Posts Tagged ‘stash bandit classes’

Scrap Quilt Classes Upcoming

Written by Diane Harris on July 6, 2022. Posted in Blog, Classes, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Open Classes for Everyone

Everyone is welcome at “StarQuar Scrap Quilts.”

I’m excited to share the concept of “StarQuar” units in one local and one online class in the next few weeks. Won’t you join me? This is the idea on which Star Silhouettes is based.

Star Silhouettes was designed and pieced by me, and quilted by Julie Lechner.
It appears in the July/August issue of American Patchwork & Quilting.
Image: Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting®. ©2022 Meredith Operations Corporation. All rights reserved.

We’ll cover scrap management in the context of StarQuar units.

And you’ll learn my best tips and tricks for successful scrappy quilts, too. Concepts include color, value, scale, texture, density, line and pulling all your scraps together in a beautiful way.

This little unit has unlimited potential and I’ll show you many of the designs it can create. You can sew from your scraps, your stash, with precuts or with your favorite yardage.

Believe me when I say that making stars from StarQuars is only the beginning. There is so much more! You’ll discover dozens of ways to use these units and you might come up with something I haven’t considered. This is a completely entertaining way to sew and I’m anxious to introduce you to it.

When and where?

Locally, StarQuar Scrap Quilts happens on Saturday, July 23 at Mangelsen’s in Omaha, Nebraska from 10:30 to 3:30. Find details and registration here. There’s a lovely new classroom at Mangelsen’s and you’ll enjoy it! The store is easy to find and there’s lots of free parking (not to mention amaaaazing fabric inside).

Online, StarQuar Scrap Quilts happens Thursday, August 4 from 10 to 4. Find details and tickets here. Many quilters really like virtual learning and sewing from the comfort of home. Your stash is at your fingertips!

I’d love to see you in class very soon. Register today! And thanks for visiting Stash Bandit!

Keep quilting,

Looking for the magazine with Star Silhouettes? Find it at Mangelsen’s, Barnes & Noble and many newsstands. If all else fails, call me. I have issues! 😉

Manage your scraps beautifully: Two online quilt classes!

Written by Diane Harris on November 30, 2021. Posted in Blog, Classes, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Open Classes for Everyone, Quilt Lifestyle

Join me online January 26 and 28 for scrappy fun during the Quiltfest Virtual Schoolhouse.

#1: Wednesday, Jan. 26, 10 to 4 EST, online workshop for Quiltfest Virtual Schoolhouse

Scrap Management: Brick by Brick

Bricks are so easy to cut and sew but the potential for amazing designs is endless! This class is beginner friendly but more experienced makers will gain new insight regarding value, contrast, scale and more. You may choose from several sizes of bricks and you’ll precut so you’re ready to hit the ground running. A ridiculous amount of fun!

New class! StarQuar Party for Quilters

Written by Diane Harris on August 27, 2021. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Open Classes for Everyone

I’m putting the finishing touches on a brand new class that is open to everyone and you’re invited!

The StarQuar Party for Quilters is a one day class for scrap lovers.

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.

Easy Quilt Binding by Machine Class is Open

Written by Diane Harris on February 7, 2021. Posted in Blog, Classes, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle

Would you like to learn to bind your quilts with a method that is easy, fast, sturdy and beautiful? Then my easy quilt binding by machine might be exactly what you need!

Friday, Feb. 26, 11 am to 2 pm CST

or

Saturday, March 27, 1 to 4 pm CST

$39.99

Class will happen on Zoom and is open to anyone, anywhere. I’d love to have you join me!

This is me, Diane Harris.

Would you like to see the supply list before you decide?

Click here to see the supply list.

You’ll practice all the steps of binding in class and leave well-equipped to bind your next quilt in a fraction of the time. Now you can finish a quilt more quickly and still be proud of the result.

Some of the things we’ll cover:

Auditioning fabrics for binding
Using stripes for binding
Tricks for cutting
Pressing for success
Mitering the corners
Adjusting your machine
Joining the ends

Tickets are available through Eventbrite and your cost will be $39.99. Here is the link:

Click here to see the tickets or purchase either time slot

I can’t wait to see you in class!

Learn My Machine Binding Method!

Written by Diane Harris on December 8, 2020. Posted in Blog, Classes, How-tos and Ideas

I’ve been binding my quilts on the machine for more than 20 years with a technique that’s fast, beautiful and sturdy.

Are you free on Saturday?

Join me for Mock-Hand Binding by Machine, a live class with me, Diane Harris from Stash Bandit, from 9 am to 12 pm Saturday, Dec. 12.

The fee is $35.

(Yes, this will be offered again and next time it won’t be so early for people on Pacific time.)

Go straight to registration

or read on for details.

This all-machine technique imitates a binding sewn down by hand, but in a fraction of the time. I’ve been binding my quilts with this method since the 90s so I know the tricks to make it work along with the pitfalls to avoid.

PLEASE NOTE: It’s best if your sewing machine has a blind hemstitch, but you can make a regular zigzag work if need be. I’ll also show you other binding secrets to make your quilt look its best!

Blind hem stitch is used for this technique. Lots of machines have it!

I have 36 years of quiltmaking experience along with many years of teaching. From beginners to pros, everyone in the US* is welcome in this class, which will be a live demonstration of the technique along with written instructions and photographs in the handouts. You’ll leave with everything you need to start binding your quilts quickly and beautifully. Let’s do it!

*The platform I’m using on Zoom is still in Beta (testing) mode and is limited to US users right now. Word is that it will open to international registrants at some point before long.

