42 Quiltmaker • January/February ’20
Stealing Hearts
Former Quiltmaker editor, Diane
Harris, has graced the pages of our
magazines with her lively designs for
many years. With over 30 years of
experience as a quilter, her quilts are
colorful and fun, as she encourages us
all to play more and worry less. Join
us as we learn more about the self-
proclaimed “Stash Bandit.”
Her Roots
I'm a Nebraskan by birth but I spent
most of my adult life in Colorado,
which is how I took an editorial job
with Quiltmaker in 2005. For 11 years
I wrote pattern instructions and how-
to articles. I did product reviews and
instructional videos, and I was the
online voice of the magazine through
its blog and social media channels.
Social media was new for businesses
so there was a steep learning curve
but it was a lot of fun.
The Stash Bandit is born
I gave guild programs for Quiltmaker
regularly and really enjoyed it. So
when my time with them ended a
couple of years ago, the natural step
was to start my own business where
I'd share what I'd learned along with
the hundreds of quilts I've made over
the years. That's how Stash Bandit was
born.I started sewing in 4-H when I was
nine. I made garments for 14 years
until I took a quilting class with a
friend who needed a break from her
three toddlers. After clothing con-
struction, it seemed easy to make a
quilt because all it had to do was lie
fl at!
For the next twenty years I stayed
home with my kids and spent a lot
of time learning, taking quilt classes,
and volunteering with guilds. Then the
opportunity with Quiltmaker came up,
and it was just right for me because
my degree is in communications. I
could handle language and writing,
and I knew quite a bit about quilts and
quilting, too. I thought I'd died and
gone to heaven because I was being
paid to think and write about quilts, all
day, every day.Designer Spotlight
Diane Harris
Photos courtesy of Diane Harris.