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!
I’ve scheduled another Sunday Sew-In for next week on Sept. 19 and I’d love to have you join me.
I hosted a Sunday Sew-In in June and it was an experiment but I enjoyed it and others seemed to enjoy it, so this time I have a better idea of how to do it.
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
If you’ve arrived here because you saw one of my videos for Annie’s and Quilter’s World, welcome! I’m happy to have you. Things you might be interested in:
The free pattern for Baby Windmills, which is my favorite little block.
Sign up for my emails, full of scrap quilt tips once or twice a month.
If you’re in a quilt guild that hires speakers, you can check out my trunk shows full of unique scrappy quilts.
I have taken much of the summer off to preserve my own mental health. It has been a very difficult season, and I know I’m not alone in that experience.
I do have a few upcoming magazine designs that I’m excited about. It’s always a challenge to keep that sewing under wraps until the pattern is published. I usually make those quilts six to nine months before you see them in a magazine. By the time the magazine appears, I have moved on!
My pile of tops to be quilted is ridiculous. I did a lot of piecing during 2020 when we were at home for weeks on end. I can’t say it saved my sanity but it probably helped a little.
I’m in the process of scheduling more on-demand classes. Ticketing is always a challenge, and I have to balance on-demand events with guild events for which I have contracts. I am also a gardener and that takes up a fair amount of time during spring, summer and fall. It seems there are never enough hours in the day.
So these are just a few random thoughts to give you a sense of what my scrap quilts are like and to say thank you for visiting my website today.
Quilt on,
As part of my 10K Celebration, I’m running a special on virtual trunk shows for quilt guilds for a limited time.
I’m excited to have several trunk shows and classes available for booking as virtual learning! We can’t gather for meetings, conferences and all-out quilting parties but we can be together using modern technology, and what’s not to love about sewing in your own space with all of your tools close at hand?!
Visit my Virtual Learning page to learn more, and if you have questions, please reach out: diane@stashbandit.net. Always happy to hear from you!
I teach a multitude of concepts by using scrap quilts sewn mostly from my stash. You can make this kind of quilt, too! I love showing willing learners how to combine unlikely fabrics they already own to make a dynamite scrap quilt.
Get in touch, and…
A while back I wrote about some quilts that were in trouble with me for a post called “Quilts in the Doghouse.” I just finished piecing another top, a recent UFO (which means I started it in the past year or so), and near the end of the process, I had what you might call a full-on hissy fit.
First I want to say that Hexie Framed is a great design and a well-written pattern from Emily Dennis of Quilty Love. None of this story is the pattern’s or the designer’s fault. This is all on me.
Hey quilters, how are you holding up? I know. Me, too. Things are starting to open up here in Nebraska, and I wonder if my friends would want to head out to a quilt store this week. I am ready!
I have sewn like a crazy woman during the pandemic. I’ve finished up some things, started a bunch of new things, and practiced machine quilting a LOT.
In December I dug out and shot all the UFOs I could find, including these little baskets.
Yesterday, online learning platform Bluprint, formerly Craftsy, sent an email to instructors saying the company would be closing over the next few months. This was at once surprising and completely unsurprising.
When Craftsy began about 10 years ago (because a guy received a quilt from his aunt), the quilters I knew loved it. It provided something new in the form of online learning, and it was well done. You could interact with the instructors, get answers to your questions, post your progress and make friends with others in your classes. It was amazing.
I’ve been machine quilting much more than usual during this extended time at home. I’m learning a lot. I am so happy to have finished My Wild Garden recently.
It’s an improvisational quilt, which is a fancy way of saying I made it up as I went along. You’ve never had so much fun as improv quilting allows.