Houston Texas is the home of the International Quilt Market and Quilt Festival, two of our favorite weeks of the year. Week one is set up and Quilt Market and week two is Quilt Festival and tear down.
During Quilt Festival there is an amazing display of quilts hosted by the International Quilt Association. The pieces on display are a “Judged Show” of members’ work. Quilts: A World of Beauty is held at International Quilt Festival/Houston every fall. In 2016, a total of $96,750 in non-purchase cash prizes were awarded to winners, with travel/hotel prizes going to the top eight winners. If you would like to learn more about the IQA or see all of the winning quilts please visit the Quilts website.
The photo collage below show the just a few of the winning quilts on display. The images are courtesy of the International Quilt Association and to view all of the quilts that won a prize please visit their website. To see these masterful creations in person is amazing. The pictures really do not do them justice.
Houston Quilt Market is equally as exciting and as visually stimulating as Quilt Festival. Quilt Market has the latest releases of fabric, books, patterns and tools. It is filled with Business Seminars, Take & Teach and Schoolhouse Sessions that inspired and educate. In the image below our Master Maker Lorine Mason is demonstrating how to use Stiffen a new product released at the 2015 Quilt Market.
Our HOT items at Quilt Market this year are the Bench Pillow and the Tuffet Kit. The bench pillow measures 16″ x 38″. The rectangular pillow form provides lumbar support for bench seats, porch swings, love seats and more. Non-woven cover with finished knife edges. Filled with our fabulous Poly-Fil brand fiberfill.
Master Maker Erica Dietz of 5 Little Monsters created a Star Wars inspired pillow cover using iron on words. 
Checker Distributers has a line of pillow covers created by KimberBell that are available in your local quilt and fabric shops. They have patterns for sale for each month and season. Ask your local shop to order them for you.
Our Tuffet Kit was seriously one of the hottest items at Quilt Market. Tuffets were on display in so many booths. I am not sure we captured photos of them all there were so many. These are a few of the highlights showing how versatile the tuffet is. Leather, faux fur and fabric was used as well as the tuffet only and the tuffet kit with includes a wood base and pre-drilled holes.
I bought two of the Fairfield Scrappy Strip Tuffet kits from Fairfield online via Joann Fabric, and my sister and I proceeded to make them today following your instructions. We made our template to the exact size shown in the leaflet and cut out all 40 of our strips per tuffet, then sewed them as instructed. We followed the directions for gluing the foam to the plywood and then stapling the batting and were so excited to put on our pretty covers. To both our surprise, the covers are way too short. They are not long enough to go to the underside of the foam and plywood, even without the batting. There is no way we can staple the covers to the underside. We reviewed everything in the instructions and see nothing we did wrong. What is going on? Please explain? Is there an error in the instructions? Why is our cover too short? Each piece is the 15 3/4 inches exactly as told to make the template on both the center page and the back page. Now what do we do? We would appreciate your assistance. Thank you.
As we do not have a contact phone number, we have emailed you regarding this issue. Please watch for an email From Fairfield.
Hello,
Yes, I have had my Fairfield Scrappy Strip Tuffet kit in the closet for a few years. I’m finally getting around to making it. The instructions are very vague. I simply would like to know the recommendation of ironing the seams open or to one side. I realized the seams will get blobbed up (technical term. LOL) at the center, so I’m willing to iron them to one side, but I’m curious what you recommend. Thank you.
We recommend ironing all seams in the same direction. not opened, this will allow them to lay flatter at the center.
If you are adding a button at the center, this too will help to camouflage any additional bulk that happens at the center.
Happy sewing!
I also just bought the kit and want to know what I need to do before cutting out the fabric so it is long enough to put on the cushion. Please inform me of what instruction was given to Judy so our tuffets can work! Thanks
Hi Joan,
It appears that the wrong instructions made their way into some of our kits that were sold online. I can either email you a PDF of the corrected instructions or I can send you a printed copy. Please let me know your preference and also the appropriate mailing address or email where we should send.
Sorry for this confusion.
I just got my tuffet kit that I ordered online at Joanns. I too want to know what is the error in the instruction before I start. I am making this as a baby gift to give along with the Little Miss Muffet book.
Sherry, We will email your the updated instructions.
I just began cutting my strips and decided to look on line for some tips. Thank God I did! Please advise, I purchased a kit from Joann Fabric as well. Do I need a new pattern? A prompt reply is appreciated since this is an Xmas gift !!
Fabric is expensive and I cannot afford to waste it !! Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Yes, many people found our original instructions a bit tight for wrapping their tuffet.
We modified the pattern slightly to make it easier to create your tuffet cover.
The kits in inventory all received the new easier to follow instructions… however, a few that were out in stores did not.
The updated instructions and pattern should have a pink oval on the cover saying something like “ now even easier to follow!”
If yours has that pink oval then you are good to go!