Posts Tagged ‘scrap quilts’

Color Class: Boost Your Quilts to New Heights

Written by Diane Harris on September 29, 2023. Posted in Blog, Classes, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Open Classes for Everyone, Quilt Lifestyle

It can be done—I can help you wrap your mind and your creative dreams around these basic ideas. They’re essential for making successful quilts, scrappy or not.

Join me next week on Thursday, Oct 5 from 11 to 5 Central on Zoom for my popular “Color, Contrast & Cohesion” hands-on workshop.

Attend live or watch the recording! Totally convenient.

Framework by Diane Harris
Click here for a basic tutorial!

Choose from several patterns (included) and use the simple piecing to work out the ideas in a practical way. I’ll come ready, willing and able to help you!

This workshop is a crowd pleaser because you’re learning each step of the way. Why do some fabrics look great together up close, but die tragically when you stand back?

What does value mean in the context of quilt making? How can you tell what a fabric’s value really is? Can the value change?

The Brick Block baby quilt by Diane Harris

What does value have to do with contrast? What is the difference? Are they even connected? And how can you use the fabric you already own to make unique and beautiful quilts that are truly inspired?

All of this and more in
Color, Contrast & Cohesion

Tickets for this full-day class are just $55 on Eventbrite. Click here to learn more or reserve your place!

I would love the chance to walk with you into a fearless creative journey where you combine fabrics with ease and confidence to create amazing quilts you’ll be proud of. Join me next week and get started!!!

I can’t wait!

A secret: Favorite cuts for scrappy quilts

Written by Diane Harris on September 21, 2023. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Quilt Lifestyle

I have three patch sizes that I return to again and again.

You may have favorite patches too. It’s good to know what sizes you use the most because when you’re dealing with leftovers, you can cut them up accordingly.

I do not cut everything into patches, though, and here’s why.

Gwen Marston once said during a class, “Don’t commit too soon.” In other words, be sure of your direction before you take an action (like cutting) that can’t be undone. She was talking about improvisational quilt design but the same is true for scraps.

Most of my fabric is not cut up into my favorite patches.

I want the freedom to make it into whatever I choose. But I do cut up some very lights, some very darks and lots of leftovers into my favorites.

1-1/2″ x 2-1/2″ rectangles
2-1/2″ squares
2-1/2″ x 4-1/2″ rectangles

Here are a few of the quilts I’ve made with these patches.

Framework by Diane Harris uses 1.5″ x 2.5″ patches.

One of the first Baby Windmill quilts I made was Framework. I noticed one day that several darker blocks formed a line on the design wall. I realized that if I made darker blocks on purpose, I could arrange them into “borders” without any extra work. It’s a fun quilt to make because you’re free to use any and all fabrics together. The chaos is kind of the point.

Here’s a tutorial for Baby Windmills.

Scarlet Spin also uses 1.5″ x 2.5″ rectangles.

Scarlet Spin is a simple design that lets the reds do most of the heavy lifting. Reds clash so beautifully and I never tire of them. It also uses 1.5″ x 2.5″ rectangles for the focal point of each block.

Home for Christmas uses 1.5″ x 2.5″ rectangles, too.

When I decided to try making pictorial quilts

from those little patches, Home for Christmas fit the bill. With the exception of the bows on top of the presents, every patch in the quilt is that same size, even those in the borders. I love designing with just one patch because it greatly speeds and simplifies the cutting.

Just Bricks uses my other favorite rectangle, the one cut 2.5″ x 4.5″. I joined a lighter patch with a darker patch, and then rotated alternating units. Piece of cake. As I pieced the center, I thought it was horrible. I almost threw it away. But then it got big enough to audition some borders. It came together when I put this Jane Sassaman fabric beside it. The narrow yellow border also arrests the eye a little, giving it a much-needed break.

Star Silhouettes by Diane Harris uses only one patch size.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the past 10 years

has been Star Silhouettes. American Patchwork & Quilting’s August ’22 issue featured it on the cover, something I never dreamed could happen. By the time I sent it off, I was so tired of it that I couldn’t see how pretty it was. You can get the pattern for Star Silhouettes from AP&Q.

At first I was shocked by how much people loved the quilt. But now I think it’s a good example of how simple patchwork can be really effective if you let the fabric do the work. I made the quilt with only 2-1/2″ squares.

Some people see kittens in windows when they look at this quilt. I wasn’t intending that but I like the idea. I used in-your-face-yellow for sashing to distract from all the mismatched-ness of the blocks. And I think it works. I have a dozen more ideas for StarQuars, all made from 2.5″ squares.

And I have a new quilt design which is based on Flying Geese made from two of my favorite patches. I can’t wait to share it with you. 😊 I’d be interested in what your favorite patch sizes are!

Quilt on,

House plans gone awry

Written by Diane Harris on September 11, 2023. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Quilt Lifestyle

I worked on a UFO last week and it didn’t go well.

Not the designer’s fault, by the way. It’s a great pattern and it’s well done. But my tendency to go scrappy got me into trouble.

