Posts Tagged ‘make extraordinary scrap quilts’

Log Cabin Possibilities

Written by Diane Harris on September 29, 2020. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle

I’ve been playing in EQ8 again and it seems the possibilities with Log Cabin never end. This started with a basic block I made for a Facebook Live with Annie’s Craft Store and Quilter’s World.

Basic 12″ Log Cabin quilt block; find the pattern here

I liked the first few blocks so much that I just kept sewing. Right now I’m up to 24 blocks and I’m going to make at least that many more.

I often sew with just a vague idea of where a quilt is going. I want to let it take shape naturally. But this time I chose to decide up front how I would set the blocks. EQ8 let me explore the possibilities!

I don’t know if the arrangement above has an official name, but I’m calling mine Rickrack. I love rickrack!

I’m not sure about the setting above. It feels like my eye can’t quite understand what is going on. Maybe that’s why it doesn’t have a name that I know of.

This one has the blocks arranged into Pinwheels. Are you starting to understand what it’s easier to try out settings in EQ8 than to rearrange the blocks on your design wall a dozen times?

I really like this setting. It’s like the Rickrack setting a few photos back, but this time the strips of rickrack are oriented vertically. It’s like the mark on Harry Potter’s forehead!

If I had to name this one, I’d call it Girl’s Best Friend. Because you know, diamonds are just that!

View of blocks in the Project Sketchbook of EQ8

Each time you recolor a block, EQ saves it for you. You can view the blocks one at a time, several at a time, or many at a time in the Project Sketchbook.

View of quilts in the Project sketchbook of EQ8

You can view the quilts you’ve created in the same way.

It has been my pleasure to partner with Electric Quilt Company these past few months to show you a little of what EQ8 can do.

Through Sept 30, use code EQ8STASHBANDIT for a nice 20% discount on everything on the EQ website. I know you’re going to love this power tool!

And I can’t wait to show you all my Log Cabin blocks very soon!

Log Cabin Playtime

Written by Diane Harris on September 25, 2020. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Trunk Shows

Earlier this month I hosted a Facebook Live for Quilter’s World and Annie’s Craft Store. We talked about making Log Cabins using Block 1 in the Awash with Color Mystery Sampler.

I made a couple of blocks and parts to help viewers understand the ideas I was sharing, and I liked them so much that I just kept on sewing. Then I decided to open up EQ8 design software and see what other possibilities lurked! I was not disappointed.

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.

How Much Difference Can a Tiny Triangle Make?

Written by Diane Harris on June 25, 2020. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Trunk Shows

I finished a hawg this week. That’s my new term for a quilt you love and hate as you make it.

It wasn’t the quilt’s fault. I think it was a difficult project because of the bias edges on hundreds of small pieces and on a bunch of big pieces, too.

A full-on hissy fit and other random thoughts

Written by Diane Harris on June 12, 2020. Posted in Blog, Quilt Lifestyle, Trunk Shows

A while back I wrote about some quilts that were in trouble with me for a post called “Quilts in the Doghouse.” I just finished piecing another top, a recent UFO (which means I started it in the past year or so), and near the end of the process, I had what you might call a full-on hissy fit.

First I want to say that Hexie Framed is a great design and a well-written pattern from Emily Dennis of Quilty Love. None of this story is the pattern’s or the designer’s fault. This is all on me.

New Old Work, Part 2

Written by Diane Harris on June 9, 2020. 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?

New Old Work in the Studio, Part 1

Written by Diane Harris on June 8, 2020. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Trunk Shows

Hey quilters, how are you holding up? I know. Me, too. Things are starting to open up here in Nebraska, and I wonder if my friends would want to head out to a quilt store this week. I am ready!

I have sewn like a crazy woman during the pandemic. I’ve finished up some things, started a bunch of new things, and practiced machine quilting a LOT.

In December I dug out and shot all the UFOs I could find, including these little baskets.

From Craftsy to Bluprint to “It Was Good While It Lasted”

Written by Diane Harris on May 23, 2020. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle

Yesterday, online learning platform Bluprint, formerly Craftsy, sent an email to instructors saying the company would be closing over the next few months. This was at once surprising and completely unsurprising.

When Craftsy began about 10 years ago (because a guy received a quilt from his aunt), the quilters I knew loved it. It provided something new in the form of online learning, and it was well done. You could interact with the instructors, get answers to your questions, post your progress and make friends with others in your classes. It was amazing.

Quilting Adventures in a Wild Garden

Written by Diane Harris on May 11, 2020. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Trunk Shows

I’ve been machine quilting much more than usual during this extended time at home. I’m learning a lot. I am so happy to have finished My Wild Garden recently.

It’s an improvisational quilt, which is a fancy way of saying I made it up as I went along. You’ve never had so much fun as improv quilting allows.

Improv Stars in Love Patchwork & Quilting

Written by Diane Harris on March 27, 2020. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle, Trunk Shows

Most of the time when I have a design published, it’s because I pitched it to a magazine and they accepted it. But last year, a magazine in the UK came to me, which was very exciting. I have often purchased Love Patchwork & Quilting because quilters in other parts of the world sometimes have a different aesthetic, or at least a different viewpoint, and it’s a good way to expose yourself to their ideas.

Love Patchwork & Quilting Issue 85. Get a digital issue today! My quilt is inside. 😊

They had seen my Instagram and wondered if I would design a scrap quilt for an upcoming issue. They didn’t have to ask twice.