Posts Tagged ‘easy quilts’

Scrappy Sundays is tomorrow!

Written by Diane Harris on May 16, 2026. Posted in Blog, Classes, Inspiration, Open Classes for Everyone

We are just 24 hours away from a new edition of Scrappy Sundays with Stash Bandit. I hope you will join me tomorrow!

The featured quilt is called Surround Sound, and it presents a bunch of opportunities for learning. I’m looking forward to sharing helpful ideas for this quilt and others made from scraps or a scrappy vibe.

Tickets are just $12 and they include the pattern, more design ideas and a recording to watch at your convenience. Save your seat!

I had a great time playing with this concept and I will share many other ideas in addition to the featured quilt. And the “hangout” time at the end is always enjoyable because we all just want to share about making scrappy quilts. I hope you’ll join me and I’ll look forward to seeing you there.

Get a ticket now.

I wish you loads of happy quilting!

The Joy of Beginners

Written by Diane Harris on February 27, 2023. Posted in Blog, Classes, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Quilt Lifestyle

I taught a small group of beginning quiltmakers recently. Oh what fun!

I came up with a new design that I hoped would teach a variety of skills without being too difficult while still being attractive. I wanted something that would lend itself to whatever color scheme a beginner could imagine.

My first idea was this nine block quilt with two kinds of stars. But I was teaching this at Mangelsen’s in Omaha and we only had two sessions on the calendar—one full day and one half day, with a couple of weeks for sewing at home in between.

As I developed the class, I thought maybe a quilt of this size might overwhelm some beginners, so I designed a smaller option with just four blocks.

You don’t know exactly how a class will go until you teach it for the first time. As it turned out, some people chose the small quilt but several wanted a bigger project. I was so glad I had both available.

This simple block is a good one for beginners. It forces them to test and adjust the seam allowance. If they’re off by 1/8″ on each seam, the block will be 5/8″ too small in one direction. People are surprised by how skinny (“scant”) the seam allowance needs to be.

A red, white and blue quilt wouldn’t appeal to everyone,

so I presented an alternate coloring. People embraced the idea and some beautiful color schemes emerged in class.

Friendship Star seemed like a good block for beginners to learn half-square triangles and the basic idea of sewing patches into rows before sewing the rows together.

A wonky improvisational star quilt block

I also decided to give them a taste of improvisational patchwork with an easy wonky star block. The results were fascinating, as students did this work at home after trying it quickly in class.

I loved Rita’s wonky star, above. You need only to suggest a shape, and a viewer’s eye will fill in the rest. Even though all of her points are not pointed, the star is still evident. Our minds fill in whatever is missing.

D. is all smiles with her first quilt project

Dorothy had different star points on her wonky creation. Hers are very small and that’s just fine, too. Our eyes still know it’s a star.

Everyone got pretty far on their projects and I was really pleased with how well they did.

They were really brave to try walking foot quilting in class. We used gently waving lines as our starting point.

Deb has experience as a quilter so she quilted straight lines using painter’s tape to guide her. Aren’t her colors pretty?

Ann is not a beginner but she came with her daughter Denise, who is. Ann’s patriotic quilt is a little larger so she can use it as a throw at home. She made 12 blocks and I love how she moved the values around for different effects.

Denise made really brave choices all along the way, and I think her results are wonderful. This is a happy quilt!

You can imagine how much fun it is for a teacher to introduce students to the joy of making quilts. And when it’s for the first time, my gosh, it doesn’t get much better than that!

If you’re local, I think we will put Learn to Quilt on the schedule at Mangelsen’s again in the fall. If you’re from anywhere else in the world and you’d like a beginning class online, please let me know in the comments. I’d be happy to consider doing a workshop on Zoom.

Quilt on,

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!

Going Scrappy with a Pattern

Written by Diane Harris on July 8, 2021. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Trunk Shows

One of my favorite freelance jobs is with Annie’s Craft Catalog and Quilter’s World magazine. Each month I do a Facebook Live and talk about one of their pattern. I love putting my scrappy spin on things and it’s a great opportunity to be seen by their followers, who number in the hundreds of thousands.

