Summertime

I just realized how long it had been since I last updated my blog. I have been caught up in teaching my summer lessons, making samples for my fall classes, organizing my upcoming trunk shows and of course working on a few things for my own enjoyment.

I recently completed two full sized quilt tops, waiting to be quilted and bound. One is made with various shades of blue and brown and the other is made with batiks, in lots of bright colours! It is the first entire quilt that I have made using batiks, I was thrilled with the final look. I received my first shipment of batiks in June and as soon as they came in my mind began to spin with all of the ideas that I had to use them for. I began with a table runner and then a bag and finally the full size quilt. Once both of my quilts are completed I will be posting the pictures.

Today I booked a booth for an upcoming craft show, which will be held in October at Durham College (2000 Simcoe St. N, Oshawa ON). I am very excited as this is the first craft show that I will be in. I also have two trunk shows coming up, one in September and the other in October, I can't wait for the fall!

One of my new projects that I will be teaching in the fall is a Christmas Tree wall hanging made with fabric yo-yos and buttons, it is a perfect way to use up 6" squares of various greens or Christmas fabrics and odd buttons!

Happy Summer Sewing

With school officially out of the way for the summer, I am absolutely thrilled to get started on my summer sewing list, which has grown immensely over the winter. The only trouble is deciding where to start!

I recently presented my Trunk Show for the Prince Edward County Quilter's Guild. I had a fabulous time displaying my work and answering many questions from my attentive audience. I have two more shows lined up for the fall, and am already eager for those days to arrive!

I'll be continuing my spring lessons until Saturday June 25th and my summer lessons will commence on Monday July 4th. Summer lessons will be available Monday through Thursday, 9-11AM and 12-2 PM.

Since I am very busy finishing off my first year of university, yet I eagerly wanted to make a brief post, I decided that today I would show off the work of one of my star students.

This is a twin-sized, Rail-Fence variation, done in a variety of bright fabrics to create a scrappy look. She has been sewing for a year and a half and I am very proud of her accomplishments and how far she has come. This is definitely one of my fondest examples, of how children can learn to sew very well if they are patient and work hard at developing their skills.

I enjoy displaying the work of my students as it inspires those who are currently working on quilts, or those who are building up confidence to tackle a larger project.

Age is never an issue, it's all in your mind-set!

My Favourite Quilt

I decided I would tell the story of my favourite quilt...actually, I have a lot of favourites, but this is definitely one of them!


This is my Bow Tie quilt, I made it in July 2008. I treated the blocks as if they were log cabin blocks, and arranged them in a "Barn-Raising" set.

Like many of my quilts, this one has a specific story behind it. The material was given to me by my inspiration, Carole Gould. Her mother had started the quilt, using scraps of material from old dresses or other projects. The pieces that she had already cut out were left in an old Eaton's Cottage Sweets chocolate box, of which Carole was going to throw out. As the saying goes, one quilter's trash is another quilter's stash! I was so intrigued by the idea and decided I was going to finish what her mother started. The background fabric was originally cut from sugar sacks. Since the background pieces were quite worn, I changed them for a plain beige cotton that was of a similar colour. Then I trimmed up the pieces that were already cut, and selected only the fabrics that seemed to be in the best condition to use in my quilt. Although I had lots of fabric to make a larger quilt, I decided to make it lap-sized so that it could be used as a wall hanging. I made the border in a checkerboard style, using leftover bits of both the solid and coloured fabrics.

Although the one block her mother had completed was pieced by hand, I pieced all of mine by machine and machine quilted it myself as well and hand bound the edges. The backing was a large piece of 1930's fabric that Carole had in her stash that went well with the top and was large enough to be the backing and binding of the quilt.

This quilt makes my list of favourites because the story is quite personal and means alot to me. This quilt displays the whole reason why people began quilting in the first place. To take things that were no longer useful, like worn clothing and sugar sacks, and to create something with a new use, something beautiful, something to keep your hands and mind occupied when troubles have you down, something that will get passed down in family generations, something that can become a conversation piece in years to come, something that creates a history all on it's own.

My First Post

Greetings!

For quite some time people have been continuously asking me to create a website, or at least a blog. So here I go, venturing off into an online world full of uncertainty.

I suppose I'll begin my first post with a short introduction.

