Many months back, I was tired and discouraged on a Friday afternoon. I had an attitude of “devil may care.”
In a fit of—what? Insanity? Kamikaze mindset? Utter foolishness? I remember thinking “what have I got to lose” as I sent off some quilt designs to Quiltmania, the beautifully produced French magazine for quilters around the world.
On that Monday morning I had an email response. They’d like to publish two of the designs. I did a happy dance!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Please get in touch: diane@stashbandit.net
I’m putting the finishing touches on a brand new class that is open to everyone and you’re invited!
Let’s turn your scraps into something amazing, happy and FUN!
I’m so excited about my newest class, The StarQuar Party for Quilters, part of my Scrap Quilt Secrets series.
I’ve barely scratched the surface of what is possible and I can’t wait to show you. Below is the start of LEMON ZEST, one idea I will share when you attend.
I did a Facebook Live about yellow for quilters this week and you can see it below.
I didn’t have time to answer all of the yellow questions that people left me so I’ll start to do that in this post.
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.
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!
A lot of the quilts I make start off by accident. That’s what happened with the Daydream sampler from Quilter’s World.
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.
One thing we’ve talked about in Scrap Quilt Secrets is the Plus and X Block. It became popular a few years back when a Japanese quilter named Setsuko Inagawa entered a quilt with this block into the Tokyo show, and a quilter named Jan Burgwinkle took photos and posted them on flickr. People went wild and soon there were Plus and X quilts popping up everywhere.
I made mine in the first few years of the frenzy and I didn’t pay any attention to value. Here’s what I mean.
Stash Bandit is celebrating with 10 days of giveaways and this is Day 2!
I recently finished piecing a throw-size version of a quilt called Maisy Daisy, which I ran across in a back issue of McCall’s Quilting. Its scrappy deliciousness called to me.
Then I made the exciting discovery that McCall’s put the pattern online at no charge, so if you like it, be sure to grab it here.
The quilt was designed by Maho Schwartz. I made just 12 blocks but the original has more. Totally up to you!
I’ve been playing with some scrap quilt ideas and there’s nothing I love more. The only problem is that one idea leads to another, and then to another and so on. I have started five new quilts in the past two weeks (ridiculous, I know).
All of this is in preparation for a new class I’m teaching on January 2 from 10 am to 1 pm CST:
This class is open to anyone, anywhere and will take place on Zoom. I’ve learned the ropes, had some successes and feel confident enough to do it now! Prepare for inspiration!
Included with the class will be a number of easy AMAZING quilt patterns suitable for scraps. You will want to have some fat quarters or yardage available as well, but the idea is that you’ll have many options for using up leftovers and making dynamic scrap quilts from the fabric you already own!
I will also share a bunch of my best tips, tricks and secrets to making a scrap quilt work. We will cover the ideas of value, contrast, scale, vibrance, mood, genre and more.
We’ll look at some quilts that do NOT work so that we can begin to understand what DOES work.
If you wish to be seen during class, you can turn your video on. But if you wish not to be seen, that is fine, too! My experience has been that people chat and laugh and enjoy being together during a virtual sewing session in much the same way they would in a live class. Turns out this is really enjoyable and FUN! Who knew?!
I’m using the new Zoom Beta platform called OnZoom, which I am really excited about. One of its limitations is that an OnZoom session can only be created 30 days before the event. This means that registration for Stash Busting Fun in 2021 will open around Dec. 3. I will publicize it on my social media and in my newsletter. Here are links to those:
Sign up for the newsletter (very occasional)
Check out my Instagram @stashbanditquilting
We’re going to have a great time and you’re going to leave inspired to sew up a ton of the fabric, kits and supplies you already paid for!
Keep on stitchin’,
I’m excited to offer something brand new! Open enrollment classes are pre-scheduled and presented live to anyone, anywhere. Now you don’t have to wait for me to do a Zoom class with your guild, and the best part? You can sew from the comfort of your own space.
None of us is happy about the pandemic, but one bit of silver lining is taking a class without leaving home. It is a luxury to have all of your fabric and supplies at your fingertips. My students are loving it!
Each class will be presented at a particular time. You can browse through the list and if there’s a topic you like at a time that works, you just click through to OnZoom to register and pay.
Once you have registered and paid, you’ll get an email with a link to the supply list. From there, I’ll be sure you know exactly what to expect and how to prepare, and you can always email me with questions: diane@stashbandit.net
Right now I’m writing the supply lists and handouts, making step-outs and shooting samples as needed. When a class is four weeks away, I can list it with OnZoom.
If you’re not familiar with OnZoom, it’s a new feature that Zoom is rolling out whereby clients can offer paid events. I had to apply and it’s in beta, which means they’re still testing parts of it. So far I love it. As an attendee, I don’t think you’ll notice any differences between the Zoom you’re used to and OnZoom.
I have two classes open for registration:
and
Stash Bandit Briefs is something I’m super excited to offer. They are brief, concise little classes or lessons for just $10, and currently the pattern will be included.
You’ll find all the details of open enrollment as well as an ever-evolving list of offerings on the Open Enrollment page.