By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador

I finished piecing a project on May 7, just 16 days after I started. It was a challenging project for a couple of reasons but now that it’s finished, I quite like it.

My Gypsy Wife quilt top, a design by Jen Kingwell

I am not much of a planner. I mean, I plan ahead for things like my grandchildren’s birthdays and what to wear for a trunk show, but when it comes to a scrap quilt? Not so much.

I prefer to wing it.

This can be good and bad. When you decide to make a Gypsy Wife, there are coloring sheets to help you plan but I didn’t want to color.

I wanted to sew.

So I started making blocks. I thought I’d go for a 1940s-1950s look with plenty of Denyse Schmidt fabrics.

But that’s not really what happened.

I can’t tell you exactly how these things get away from me.

But get away from me they do.

I don’t think much about color when I’m pulling fabrics for the next block.

Instead, I think about contrast. I might start with one fabric that I love. And then the next fabric has to contrast in some way.

The contrast can be found in its value, the scale, the shape of the printed motif, or the fabric’s style.

But it should never look like its neighbors. It has to be different in some interesting way.

Sometimes people say, “I would never have thought to put those colors together.” And I’m always surprised by that because I would never have thought the colors did not go together.

When you’re making a scrap quilt, defined as one having many different fabrics, it all goes together. You just have to use plenty of everything.

And you can’t be timid. Bravery wins every time. I don’t think you can go too wrong if you make an interesting quilt, even if it’s not perfectly gorgeous or coordinated.

As long as your quilt isn’t boring, it’s a success. I would rather die than make a boring quilt. Almost anything is preferable to boring!

This quilt contains fabrics that are modern and traditional. Florals and plaids. Dots and stripes. 1930s reproductions and batiks. Designers include Kaffe Fassett, Tula Pink, BasicGrey, Jen Kingwell, Elizabeth Hartman, Amy Butler, Liberty of London, Janine Vangool, Carolyn Friedlander, Erin McMorris, Anna Rifle Bond and Roberta Horton.

There’s hardly a fabric in the quilt top that I don’t like. I buy only what I love so my stash reflects my personal style, and I think it all goes together.

A friend said recently that when she sees my quilts, she thinks, “My stash is nothing like Diane’s stash.” What an interesting observation! But you know what? Her stash most likely looks like her, as it should. Your stash should look like YOU.

I purposely included a bit of selvage in my Gypsy Wife.

I think that if you buy what you love, it probably will mostly work together in a scrap quilt. And when it’s your quilt, as long as you like it,

what else really matters?

I pieced Gypsy Wife on the HQ Stitch 510 from April 21, 2020 to May 7, 2020, as I was home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Quilt on, my friends.