This is Jessica Dayon’s original design using just one red. When I bought fabric a few years back, I thought I’d use one red too. I bought a rather ordinary barn red and a sashing to complement it with holly leaves and berries.

The background is off-white with small dots and I had a white-on-white for the various sampler blocks.

But once you start making scrappy quilts, it’s pretty hard to go back to just one fabric for a dozen blocks. I couldn’t do it. So right off the bat I scrapped it up.

CCC on The Quilt Show

Written by Diane Harris on August 29, 2023. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Quilt Lifestyle, Trunk Shows

I’m really pleased to have an episode on The Quilt Show, and you’re invited to watch.

Find the episode with some of my best tips for scrappy quilts broken down into some of my favorite C’s: color, contrast and cohesion. What else?!

You’ll find a wealth of information on so many topics at The Quilt Show. You can fall down many a rabbit hole there.

Stash Bandit with Ricky Tims on set at The Quilt Show

The Quilt Show folks got in touch last spring and invited me to tape with them in Phoenix. So off I went for a day of fun with Ricky Tims and the crew.

We shot a few different segments but it was all pretty relaxed which I appreciated. The TQS team is highly professional but really cordial, and they made me feel right at home. That helped keep the nerves at bay, mostly.

A few Stash Bandit quilts in queue for display

One scary part for me was traveling with the quilts in checked bags. I wondered what I’d do if the quilts didn’t arrive? I often put quilts into checked bags but every time, I worry. Thankfully nothing was lost.

I was the third guest of the day, following Shannon Conley and Vicki Conley, who are both art quilters. They’re mother and daughter, and they’re friends with my friend Diana Fox, another contemporary art quilter.

Which reminds me: Ricky Tims is unbelievable when it comes to work ethic and stamina. He carried the full load during this shoot, as Alex Anderson was not on set. (She was at home recovering from surgery.) Ricky remained cheerful, helpful, engaged and engaging even though he must have been exhausted. It was impressive. I can’t say enough nice things about Ricky Tims. (And I’m happy to say that at a recent shoot in Colorado, Alex was back at it.)

I hope you’ll take time to watch the episode. You’ll be exposed to the plethora of resources at The Quilt Show, and you might hear something new about scrappy quilts. We all have scraps and stash and it’s great when we can use them to make something both unique and beautiful!

A special shout-out to Diana Fox, who shared my name with The Quilt Show folks as a potential guest. And thank you to Ricky, to Shelly Heesacker, Lilo Bowman and Kristin Goedert as well. You made me shine. ☀️

Happy Scrappin’,

Here’s the link one more time: https://thequiltshow.com/watch/scrap-quilts/learn-how-to-use-color-contrast-and-cohesion-when-making-scrappy-quilts-with-diane-harris

Getting past a creative block

Written by Diane Harris on August 27, 2023. Posted in Blog, Complimentary, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Quilt Lifestyle

Where should I start? How should I begin?

Ricky Tims said something really important on my episode of The Quilt Show, which has just been released. He said that when you have a creative block,

JUST SEW.

Christmas Dance by Diane Harris. Photo: Kristen Laing Photography.

And I have an idea for WHAT you can sew! Check out my tutorial for Baby Windmills. The cutting is simple, the piecing is fast and easy, and you’ll be unstuck in no time!

Go to the basic tutorial for Baby Windmills now.

GET YOUR SCRAPPY ON!

Piece,

You might also enjoy:

Free pattern: The little hearts quilt

Tango at Mangelsen’s Sept 29

Written by Diane Harris on August 20, 2023. Posted in Blog, Classes, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Open Classes for Everyone

Bringing a scrappy adventure to Omaha! Join me, won’t you?!

Tango is a quilt that looks good in so many “outfits.” And the piecing is fast, fun and easy, leaving you free to think through fabric choices and let the prints do almost all the work!

Tango by Diane Harris. Photo by Kristin Laing Photography.

This is my original Tango quilt made in brights and whites, with quite a few dullards thrown in for balance. But your Tango can look completely different!

Color, Contrast & Cohesion Online

Written by Diane Harris on August 14, 2023. Posted in Blog, Classes, Open Classes for Everyone

Join me for a workshop designed to elevate your quilts to new heights

Attend live OR watch the recording at your convenience!

Color, Contrast & Cohesion with me, Diane Harris of Stash Bandit happens Thursday, Oct 5 from 11 to 5 Central on Zoom.

The three C’s—Color, Contrast and Cohesion—can make or break your quilt! Learn to control them with practical exercises as you begin a simply pieced scrap quilt. Choose from several designs!

Learn why color is the least important of the three C’s. Discover ways to unify diverse fabrics and wrap your mind around the way value and contrast work together.

Pumpkins on Parade in APQ

Written by Diane Harris on August 7, 2023. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Magazines, Quilt Lifestyle

Today I’m happy to introduce a new quilt design, Pumpkins on Parade, which appears in the Sept/Oct issue of American Patchwork & Quilting.

