We had a great time making tuffets at Quintessential Quilts in Madison! If you haven't been to QQ in a while, you should check them out -- they've expanded their space and added fabric and a beautiful classroom. They share a parking lot with Target and Michaels behind East Towne Mall. Tell them I sent you! ;-)
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We had fun making more tuffets at Quilt-agious a couple of weekends ago. What can I say, I love that shop! And it's the only area shop that has a certified TuffetSource instructor (that would be me). Unfortunately, I'm better at teaching people how to make tuffets than I am at getting photos sometimes -- I'm missing one from this group. But on to the show!
We had a busy couple of Thursdays at Quilt-agious in Mukwonago! I had three classes -- tuffets, a Lone Star quilt class, and a t-shirt quilt class. Those were some long, but fun, days! First up, tuffets! Here we have Elaine's first and Herni's third tuffets! Nice job, ladies! Next up: Lone Star quilts! We used the QuiltSmart foundation for these. The panel makes it easy to sew the diamond shapes without having to worry about wasting too much fabric. You can get these panels in a small or large size. For the first class, we work on the diamonds. For the second, we put it all together. I don't have photos of the t-shirt quilt class, but since it's a technique class, there's not too much to show. But we had fun!
We had a sweet Valentine's Day at Quintessential Quilts in Madison! Our small group persevered through the snowy weather. It's hard to believe it's supposed to be 51 tomorrow! We had a fantastic time making tuffets at Quilt Play in Grayslake, IL, last week! It was my first time teaching at the shop and the students were very enthusiastic. That always makes for a fun time. Again, I was having so much fun that I didn't get any action shots. But I do have results! And a bonus Wisconsin tuffet from my latest class at Quilt-agious in Mukwonago, Wisconsin (finished outside of class).
Every year my daughter's school holds an auction to raise money. Last year I donated a quilt; this year I went with tuffets (of course)! This first one is from a used school uniform. It was a jumper, which gave me lots of yardage once I ripped out the seams. One half of the jumper went into the top and the other half I used for the bottom. The solids are Kona cottons in school colors, and the button is from an embroidered uniform shirt. I also donated the second tuffet I ever made, from the Moda Mixologie line of fabric. It was from a jelly roll, so I didn't have yardage. The button fabric was from my stash and the bottom fabric is from the Weekend line from Swirly Girls Design.
Ever since I became a TuffetSource affiliate, I've been wanting to do tuffets out of different materials. Up until now my biggest stretch had been this silk tuffet: The striped fabrics are a cotton/silk blend and the solids are silk dupioni. The fraying was the hardest thing to deal with. I ended up zigzagging in the seam allowances to keep the fray in check. As for fitting the top, the silk doesn't have as much give as cotton, fitting is a little tricky, but not too bad. Since then, I've been collecting fabrics to make different types of tuffets. I have some neckties, some leather scraps, and more silk. But I just had to try to make one from minky fabric. I'm calling it the Fluffet.
I know some people don't like working with Minky because of the shedding which is really just from where you cut the fabric -- once that's done, the fabric itself doesn't actually shed). To them I say, "get thee a lint roller!" Of course, I don't mind glitter everywhere either. Personally, I love Minky, and using it just means it's time to vacuum my sewing room. I got all of these wonderful fabric from Quilt-agious in Mukwonago, Wisconsin. They've put together the Minky for the tuffet top in kits (I'm not sure if there is enough for the bottom in their kits, fyi). Click here to contact them if you want to make your own! While you're shopping, check my store here for tuffet kits. ;-) The high was -2 the day we finished these tuffets at Quilt-agious in Mukwonago! But though it was frigid outside, we stayed warm and had fun inside. I'll be teaching tuffets at Quilt-agious again Fridays, February 5 and 12, from 1 to 5 pm. Call the shop at 262-363-3066 to sign up!
