By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador Yesterday I shared the story of this UFO, which has now happily become an FO: Finished Object! It feels great to have this one done. I kept the quilting simple but that's because Mary Beth Krapil, my tutor in all things machine quilting, has taught me to ask [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador Eight years ago I started an improvisational quilt project during a retreat with Mary Lou Weidman. Mary Lou was doing improv long before anyone called it that. She makes amazing story quilts and she is full of ideas. A day spent with her is like slurping creativity from [...]
Recently I needed new samples for a class I'm teaching in June about improvisational curved piecing. I didn't have anything specific in mind and started with easy cutting and sewing. I used the HQ Stitch 510. I used big, bold prints with plenty of contrast. When you have contrast, you can clearly see the difference [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador During the last few weeks of 2019, I took inventory of the unfinished projects in my studio. UFOs (as they're called in quilt world) don't bother me or cause me guilt, but seeing them all together did motivate me to reimagine them and do some serious finishing in [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador You may have heard about improvisational quilting, or improv for short. This kind of freeform construction is fun and easy, and it keeps piecing interesting because every block is a new adventure. You don't know exactly how it will look until it's sewn together. Improvisational star I think [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador I'm fortunate to be at the annual meeting of the Modern Quilt Guild this weekend in Nashville. QuiltCon is a four-day event with a juried quilt exhibit, vendors, classes, lectures and socials. It feels like drinking from a firehose. So with that in mind, just a quickie post [...]
I’ve been making improvisational blocks on the HQ Stitch 510 by Handi Quilter in preparation for teaching a class on string piecing next week. It’s very simple piecing and it takes full advantage of the 510’s speed, one of this model’s most important features. The blocks are a variation of Log Cabin. I start with [...]