The Healing Quilt designed by Lyn Brown, patterned in Quilter’s World, Summer 2021.

For the July FB Live, I chose the Healing Quilt designed by Lyn Brown. It is perfect for demonstrating how you can take a pattern that’s shown in just a few fabrics and scrap it up into a happy party!

Introducing Father & Farmer

Written by Diane Harris on January 20, 2021. Posted in How-tos and Ideas

My latest design for Fons & Porter’s Quick + Easy Quilts was inspired by two things.

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

The first was a vintage quilt I saw on the auction site eBay. Tiny red triangles sparkled against dusty old tones, and I was smitten.

The second inspiration was my father.

His name was John Volk and he was a farmer here in Nebraska. He loved agriculture and he loved us. I could write a book about him, but for now let me tell you about his everyday attire.

My dad with two of his great-granddaughters

My dad wore denim overalls and a blue chambray shirt. And he carried a bandana-patterned handkerchief in either bright red or navy blue. For all or our lives, day in and day out, we could count on this one thing. (Unless it was Sunday, but that’s another post.)

John Volk with one of his great-grandsons

He died in 2011 at age 91, but I still have a pair of his overalls. I’d like to make something from them, but in the meantime, there is this quilt:

Father & Farmer

All of the blues and creams are from my stash, and they echo the colors I associate with Dad. And sewing from what I already have? That’s significant too, because my father was a child of the Depression. Born in 1920, he lived through some very lean times in the ’30s.

There’s a story about one of my brothers chiding him for saving what seemed like an excess of scrap wood behind a small building on the farm. And Dad went on a little rant about that, declaring that until we had lived through a time when you could not get the things you needed, we’d better zip it.

My parents and my four brothers several years before I was born.
Same overalls and blue shirt. 😍

So I like to think that he’d approve of me pulling fabrics from my stash to make a quilt in his honor.

I made the quilt for a king-size bed, which is why it has a wider border at the bottom. Another row of blocks would have made it too large; this border brought it to just the size I wanted.

This issue is on newsstands now so I hope you’ll pick it up when you see it. I love the cover quilt by Nancy Mahoney called Weaving Stars. There’s an easy veteran-appropriate Quilt of Valor pattern, a nice baby quilt, a fabulous modern design called Tweens by Dodi Poulsen and much more.

If you prefer a digital issue (save the trees!) you can order it from Quilting Daily for $7.99. I’m always amazed by what a great value a magazine is. When a pattern costs at least $10 or $12, less than eight for a dozen projects is a steal.

Thank you for letting me think happy thoughts about my father today. He was a keeper.

Quilt on,

New Ideas, New Adventures

Written by Diane Harris on September 12, 2020. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Trunk Shows

I have a new idea for a quilt I really want to make, and it happened in a very roundabout way. First let me show you a mockup of the quilt that I designed in EQ8 quilt design software.

I think it would such a great quilt to practice machine quilting on! The blocks are easy and forgiving, and you can use any type of fabrics and it will look great.

I think I will do something special with the border. Stay tuned for that. So here is how this quilt was conceived.

Machine Quilting Practice: Christmas Chevron

Written by Diane Harris on March 9, 2018. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas

Around Christmas last year, I started piecing a simple chevron quilt made from triangle-squares. I sewed from my stash and was pretty excited with how it started coming together.

Make an Easy Christmas Quilt (or not!)

Written by Diane Harris on September 6, 2017. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle, Trunk Shows

I have a new easy quilt design in McCall’s Quick Quilts! You can make it look like Christmas, or you can choose different colors for any time of year.

It’s called Very Merry, and it was fun, fast and simple to make. You’ll find it in their Oct/Nov issue, available in paper or digital versions.

Make a Solar Eclipse Quilt: Free Pattern!

Written by Diane Harris on August 11, 2017. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle

I realized this week that the upcoming total solar eclipse should be commemorated with a quilt. I designed an easy small quilt that goes together quickly. Maybe you’d like to make one, too. I’m calling it Moonshadow. It’s 15″ x 25″. Here’s a printable version.

Moonshadow, a solar eclipse quilt by Diane Harris

Here’s what you’ll need for a 15″ x 25″ quilt: