Posts Tagged ‘virtual learning’

Let’s Tango! Fun, easy class.

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

There’s still time to register for Tango, a class that happens live tomorrow 4/8 from 11 to 5 Central. If you can’t attend live, you can watch the recording later at your convenience.

Tango by Diane Harris. Photo by Kristin Laing Photography.

Easy piecing has never been so much fun! And Tango looks great in any color recipe or fabric style you choose.

I’ve searched high and low for the name of this quilt’s maker. If you can help,
please let me know. It was started in one of my Tango classes.

The number of finished quilt photos I get indicates that many people do finish their projects, and that’s the best news! None of us needs one more UFO.

Here’s an EQ8 version that I adore. I might have to make this one.

If you want a smaller quilt or a larger quilt, that’s easy to accomplish. The quilt does grow (or shrink) in 9″ increments but otherwise, it’s very doable.

I made these yellow, gray and white blocks recently and I can’t wait to quilt them.

One of the beautiful things about Tango is that you can make it very controlled or very scrappy, or somewhere in between. You can often sew from your stash with no extra purchases needed.

Stephanie Lockhart made this Tango from Alison Glass fabrics and
shot it in a delicious setting.

Once again, you can attend Tango live on Friday, 4/8 from 11 to 5 CDT, or you can watch the recording later at your convenience.

Tickets are $65 at eventbrite.com. Get yours now!

Upon registration, you’ll get an email with a link to the supply list and the Zoom link to attend live, even if you plan to watch the recording. Everyone who registers will have access to the recording.

I hope to see you in class!

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!

Sunday Sew-In Coming Up

Written by Diane Harris on June 1, 2021. Posted in Blog, Complimentary, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Quilt Lifestyle

Today I decided to stop analyzing and just get some events scheduled. The first one is coming up on Sunday, June 6. We had so much fun learning together during Scrap Quilt Secrets so I created a Sunday Sew-In. We’ll hang out and sew on Zoom, and I’ll share a block pattern plus some scrappy tips.

I’ll share a few quilts that are not in any of my trunk shows and you’ll get to see what I’m currently working on. If you want to, you can share what you’re working on, too!

You’ll need a ticket and they’re priced right at just $5. Get your ticket on Eventbrite now!

UFO Clinic for Quilters

Written by Diane Harris on March 3, 2021. Posted in Blog, Classes, How-tos and Ideas, Inspiration, Quilt Lifestyle

I had an idea the other day and I decided to go for it! I’ve hosted a UFO workshop many times in person but I wondered about doing it virtually. I think it will work!

You’re invited to join me

Join me for an informal two-hour session and get help with a UFO (that’s quilt talk for UnFinished Object) that has you stalled.

About this Event

I’ve helped scores of quilters regain momentum to finish UFOs and get their sew-jo back. Whatever the problem is, I can help you figure it out and start moving toward completion.

Maybe it was ugly fabrics or a technique you didn’t understand. Perhaps the instructions were unclear or the method was too difficult—or maybe you just need a cheerleader to urge you forward.

I’ll be happy to do what it takes to move your UFO into the finished pile.

I’m in! Take me to registration.

A 10 person class will make it possible to help everyone. I will ask for your patience as I work out a system.

I can’t wait to tackle your UFO together!

Click here to register.

This session is an experiment and is priced accordingly. Future sessions may be priced differently.

Thank You and Farewell

Written by Diane Harris on December 29, 2020. Posted in Blog, Inspiration, Quilt Lifestyle

The year that nobody saw coming will soon be over. What began with optimistic themes like “Seeing Clearly in 2020” turned into a worldwide nightmare in February and March.

Stash Bandit has fared better than many small businesses. I resisted doing virtual programs for months because I felt overwhelmed by the technology and everything else that was happening. But by mid-summer I decided it was sink or swim. It turned out to be a really good thing.

Just as I was feeling comfortable with guild programs via Zoom, quilt professionals realized widely that classes were also possible in a virtual format. So I jumped in there, too. There were definitely bumps but I taught some successful workshops and met a lot of wonderful quilters in the process.

Then another development: Teachers realized we didn’t necessarily have to wait for a guild to call us. We could schedule a program or a class on our own and invite people to come. It seemed like the best of both worlds. I figured out a platform and a way to collect class fees. I started to plan and advertise. I taught one class and it went really well. But then, seemingly out of the blue:

I hit a wall.

It wasn’t any one thing. It was the cumulative effect of too many unknowns. And it was not out of the blue.

It was missing my children and grandchildren, missing my friends, missing my extended family, missing my guild, feeling trapped at home, the onset of winter, the bleak prospect of holidays without family, missing my parents (gone for 10 and 20+ years), feeling old, eating too much, exercising too little…I could go on, but you get the picture.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s how to recognize when I’ve reached my limit. And how to treat myself gently as needed. When I slammed headfirst into that brick wall, gentleness was definitely in order.

I cancelled my open enrollment classes. I spent time safely with a few trusted friends. I talked and talked and talked with my husband. I went to church on Sundays. I quieted my spirit.

I have kept up with the essentials: my freelance gigs and keeping the kitchen and bathrooms clean. Everything else was put on hold. And two weeks later, I’m starting to emerge from the fog. I’ll be good to go for everything that’s scheduled for January, but I really needed this down time (even if it was not in a hammock on a tropical island).

I am sharing this openly because it’s easy to think that what you see on Instagram or Facebook is the whole story. It isn’t.

I’ve had productive times during the pandemic, but I’ve had many dark days when I accomplished nothing at all. I just could not. In August, an extended family member who was also our neighbor took his own life. We reeled with disbelief, sadness and anger for weeks, and then we got on with things because we had to. And I wonder if some of that isn’t catching up with me now.

I’m also writing this in order to say thank you.

If you’ve read a blog post, left a comment, liked something on social media or come to a virtual guild meeting, thank you for supporting my small business. It means the world to me. Thank you, thank you for all the large and the many small kindnesses in the form of words, clicks, notes, photos and more. I appreciate each one so very much.

And while we’re not out of the pandemic woods just yet, let’s bid 2020 adieu. Farewell, so long, sayonara. Don’t come back.

Quilt on, my friends. I hope YOU will come back! There will be lots more lighthearted fun and quilty shenanigans up the wazoo.

As ever,

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!

Going Virtual in a Pandemic World

Written by Diane Harris on August 5, 2020. Posted in Blog, Classes, Trunk Shows

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?!

I love teaching quilters in person or virtually!

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…