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.

This live event on Zoom will begin at 7:30 pm CST.

Tickets are $15 at eventbrite.com. Grab yours now!

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.

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!

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!

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Protected: Scrap Management: Brick by Brick

Written by Diane Harris on January 25, 2022. Posted in Inspiration, Students Only

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Cope and Hope in Quilter’s World

Written by Diane Harris on January 13, 2022. Posted in Blog, Inspiration, Magazines

I have a new design in the Spring issue of Quilter’s World, on newsstands now. It has a beautiful cover with lovely spring colors.

Make a note to pick it up when you’re at the grocery store or grab it online!

As the world shut down in the spring of 2020, I thought about quilters staying at home and making quilts to calm their hearts and minds. I couldn’t get the idea of a house quilt out of my head.

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Lucky: A free quilt pattern

Written by Diane Harris on January 8, 2022. Posted in How-tos and Ideas

Visit this page to find your shamrock pattern courtesy of Diane Harris at Stash Bandit:

I can’t wait to see what you make!

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It’s Quiet Over Here.

Written by Diane Harris on January 7, 2022. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Open Classes for Everyone, Quilt Lifestyle

I think the holidays took the wind right out of my sails.

Or maybe it’s that we’re sailing into Year Three and that’s disheartening. I’m having a hard time concentrating, organizing, motivating. I think I am not alone.

The start of a new year always feels like a good time to clean up the studio. Of course I do it periodically but I’m no clean freak and my husband would say that I’m a walking tornado. When I can’t see the top of my sewing table, I know it’s time.

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A look back and a peek ahead.

Written by Diane Harris on December 31, 2021. Posted in Blog, Inspiration, Quilt Lifestyle

Time just flies by, doesn’t it? Here are a few 2021 highlights.

I designed Father & Farmer with my dad in mind. He wore bib overalls and a blue chambray shirt and carried a red or navy bandana handkerchief nearly every day of his life. This quilt appeared in Fons & Porter’s Quick + Easy Quilts Feb/March 2021.

You can still order the issue and it’s even on sale! There are several other patterns inside that I’d love to make. A magazine continues to give you the most bang for your buck: anywhere from eight to 12 patterns for less than five dollars, in this case. What’s not to love?!

One of my favorites this year was a quilt that began with reject or leftover blocks from my friend Carol Baker. I loved the fabrics! I took a handful of blocks apart, reused some of the patches and added some stash fabrics of my own.

I gave it the name “scrappy with orange garnish” as strictly a working title when I submitted the quilt idea. Maybe nobody had a better idea because that one seemed to stick—something I learned as I opened the magazine. You can still get the pattern if you have scraps you’d like to use up. It would look great in just about any colors!

Scrappy with Orange Garnish Pattern from Quilting Daily (also on sale!)

In early spring I ran a series of Sunday afternoon sessions on a complimentary basis. I called the series Scrap Quilt Secrets. It was fun and interesting for me but I learned some lessons that were tough to swallow. I spent the rest of the year attempting to apply what I’d learned.

The StarQuar unit grew out of Scrap Quilt Secrets. I continue to play and I’m excited about this idea and its endless potential. One magazine quilt is already on tap for 2022—I’m working on it now.

The thrill of 2021 was my Big Cheese quilt on the cover of Quiltmania. I was just happy to have a design picked up, and it was such a lovely surprise to see it on the front. I picked up my phone one morning, opened Instagram and there it was.

This quilt came about because another idea had flopped. I was just playing around and it kind of happened by accident. And then I guess I didn’t realize it would appeal to anyone else because it sat around my studio for many months before I sent it to Quiltmania in a sort of “hail Mary” way.

Like many others, the pandemic has kept me from seeing the people I love most including my grandchildren, who live in Hong Kong. I made doll quilts for my twin granddaughters Lucy and Emma.

The two quilts are the same but have slightly different colors, and the fabrics all came from my stash.

When the magazine was finished shooting the quilts, I shipped them off to the girls. Funny thing, they liked the quilts but were especially enamored with the little pillows and pillowcases!