Mock-Hand Binding by Machine

9 am to 12 pm CST

Saturday, Dec 12, 2020

$35

Click here to register.

You’ll get a link to the supply list when you register. I look forward to seeing you on Saturday!

Quilt on,

Who the heck is Diane Harris?

Written by Diane Harris on August 6, 2020. Posted in Blog, Classes, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle, Trunk Shows

If you found me because of Global Quilt Connection, you might wonder! Here’s my story.

I spent 11 years as an editor for Quiltmaker magazine, where I wrote pattern instructions and product reviews. I shot how-to videos and wrote a variety of articles related to quilts and quiltmaking. It was a dream job!

My Scotch on the Rocks quilt on the cover of Quiltmaker, 2016

I was the online voice of Quiltmaker for most of that time. In the early days, we were figuring out what it meant for a business to be online, along with everyone else. It was exciting, exhausting and fun!

My Dresden Plate video for QM has had more than 175,000 views.

Some of the editors helped promote the magazine by giving trunk shows of the quilts from our pages. I loved doing that, and I got good feedback from quilt groups. So when my time with Quiltmaker ended, since I’d been making quilts for 30 years, I started Stash Bandit and began sharing my own quilts in trunk shows.

I’d been teaching quilters here and there as requests came up over the years, so I added classes to my lineup as well. Writing for a pattern magazine is a form of teaching, so it seemed only natural.

Let’s Play Drezzup is billed as a trunk show but a lot of teaching
also happens during the one-hour presentation.

There are three components to my business. The trunk shows and classes are the most visible part. And they’re probably the most fun!

Color Coded by Diane Harris, quilted by Julie Lechner.
From American Patchwork & Quilting, June 2019.

The second part is that I still design and make quilts for magazines. That helps me spread the word about Stash Bandit and leads to calls from quilt guilds. It’s fun to see your work in a professionally styled shot in a national publication! And it’s always a happy day if your quilt makes the cover. Never gets old.

Color Coded by Diane Harris; quilted by Julie Lechner. Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting®️. ©️2019 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

And the third part of my business that I’ve just added this year is helping other quilt-related businesses with social media. I manage this area for a couple of entities and I love doing it. And it’s fine with me if my name is not publicly associated with that work. I’m an introvert and I don’t love the spotlight so much.

I manage social media for HQ Stitch by Handi Quilter as the brand ambassador.

The most visible of those is working as brand ambassador for HQ Stitch by Handi Quilter, a line of three (fabulous) domestic sewing machines. I love the machines, and it’s my job to use them and write about them. Which I happily do every day! Learn more: HQ Stitch on IG @hqstitch and on Facebook/hqstitch.

Wild Garden by Diane Harris, no pattern available.

One area that I have not forayed into is the pattern business. After a trunk show, people naturally ask me where they can buy the patterns for my designs. I don’t have a great answer!

It takes a lot to bring a pattern to the market. I’d spend a lot of time and money to do it. And then you have to sell an awful lot of patterns to cover all of that before you start making a profit. And that is just one of the reasons. The others are probably not interesting to a blog reader!

This little quilt is a freebie! Grab it!

I would much rather show people how to make their own unique quilts by understanding how fabrics work together. I’d like to help them unlock their creativity and be fearless in making something outside their comfort zone. So that is how I work and where I place my focus:

I use scrap quilts to help others understand fabric, color, design and quilting techniques.

The giant pineapple quilt called Welcome is a freebie! Grab it.

Some patterns remain available from the various magazines. And a few are freebies on my own website.

So that’s a bit of my story. It’s nice to meet you!

I’ve started offering virtual trunk shows and classes in 2020. I’d love to bring one to your quilt group! Get in touch and…

Let’s Talk Quilts!

You could help me out here by leaving a comment if you’ve been to a class or trunk show of mine. A few sentences about your experience would help others to know what they’re signing up for. Thank you!

Playing Drezzup in Hastings, Nebraska

Written by Diane Harris on February 7, 2020. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Trunk Shows

I had a delightful time with Hastings (Nebraska) Quilter’s Guild last night, presenting Let’s Play Drezzup to about 50 people. This program is in three parts:

A hands-on experience to make, trim and join the Dresden blades. Everyone takes home her samples.
A trunk show of blocks showing the endless variations possible with Dresden Plate.
A sampling of new and old Dresden quilts with quirks, oddities and interesting details.

I have to rush to fit it all in one hour but it’s getting good feedback. Whenever I pull this trunk show out in preparation for a program, I get all excited about Dresden Plate again! I could spend the next five years on these quilts alone.

Pine Burr Class: Folded Fabric Fun

Written by Diane Harris on September 14, 2019. Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle

I’m just back from giving the Jingle Bells trunk show for Lincoln (NE) Quilters Guild and teaching Pine Burr at the International Quilt Museum. It was a great trip and we had so much fun in class.

It’s not hard to find Pine Burr inspiration online. The quilt above is listed for sale at lstDibs with a price tag of $7500. It’s described as “exceptional African American pine burr quilt. All hand quilted and pieced. Found in Selma, Alabama. Fantastic color placement and design. These quilts were made with leftover fabric and clothing.”

The date is given as 1920s and the style is designated as folk art. It’s 60″ x 75″ which makes each block around 12″ square.

Pine Burr from the collection of Corrine Riley on exhibit in 2012 at the Bellevue Arts Museum

Two things piqued my interest in Pine Burr. One was the Bellevue Arts Museum’s exhibition “Bold Expressions: African American Quilts” of more than 50 pieces from the Corrine Riley Collection in the fall of 2012. The quilt above was part of the exhibit.