Although quilting and other forms of needle work have been around for centuries, I believe it has developed immensely. Years ago, the purpose of quilting was to keep your family warm. One would use up scraps from articles of old clothing or perhaps even sugar sacs, in order to make their quilts. Today, I believe quilting is more than a household hobby. It involves more than making bedspreads or making something with friends just to keep your mind off of troubling matters. Quilting has evolved into one of the most gracious arts I have ever seen. Some say it is a lost art, I half agree with this statement. Yes, some quilts are old fashioned, and yes, many people prefer to purchase bed spreads and clothes today, rather than making things themselves. The reason why I say that I half agree; is because I am currently doing something about it.

My name is Tiffany Tuttle; I’m nineteen years old and currently reside in Oshawa Ontario. I am a full time student at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and am studying to earn a business degree. I have been an avid sewer since the ripe age of eight. No, I did not pick up the skill from my mother, or any other family member for that matter. I took sewing lessons for three years and learned the basics of making simple clothing for myself. The summer I was twelve, I decided to take a quilting summer camp. I signed up to make a rag quilt; the instructor had informed my mother that it would take me a couple of weeks to complete the quilt if I worked on it daily. At the end of my first week of camp I had completed my rag quilt and made a pillow to match. After that week....well, I was hooked. I spent the rest of the summer taking more lessons and making several projects that ranged from patch work bags to aprons and Christmas stockings.

By the age of thirteen, my instructor, Carole Gould, who was the owner of the store in which I took lessons from, suggested I try my hand at a sampler quilt. The quilt included twenty blocks that used various techniques in which I hadn’t tried before. Carole told my mother this one would take me at least a year, “after all”, she said “some adults in my class are still working on theirs, and they started them two years ago". At the end of three weeks I had completed the entire top of my quilt. I received lots of praise from the staff who worked at the store and the adults who were still working on the same quilt. For my grade eight graduation I made my dress, so it was exactly the style and colour I wanted, best of all I did not have to worry about having the same dress as someone else. At the end of that summer, I was hired as a part time quilting teacher for Carole’s store, I taught children’s classes on Fridays and Saturdays. On my occasional breaks from school I would even help teach the adult classes. I remember being asked by one of the adult students, what I would like to be when I grow up. Carole had frequently bragged about me to her customers and always told me how proud she was that I accomplished straight A’s at school every year. I answered the question with utmost confidence, “I want to be the owner of a quilt store, just like this one”. For several years Carole tried convincing me that I should take advantage of my grades and be a lawyer or a doctor, so that I would always have a steady income. As most entrepreneurs know, business can be risky at times. But there was absolutely no way anyone was talking me out of it. “Besides”, I said, “Aren’t husbands supposed to provide the steady income for us?”

In December 2008, Carole was retiring and unfortunately the new owner did not want to have any children’s classes, therefore I quit. I knew teaching children how to quilt was sometimes chaotic but if no one passes on the craft, in twenty years or so we won’t have any adult quilters either. That winter, I was entered into a young entrepreneur program called My Summer Company. Of the fifteen hundred applicants, I was one of the lucky twenty students who were selected. We were given workshops, mentors and advisors to help us operate a summer business. The business I started is called Quilter’s Workshop and although I was only supposed to operate for two months in the summer of 2009, my business is still operating successfully. I teach three different sewing and quilting classes to children and adults, every Saturday. My students work on a variety of projects and all do an excellent job! I am the only business in my area that offers lessons to children. On top of teaching lessons, I have presented my trunk show to multiple quilt guilds in Ontario. I bring as many of my full sized quilts as I can, and almost every wall hanging and small project that I can pack into my car. I enjoy speaking to guilds as it is fun to discuss a common joy with other people. I think it is great to share ideas and to inspire people with my work.

Since I’ve learned to sew, my life has transformed. Sewing is a skill that should be taught at a young age, I like sharing my love of sewing with others and teaching my craft because I know how useful it can be. Aside from being able to alter clothing or fix garments you can use your quilting and sewing abilities to decorate your home, there isn’t a single wall or nook in my home that isn’t displaying a wall hanging or other quilted item! I also enjoy making memory quilts or making pillows with pictures on them, as gifts to friends and family. I truly believe there are so many possibilities when it comes to quilt making and it is definitely a stress reliever!

I hope to one day own a full size quilt store and maybe even publish a few pattern books! Until then I will continue running my part time business, speaking at guilds and making lots of quilts!

Happy Sewing!

Tiffany Tuttle of Quilter’s Workshop – 905-725-3701