I’m running out of time and laptop battery but I also did monthly Facebook Lives for Annie’s/Quilter’s World, traveled to a handful of guilds, presented on Zoom nearly every week, launched open enrollment classes, tried to send Scrappy Tips by email regularly, worked to blog more often (still working!), grew my Insta a whole bunch and met a lot of wonderful people in virtual classes.

Still need to do lots more planning for 2022 but I will sign off for now with this:

Happy New Year! Quilt on!

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The Big Cheese and Quiltmania

Written by Diane Harris on September 17, 2021. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Quilt Lifestyle

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!

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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.

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 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.)

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.

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,

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Quilt Block Mania: New Year Star

Written by Diane Harris on December 1, 2020. Posted in Blog, Complimentary, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration

Welcome to Quilt Block Mania! I have a complimentary block pattern for you and a list of other designers who have also posted blocks this morning!

Let me introduce you to something I call “the running thirds.”

My block is called New Year Star and it uses the running thirds. It’s a way of dividing a block in three so that you get a Nine Patch, but the divisions are not equal.

Instead, they are the sizes of any three consecutive or “running” numbers, such as 3, 4 and 5. All of the Quilt Block Mania blocks finish at 12″, and you’ll notice that 3 + 4 + 5 = 12.

Keep in mind that for right now, we are talking about the finished sizes.

First we’ll divide the block into three columns. The first column is 3″ wide, the next is 4″ wide, and the far right column is 5″ wide. There’s our pattern of 3, 4 and 5.

But wait! There’s more!

Next we’ll divide the block horizontally so that we have three rows. The first row is 3″ tall, the next row is 4″ tall and the bottom row is 5″ tall. Same pattern of 3, 4 and 5. Still with me?

From there you can see that the dimensions of each patch are easy to figure out. If you’re not following, try this:

• Read the dimensions of the top row, moving across.
• Read the dimensions of the middle row, moving across.
• Read the dimensions of the bottom row, moving across.

You should be able to hear the patterns of 3, 4 and 5 as you read. Repeat the process for each column:

• Read the dimensions of the first column, moving down.
• Read the dimensions of the second column, moving down.
• Read the dimensions of the third column, moving down.

My New Year Star block is based on a 3-4-5 grid just like you saw above. What’s so cool about this idea is that you can adapt it for many traditional blocks and put a whole new spin on them. But that’s a topic for another day.

Take a look at the New Year Star if you scrap it up a bit with the magic of EQ8.

I like these colors but I thought it might be intense for an entire quilt. So I changed to blue and silver and got this:

The stars appear to be dancing because I rotated the blocks randomly and used many different blues: brighter, darker and dustier.

Then I went scrappy with baby girl colors, and the quilt is below.

There are so many things you can do with this block! If you have EQ8, I recommend that you play with it there. But if you don’t, then mess around with crayons or markers or even your stash to get inspired and make a quilt that is uniquely you.

I’ve created a printer-friendly pdf with the block instructions for New Year Star. The block finishes at 12″ x 12″. Enjoy!

Scroll down for links to the other designers with complimentary blocks out today. So much deliciousness!

Stargazing Sue
Starburst at Slice of Pi Quilts
Massachusetts Star with blockofthmo.com
Nova Star at Always Expect Moore
Nativity Star
Star Bright – Cotton Street Commons
Five Pointed Star at Duck Creek Mountain Quilting
New Year Star at Stash Bandit
Poinsettia Star
Wish Upon a Satar by Heidi Pridemore
Falling Star at Pretty Piney Quilts
Star Splash at QuiltFabrication
Seward Star at Blue Bear Quilts
Moon Star at Perkins Dry Goods
Starburst at Patti’s Patchwork
Cherokee Star
Christmas Tree Star
Christmas Star by Oh Kaye Quilting
Starfish by Appliques Quilts and More
Snowy Star by Seams To Be Sew
Combination Star by Devoted Quilter
Ablaze by True Blue Quilts

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Quilt Block Mania: Wreath & Chain

Written by Diane Harris on November 3, 2020. Posted in Blog, Complimentary, How-tos and Ideas

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

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.

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.

Here are two blocks that caught my eye.

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

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