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 I am usually unable to keep up with sew alongs and quilt alongs, which are really popular among online quilt makers. But when Temecula Quilt Co. posted their intent to run one starting in January, the scrappy sampler look drew me right in. This is a free sew [...]
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 I came across a wonderful scrap quilt recently. It's called Pink/Orange/Yellow Try-Angles and it was designed and made by Johnny Barfuss. Pink/Orange/Yellow Try-Angles by Johnny Barfuss Johnny works as a Studio Educator for Handi Quilter in North Salt Lake, Utah. Johnny told me the story of Try-angles. Johnny [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador My current project is a sampler quilt called Halloween Figs from Joanna Figueroa at Fig Tree & Co. I'm making mine more scrappy than the original, which means there's a new decision at every turn. Yesterday I came to the point I always reach in a scrap quilt, [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador I have a few dozen Christmas and holiday quilts that make up the Jingle Bells Trunk Show. This time of year, I give it regularly for quilt guilds around the country. I'm always adding to it, and last week I picked up a quilt from my extraordinary longarm [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador I've been making receiving blankets for my soon-to-arrive twin granddaughters, and one of my favorites has a 24" Economy quilt block as its center. Making this blanket used a lot of the skills I've honed over many years, so I thought it would be make a good series [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador There's a lot of eye candy in the world of fabric these days. I love stopping by a quilt store and seeing new collections beautifully displayed together. When I make a quilt, however, I've found that a single fabric collection is not what I prefer to use. I [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador I finished the New Wave Quilt by Elizabeth Hartman recently. If you missed it, here is Part 1. Because I live in the middle of nowhere and because I have a stash that's been growing for 35 years, I am pretty committed to sewing with what I have. [...]
By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador I have just finished a quilt that's a gift for a very special family member. I'm taking it with me to the other side of the world on Wednesday. This is the New Wave Quilt designed by Elizabeth Hartman and offered as a free quilt pattern on her [...]