Pumpkins on Parade by Diane Harris of Stash Bandit.
Quilted by Julie Lechner @beenquiltin

This issue is on newsstands now and there are lots of great quilts inside. I love the cover quilt by Joanna Figueroa. Get a digital issue instantly right here.

A few years back I had the idea of putting an object at the intersection of an Irish Chain-type of block, and I fleshed it out in this new design.

Quilts on covered bridges

Written by Diane Harris on June 7, 2023. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Quilt Lifestyle

It’s a romantic recipe: small town, famous county, covered bridges and quilts on a lovely summer day.

That’s the “airing of the quilts” during the Iowa Quilt Festival, where I spent Saturday, June 2. I grabbed my quilting travel buddy Mary and off we went to Winterset, which is set in wooded rolling hills toward the center of the state.

Quick overview:

Iowa Quilt Festival is a recently expanded event in and around Winterset, Iowa featuring several days worth of events for makers and lovers of quilts, hosted by Iowa Quilt Museum and sponsored/supported by a host of businesses and organizations local and beyond.

I’ll do a series of posts because there is just so much.

Cedar Covered Bridge, photo from Madison County Chamber & Welcome Center

Central Iowa Modern Quilt Guild hung quilts on Cedar Covered Bridge and these were among my favorites of the day. I was happy to meet Eva Marie Evans on site and she chatted with us about two quilts I adored.

Eva Marie Evans and her modern Double Wedding Ring

This modern version of Double Wedding Ring lit my fire because of its scrappy vibe and the wide variety of fabrics.

Sometimes it’s hard to convince my students that fabrics don’t have to match. But a quilt like this brings home that point beautifully.

I wanted to look at this quilt, and look some more, and look some more. That’s a successful quilt! The viewer can hardly look away because of all the fascinating interactions.

Look carefully at the fabrics and notice the different textures and sizes of prints.

How many different styles of fabric can you spot? I see floral, Asian, novelty, stripe, modern, shirting, batik, solid and scenic, also known as toile.

The fabric genres are all over the board, in a good way!

Virtually nothing “matches” and yet the quilt looks fabulous. I’d love to spend a day sewing with Eva Marie because I think I could learn from her.

Do you see how the overall effect is what really matters? The big picture is what makes a quilt work.

I think it’s really interesting that there isn’t a lot of contrast between the rings and the backgrounds. And yet most quilters would instantly recognize it as Double Wedding Ring. I like how the value moves from the lightest at the top left to the darkest at the bottom right. This is a quilt that grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go.

If you aspire to create like this, check out Double Wedding Ring Quilts by Victoria Findlay Wolfe. It’s been out a while so you can grab a copy quite inexpensively.

Iowa Quilt Festival was sponsored by Iowa Quilt Museum and many other organizations and businesses.

And from what I observed, it couldn’t happen without hundreds of volunteers who worked long and hard. Thank you, all.

Much more to come, so quilt on,

P.S. Visit my Instagram @stashbanditquilts for many more great photos in the meantime!

The process of re-entry

Written by Diane Harris on May 12, 2023. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Quilt Lifestyle

I’ve been gone a lot over the past few months.

So many nights away—some for business, some for personal.

Now that I’m home, I have to do what I call re-entry. Re-entry happens when I have no idea where to begin. It helps me to reconnect with various parts of my life. It’s a jump start. If I don’t practice re-entry, I’ll continue to feel overwhelmed and lost. Am I making any sense? Does this happen to you, too?

Re-entry: Kitchen

One of the obvious places to begin is the kitchen.

We have to eat. I practiced re-entry by making a big pot of vegetable soup. It’s delicious!

I feel connected to my kitchen again. I have a sense of what’s in the fridge and I’ve started a grocery list.

Re-entry: Husband

I’ve made time for him: catching up over coffee on local news, the farm, the projects in our yard. I’ve held his hand and rubbed his neck. He feels grounded again.

Re-Entry: Laundry

I unpacked one suitcase.

I’m unpacking the second and I’ve started the laundry. Tomorrow I’ll have choices about what to wear because everything will be clean. Done and done.

Re-Entry: Email

I’ve trashed a few dozen junk emails and flagged others as important.

I responded to the most critical messages and made notes about the ones that can wait.

Re-Entry: To-do list

I’ve started a new to-do list and am working my way through. I don’t separate work from personal because it all needs attention. I cross things off with a sense of jubilation. It’s silly but it lifts my spirits.

Re-Entry: Studio

This is the hardest one. I have dozens of WIPs.

I have a deadline quilt to bind and six new ideas to test. I’ve submitted ideas to publishers and if any of those are picked up, they’ll have to be created pronto. My desk is piled high with contracts, bills, sticky notes of stuff.

I started by sewing blocks and setting squares together while I listened to something and it got me going. Now I’m binding the deadline quilt because it must be shipped to France next week. I can’t wait for you to see it!

Re-entry is necessary and difficult.

It always takes me a few days to figure out where I am and what needs to happen next.

But soon I’ll be all settled in for summer, ready for the next wave of creativity.

Bring it on!