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.
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.
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.
I built a picket fence yesterday! Here’s the scrappy story.
I’m making a sampler quilt for my new Triple Crown program for guilds. It’s a pattern from the Jen Kingwell folks called Girl Next Door. This house is at the center of the design.
The house is surrounded by a picket fence. I’ve seen lots of Girl Next Door quilts online as people have made them. The picket fence has been problematic in many of them. There isn’t often enough contrast to make it stand out.
I made a new quilting friend recently! I traveled 7623 miles to find her.
My new quilt friend and me.
You may know that my daughter and her family live in Hong Kong, where they teach at Hong Kong International School. Because people always ask me why: they’re doing it for adventure. And what’s great is that it has turned into an adventure for me as well.
Partial seams strike fear in the hearts of quilters but it needn’t be. Let me help you understand the idea with a Valentine quilt I finished this week.
My lifetime adventures with Baby Windmills have led to quite a few quilt designs. Some of them have been sewn and some are still only on paper.
Christmas Dance by Diane Harris. Photo: Kristen Laing Photography.
The first designs were just sewing blocks together using a particular color recipe. Nice little scrap quilts like Christmas Dance, above, but pretty simplistic.
If you’re a quilter and you’re online, you’re likely aware of the recent kickoff of the annual Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt.
I always enjoy the Quiltville Mystery, even when I don’t participate.
I always pull out Everybunny this time of year—it’s one of my favorite finishes. There was a lot to learn about scrap quilts when I made it. Let’s pull some lessons from it. Today will be #1 and I’ll do a little series on making better scrap quilts.
Everybunny, designed and made by Diane Harris for Quiltmaker March/April ’16
My trunk show “One Hundred Small Quilts” is popular with quilt groups. I’ve been giving it for six years and have added to the collection. I actually bring about 120 quilts with me. The quilts have lessons to teach us. This is Dresden Delight.
Dresden Delight by Diane Harris. Photo by Mellisa Karlin Mahoney. Used with permission.