I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be hosting a tuffet retreat this summer at the Jones Mansion in Mineral Point, Wisconsin! The dates for the retreat are June 24 - 26, 2016. If you've been wanting to make a tuffet but live too far from me to take a class, this is a great chance for you to make a tuffet in a weekend. If you don't live in the area, that's okay, we'll help you get to and from the airport and even help ship your tuffet home! The Jones Mansion is gorgeous! It's a three-story home with seven bedrooms, plus a great work area. The town it's in, Mineral Point, is known for its art galleries and shops. Included in the retreat are most meals, lodging, a full tuffet kit, and expert instruction. You can even choose to make more than one tuffet if you'd like!
I've written up a FAQ which should give you all of the information you need. If you have other questions, please let me know and I'll add them to the list! Registration is here. Sign up soon! Spots are very limited and some are already taken! This last group of tuffet photos defies categorization. Actually, with the end of the year craziness, skating trips and competitions, people making their second (and third, and fourth!) tuffets, and everything else, I'm so behind on tuffet posts that I wanted to get them in before the end of the year. These tuffets were finished at nearly all of the shops I teach at, as well as my house! Some of these tuffets feature alternate layouts, and some are made of interesting materials such as ties, minky, and leather! Before we get on to the photos, I want to thank the shops that have hosted me this year: Bungalow Quilting and Yarn in Ripon, Patches and Petals in Belleville, Quilt-agoius in Mukwonago, Quintessential Quilts in Madison and Reedsburg, and The Electric Needle in Madison. When you shop for quilt fabric, sewing machines, yarn, or notions, please consider one of these shops. They've all been wonderful. If you can't shop at one of these shops, please shop at a local (or small online) shop. Remember they won't be there any more if you don't shop at them! On to the tuffet photos! Thanks for looking through all of the wonderful tuffets in this post! And thank you for your support throughout the year. It means a lot to me.
I'll see you in 2016! We had a couple of repeat Tuffeteers in Belleville this past November. They are a lovely aunt and niece duo! If you've already made one tuffet, the second one goes much more quickly.
A fun group of ladies gathered to make tuffets (over a month ago, I'm ashamed to report -- I've been swamped with skating costumes) at The Electric Needle in Madison. Their tuffets were gorgeous and their enthusiasm was great! First a few photos from the first class (which I'm not always great at capturing): And the finished tuffets...
Some new tuffets come out of Quintessential Quilts in Reedsburg this past weekend. Canada was working on her second tuffet, and Marge was finishing up her first. Canada brought her first along as well as I didn't get a chance to photograph it when it was completed. Lovely job, ladies!
Katherine made this tuffet in class at The Electric Needle in Madison, but it worked out better for her to finish it at my house, which is why these photos are from my living room and not the shop. She made her tuffet out of silk dupioni. It is stunning. She made it to match a silk quilt she has. The colors are so rich on this tuffet! So pretty!
I had three people finish tuffets at Quilt-agious in Mukwonago last week. Two of them took back to back finishing classes, making two each, and another made her third tuffet! That makes three people who have finished three tuffets! I'm so proud of them! First up is Sandy's (third) tuffet. She made it from fabric that belonged to a friend who passed away. What a special way to commemorate her friend. Next we have Lynn's two finishes. Both are Kaffe Fasset tuffets. They use a similar palette of colors, but they are both beautiful. Rachel also made two tuffets, her second and third. She took her first class not long ago! I'd say she's hooked. I've had a few people ask me if I've ever seen one come out badly, and I have to say, I haven't! Sometimes I'm not so sure based on the fabric someone chooses, but they always come out beautifully!
Last week at Quilt-agious in Mukwonago, three students finished up their wedges and began piecing together some beautiful Lone Star quilts. They got pretty far! I expect we'll see some finished quilt tops soon! We also had a big tuffet class finish. I was unable to get a full group photo because we were having too much fun and ran late, but I did get all of their tuffets. Here are all of the photos...
