by Diane Harris. Quilted by Julie Lechner.

They use techniques to get a message across, which I’ll explain. They’re held together by something that I’ll point out, suggesting how you can use that in your own quilts.

Framework by Diane Harris, top before quilting

These days I am mostly booking virtual trunk shows on Zoom. I learned to love it during the pandemic and I think people actually learn more in a virtual setting than they do in person.

Ring Around the Rainbow, designed and made by Diane Harris

If I’m within a six hour drive, I’ll consider visiting your group in person. I have six trunk shows available.

The most popular is Make Extraordinary Scrap Quilts. Here’s the official description:

How do you make a successful scrap quilt? Learn Diane Harris’s best tips and top secrets during this trunk show of many scrappy quilts made over the years. What is a scrap quilt? Who can make one? Why would you create with scraps? How is it done? From the Stash Bandit herself, discover ways to pull your scraps together, strategies for using your stash and even what does not work. You may never make an ordinary quilt again!

Then we have this one that’s especially popular from August to December:

This one is so much fun to give because who isn’t happy about Christmas? We always have a great time! I once bought a t-shirt that said “Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle Bells” across the front but I haven’t had the nerve to wear it to a trunk show yet. See more of Jingle Bells here.

A trunk show that is finally picking up steam is this one:

I can’t tell you how much fun it was to build this trunk show! I made sampler quilts for a couple of years. They are so interesting to create, and there are still more on my list. Never enough hours, are there?! See more here.

If you’re interested in creativity, you’d like this one:

It’s all about how I took one simple quilt block and designed dozens of quilts from it. It’s about starting to think like a designer. People leave inspired! More about Windy Wonders here.

And finally, this one:

I love Dresden Plate. It’s a design that has gotten a bad rap and you only have to look on eBay to see why: Awful examples of Dresdens abound. This one is a combo trunk show/hands-on demo and how-to with examples of variations to whet your appetite for more. I have fewer completed quilts in this one but it still gets rave reviews. See more Drezzup here.

The trunk show I’ve been giving the longest—10 years now—is One Hundred Small Quilts.

This one doesn’t translate well to virtual so I only give it in person. Part of the appeal is seeing about 130 small quilts in one place, laid out on display after I talk about each one (quickly!). It’s a great evening with tons of ideas and takeaways. Everyone gets so excited and I love that!

So if your quilt group is hiring presenters for the next couple of years, I’d appreciate being considered. I’m happy to provide references—people who’ve hired me and been happy with my performance.

Please get in touch: diane@stashbandit.net

Let’s Talk Quilts!

Quilts by Accident

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

A lot of the quilts I make start off by accident. That’s what happened with the Daydream sampler from Quilter’s World.

Daydream sampler from Quilter’s World,
designed and made by Carolyn Beam; quilted by Donna Smith.

I do a monthly Facebook Live for Quilter’s World.** I brainstorm a few topic ideas for each one, and together we settle on that month’s focus. A few months back, I thought it would be fun to show how I would make the Daydream sampler with lots and lots of different fabrics.

Quilt Block Mania: Wreath & Chain

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

Quilt guilds: I am booking virtual trunk shows from coast to coast!

https://stashbandit.net/virtual-learning-with-stash-bandit/

I designed a cute little block for this month’s Quilt Block Mania called Wreath & Chain. I have some other blocks that go with it to make a quilt with nice big areas for gorgeous machine quilting.

Each designer uses the same palette for cohesion. But when I actually made my block, I used Stash Bandit colors.

I designed a few different centers for the block including a tree and a house. Here’s what I imagine the quilt could look like if the alternate blocks were plain. Some of these blocks were eventually scrapped in favor of more successful designs.

I’m showing it scrappy. I love how varied scrappy backgrounds can look, and scrappy reds are not far behind. I’ve colored it in solids using EQ8 quilt design software but I’d probably make it with prints from my stash.

Wreath & Chain by Diane Harris

Here is my fabric version, sewn from my stash. I wish I had yards of that teal-green print. It is luscious.

Get the free instructions for my block right here!

Be sure to visit the other designers who have complimentary blocks posted during Quilt Block Mania! They are all linked below.

