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Tabitha Quilts was started in 1987, as a collaboration between two artist friends, Char Russell and Billie Gunderson, who loved the artistry of both quilts and quilting. The partnership continued for 10 years. For the past few years Char has been on her own, while still working under the studio-name Tabitha Quilts. The unifying threads which run through all Tabitha Quilts remain: intensity and brilliant combination of colors, and original piecing design. While influenced by the long history and tradition of quilting as a functional craft, Char is also immersed in the visual art and design possibilities of this most tactile of mediums. The result is: contemporary interpretations of traditional quilt blocks - or sometimes totally new and different surface designs. The quilted clothing designs are all based on original, yet very simple shapes of vests, jackets and quilt-coats. The complexity of the work comes with the applied piecing, which has been based on traditional string or strip piecing and Seminole techniques. Recently, Char has been incorporating the curved line in her pieced-work, a technique which is a bit more difficult to do, but worth the effort because it is so interesting and challenging. Every quilt is one-of-a-kind. Tabitha Quilts is not a production studio, and although fortunate to have occasional help with assembly, or hand quilting, Char designs and sews each one-of-a-kind item from the studio. She uses a rather elderly Viking sewing machine, for all sewing and piecing, and a lap-hoop for hand quilting (some large quilts are done, with quilting assistance, on a floor frame). Additionally, as the design of a piece dictates, machine quilting is occasionally used...with that same elderly Viking. Char Russell holds a BA from Western Michigan University, with a major in Anthropology and a minor in Art. She has spent her creative life as a painter, sculptor, quilter and parent of 9 children. Working with cloth has been a part of her life since she was a little girl, sitting on the floor with her toy Singer sewing machine. Much knowledge was absorbed by observing her paternal grandmother who was a devoted quilter, with her weekly "bee" of Missouri farm wives. And, while not a quilter, Char's mother hand sewed all of her daughters' girlhood clothing, including several prom dresses, some of which required hand application of hundreds of tiny beads! Also, being able to observe her father hand sewing leather projects added to the mix of learning experiences. Putting things together from cloth has been a time-honored avocation within the family for several generations. |
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| The "Tabitha" of Tabitha Quilts was the first-born daughter of Char Russell. Char is the owner of a studio devoted to quilts, quilt-clothing, original patterns and "strong-flavored" fabrics. Tabitha Quilts is located in Acton, Massachusetts. Char has raised 9 children -- all the wile managing time to be in the quilt business, attending more than 20 quilt or craft shows per year, all over the country... as well as offering limited mail order and studio hours. The studio is named for Tabitha, a cheery young person just sparkling with life and charm. She also had Down Syndrome, and like many such special people, she was so friendly that she would often make new friends of perfect strangers, by linking arms and saying, "Hi! How ya doin'? I'm Tabbie"! She was loaded with self-confidence -- she had a truly hilarious sense of humor -- and she just jumped right in to the riotous family-life of her seven sisters and one brother. She was a dancer, an amateur cheerleader and a Special Olympics athlete. She also spoke regularly with her imaginary friends Michael and Olivia. Tabitha died at the age of twenty, after a two-year struggle with leukemia. She never lost her upbeat nature, and her illness became another opportunity to make new friends with her doctors and nurses and helpers. There was an empty place where she had been... The year after she left, Tabitha Quilts was founded, and named for this buoyant and spirited young woman. |