This weekend at Quintessential Quilts in Madison, eight tuffets were created by eight exhausted tuffeteers! They sewed throughout Saturday and did their finishing on Sunday. I can't tell you how impressed I am with their work! I usually love to include lots of action shots, but we were so busy, I didn't get a chance to take many. But I got one! Are you itching to take a tuffet class? Check out the schedule on my classes page. If you have a shop or guild within a few hours' drive from Madison, I'd be happy to come and teach your group!
I've decided to add some great services, tuffet finishing and custom tuffets. What's the difference, you might ask?
Well, tuffet finishing service is for when you can sew, but you don't have the tools or desire to build your own tuffet. I'll send you the pattern (if you already have one, just message me and I'll send you a coupon code for the difference) and you sew the top together. Then send it back to me in in a few weeks, you'll have a completed tuffet! It's like magic! Custom tuffets are for those of you who are non-sewers! You just send me the fabric (or I can provide it) and I'll do all of the work! And YES, this includes necktie tuffets! We had some repeat tuffeteers at Quilt-agious in Mukwonago! These ladies are quickly becoming experts. If you've already taken the tuffet class, you can sign up for Tuffet II (or Tuffet Finishing) and do your sewing at home. On the same day another group finished up our Tula Pink class. We worked on some blocks from her book, 100 Modern Quilt Blocks. We didn't make all 100 blocks, but I have photos of a few! If you're in the Mukwonago area and are interested in the Tula Pink blocks, Quilt-agoius is starting a club. Give them a call!
This weekend, a few friends and I got together to make tuffets at my house. Carrie wasn't able to finish, but we have two other happy tuffet makers! Six lovely ladies finished their tuffets at Quintessential Quilts in Madison Tuesday night. It was, as they say, a dark and stormy night, but their tuffets were bright and fun! And we laughed a lot! Never underestimate the sense of a humor of a woman drilling the button pilot hole on her tuffet. Or making her dimple, for that matter. Here's a little more information about the fabric used in the last tuffet. For those of you not from Wisconsin, this is an exclusive line designed by Jeanne Horton and Julie Hendricksen for Windham Fabrics and was available at shops participating in the Wisconsin Quilt Shop Hop. Very cool! If you're curious about the Wisconsin Quilt Shop Hop fabric line and want to see more of it, visit their site here.
Well, I'm off to drop my Meg's Garden quilt off at Nancy's Notions so they can be ready for QuiltExpo. then I'm going to Mukwonago to teach Tula Pink's 100 Modern Quilt Blocks at Quilt-agious. I'm having so much fun! I took a little hiatus from teaching tuffets last week to take my daughter to a sychronized skating summer camp at the University of Miami in Oxford, Ohio. It was a great experience and I didn't even make one tuffet! But the week before? Two finishes for me! First, the Amy Butler tuffet. It's not all Amy Butler, but it's close. The other one? So fun... a Bucky Badger tuffet!
In the last post I talked about the first of the eleven students in two days; today: Reedsburg! Specifically, Quintessential Quilts in Reedsburg. Don't ask me why, but somehow I didn't get everyone's individual tuffets photographed. I hope to rectify that very soon! ......aaaaand I need to chase down the tuffets I failed to photograph. Coming soon I hope!
It's been a busy summer here in Wisconsin! This past Tuesday, we had a wonderful group of ladies who made some wonderful tuffets at Quilt-agious in Ripon. Such a fun group! Let's check out their tuffets one by one: Somehow I missed getting a photo of Sandy's tuffet from above. Time for me to hunt her down!
Next post: more tuffets, this time from Reedsburg! It was a beautiful day yesterday, and it was a beautiful day to finish tuffets! Lynne and JoAnn finished these two beauties at Bungalow Quilting and Yarn in Ripon yesterday. I also couldn't resist doing a little shopping myself. I really love all of the fabric at Bungalow. If I lived closer, it would be very dangerous!
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