Block by Laura Piland, sliceofpiquilts.com

Here are two blocks that caught my eye.

Block by Marilyn Foreman, quiltmoments

If you’re on Instagram, check out #quiltblockmania to see many more great designs quickly, all with the theme of winter celebrations. Thank you for visiting Stash Bandit!

And here are links to all of the designers and their free blocks. Enjoy!

Christmas Wreath by Slice of Pi Quilts
Baby Sue’s First Christmas
Celebrate by Inquiring Quilter
Gifts at Always Expect Moore
Snowflakes by Blockofthemodotcom
Gifts of Friendship
Fireworks at duck creek mountain quilting
Christmas Star by Michelle Renee Hiatt
Adirondack Mountain Quilt Block
A Present from Penny
Candlelighting at Pretty Piney Quilts
Poinsettia from QuiltFabrication
Harbor Holidays at Blue Bear Quilts
Christmas Cracker at Perkins Dry Goods
Sparkling Spruce at Patti’s Patchwork
Jingle All the Way at Orange Blossom Quilt
Snowflakes & Candy Cane Trees at Quilt Moments
Tower of Gifts by Oh Kaye Quilting
Winter Memories by Carolyn Burgess
Holiday Block by Seams to Be Sew
Ticker Tape Tree at Devoted Quilter
Evergreen by True Blue Quilts
Merry and Bright at Around the Bobbin
Ski Vacation

The Great Pumpkin Backstory and Giveaway

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

Last year I had this idea: Design a Christmas quilt with giant candy canes. The candy canes would be so big they’d cover the entire quilt. I nestled them together and topped them off with a Starlite™ mint.

Prancer’s Peppermints, designed and made by Diane Harris, appeared in Quilty Nov/Dec. 2018

Quilty magazine published them as Prancer’s Peppermints in the Nov/Dec ’18 issue.

Diane’s giant pineapple “Welcome” quilt, click for free instructions!

Then I thought it might be fun to make a giant pineapple quilt, and that’s how Welcome was born.

Christmas Figs Done Scrappy, Part 2

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

During the early fall and again after Thanksgiving, I’ve been piecing a scrappy version of Christmas Figs by Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts, published by the Fat Quarter Shop.

Their quilt features the Christmas Figs fabric line by Fig Tree for Moda Fabrics. I had a fat quarter bundle of those fabrics that I’d purchased, and that’s what I used for the first few blocks. But I began to wonder if the blocks would be interesting enough with just those fabrics.

Winter Sewing, Slow and Easy

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, Quilt Lifestyle, Trunk Shows, Uncategorized

Every year it seems like I have time to sew during November, December and January. Other people are busy shopping, cooking and decorating. But my life is the opposite, and that’s kind of a good thing.

Thanksgiving was quiet with just five guests (two bigs and three littles). The meal was easy and the company departed around 3:30. I sewed for four or five hours after that. We ate leftovers and quickie meals the rest of the weekend, so there were many more hours in the studio.

Holiday Designs by Stash Bandit, Part 2

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

My exceptional longarm quilter said to me recently, “I think everything you do is modern.” I’d commented that I didn’t think of myself as a “modern” quilter, and her response gave me pause. I’ve been (very happily) fielding inquiries from modern quilt guilds, and the truth is that some things I design and make lean toward the modern aesthetic, some are traditional, and some are hard to put into a category.

Oh, Christmas Wreath by Diane Harris; quilted by Julie Lechner @beenquiltin

Today I’m introducing Oh, Christmas Wreath! This design is decidedly modern: solid fabrics, negative space, clean and fresh. Oh, Christmas Wreath appears in the Nov/Dec issue of Quilty, on newsstands now. I hope you’ll grab it when you see it or order it online in paper or digital format.

Holiday Designs by Stash Bandit, Part 1

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

The Nov/Dec issue of Quilty magazine is on newsstands now, and I’m very excited to have two new quilt designs inside.

Ever since I started building the Jingle Bells Trunk Show to share with quilt guilds, I’ve been obsessed with making Christmas quilts. I’m constantly working on new ideas, and these two were a fit for Quilty. You may know that magazines work months in advance, so I actually pieced these in April and May for an early June deadline.

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