Posts Tagged ‘machine quilting’

Machine Quilting Help

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Machine Quilting, Magazines

What has tripped me up more than anything else in the quiltmaking process?

Without a doubt, it is the quilting.

This morning I did a Facebook Live for Annie’s Catalog and Quilter’s World.

It was sponsored by Handi Quilter and I quilted live on their HQ Capri, a stationary longarm with 18″ of throat space. It is dreamy.

In this video, I share tips on what questions to ask yourself and I quilt several different kinds of patterns on the HQ Capri. Take a peek, we start officially at about 02:10. You can drag the progress marker to 2:10 if you don’t care to hear the friendly chit-chat at the beginning. 😊

Quilting on the HQ Capri by Handi Quilter

https://fb.watch/93Qah978LY/

Learn more about the HQ Capri stationary longarm.

Christmas Bells was designed by Wendy Sheppard of Ivory Spring.

The original Christmas Bells by Wendy Sheppard appears in the Winter 2021 issue of Quilter’s World.

Find the pattern for Christmas Bells in the Winter issue of Quilter’s World, on newsstands now.

You can also order it online or check out the digital download.

You might wonder why I create online content for companies like Annie’s, Quilter’s World and Handi Quilter.

I do freelance work for companies that provide valuable tools and supplies to quilters around the world. I promote companies I truly believe in. I am paid for my work whether you make a purchase or not so everything is upfront and transparent here. I am honest about what I think you’d use and benefit from.

Thank you for visiting Stash Bandit! 😊

Quilt on,

New Old Work, Part 2

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

Another recent finish is my Bitty Blocks row quilt. I started this years ago when I was working as an editor for Quiltmaker. We had this idea to create 3″ and 4″ blocks and post them for free on our website. There was no such thing as a marketing team so we had to market ourselves, and this was one of the ways we did it.

The thing about Bitty Blocks is that they’re addictive. You make a few, and then you make a few more, and you’re having so much fun that pretty soon you have 50 little 4″ stars or 70 tiny houses at 3″ x 3″, and then what?

Quilts in the Doghouse

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

I’m not going to talk about the pandemic. We’re all frustrated. So…

Let’s Talk Quilts.

I’ve been finishing up some things the past few weeks. I have a lot of UFOs squirreled away in closets and cupboards and it would feel great to be done with them. And, BONUS, some of them can go into trunk shows! I have extra time because my engagements with guilds have been cancelled for April, May and June.

Two quilts I finished this week gave me pause. One was My Christmas Album, above. It’s a great design by Tina Curran with fusible applique and a border of Christmas sweaters. But when I took the final stitch, I didn’t feel anything good. I felt all manner of royally ticked off.

Buy You Books and…

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

I’m doing a lot more machine quilting these days and boy, am I learning a lot.

I’m using the HQ Capri stationary longarm with its Insight table, which provides stitch regulation and support for the quilt.

In my search for ideas of what to quilt on Wild Garden, an improv throw-size UFO, I pulled out my books on machine quilting.

And that’s when it hit me.

My Best Machine Quilting Trick

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

This is my best machine quilting trick. It’s easy to do and it looks great. I’ve done it most often on smallish quilts but I’ve used it on a throw-size quilt, too.

I tried it for the first time on this little red quilt, which is a free pattern just for my readers. Such a simple idea! You won’t have any trouble executing this as long as you have a walking foot for your machine.

Not Quite Dead

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

I haven’t blogged in a while but here’s what has been happening in my personal life and in the studio!

I went to Hong Kong for two weeks to visit my daughter, her husband and their two little boys.

I had a great time and enjoyed the little guys tremendously. Their parents are wonderful, too, but you know: grandchildren.

Machine Quilting Inspiration

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

Over the weekend I saw a lot of machine quilting that challenged me to improve my skills and start working on the tops I have finished. You know how that is? You love to piece them, but your machine quilting is less than perfect and it’s hard to figure out what to quilt on them. So the pile of unquilted tops grows.

Here are some of the quilts that inspired me. They were done by Handi Quilter educators on longarm machines, which I do not have, but that doesn’t matter. It’s entirely possible to quilt beautifully on a home sewing machine. My quilting doesn’t have to be of show quality to be just fine.

Serpentine Stitch: Can’t Live Without It

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

I hope you’ve discovered the serpentine stitch on your sewing machine. I could not do without it.

The serpentine stitch makes a pretty, wavy line. You just sew straight and the machine does all the work. It’s the bomb. I use the serpentine stitch for machine quilting with a walking foot. It’s easy and it looks terrific.

Serpentine stitch