About TLSDesigns
Hi, I'm Tracy Schwartz, owner and creator of TLSDesigns. As a child I was fascinated with miniatures but didn't have my own dollhouse. I recall using fresh brussels sprouts as cabbage for my Barbies and creating other interesting items for them over the years. It wasn't until shortly after my marriage that I received my first dollhouse. It was a kit my mother-in-law had been storing for years. My husband was going through training and we were living in a hotel for 3 months. The dollhouse was the perfect project for me. I was a little discouraged by the cost of furniture and relied on the pieces my mother-in-law had passed on with the kit. Once built the dollhouse wasn't messed with for several years.
Meanwhile, in 1994 I was exposed to the marvelous world of quilting. My husband is in the Navy and was stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The wives group decided to make baby blankets for all the expectant mothers and I joined the project. Those blankets were rather simple creations but they opened me up to possibilities. A friend from the group took me under her wing and taught me how to use my sewing machine while we made some maternity clothes. My mother-in-law bought me a quilting book and I took off! My first few quilts are rather embarrassing, but our family still uses one I made back then. The Navy moved us to Connecticut in 1997 and I continued to quilt there. My son was older now and I pulled the dollhouse back out. We needed bedding for the dollhouse bed. The shops only offered simple sets that weren't anything more than "comforters" and I wanted a quilt. So, I tried making a miniature of a pinwheel quilt I had made. Very mixed results, but that's where all this began. I decided to try graph paper to help me keep my seams straight and I created my first Double Irish Chain.
I followed my husband to Cornwall England and met many marvelous quilters and miniaturists. The dolls house group was fantastic. The North Cornwall Miniature Group met monthly and we took turns teaching each other projects. I gained a greater appreciation for the proper look of things in 1/12th scale. I was a frequent guest of the Material Girls quilting group in Wadebridge and received lots of encouragement in making my miniature quilts. They all thought I was crazy for messing with such fiddly bits of fabric! My mother-in-law gave me another dollhouse kit she had been holding on to. I passed on the original house to a neighbor and build my big one! It will probably always be a work in progress.
The Navy moved us to Washington State where I finally entered a quilt into a fair, and won Best of Category! My amazement was only topped by having a fellow miniaturist ask to buy 2 of my quilts. California was our next destination and where TLSDesigns began forming into a reality. I still searched for dollhouse quilts and wasn't finding anything that met my expectations for scale pieced quilts. When they were pieced they weren't quilted. In California I joined two quilt guilds, Monterey Peninsula Quilters Guild(MPQG) and Pinnacle Quilters of San Benito County. Both guilds provided excellent learning opportunities and fabulous members who provided much encouragement. Sally Collins, a well known miniature quilter, was a guest speaker at MPQG and her work amazed me. She created the most amazing wall art with miniature blocks. I bought her books, read all the incredible hints and decided to try sewing her way. It worked! Piecing in 1/12th scale was possible and fulfilling. In 2005 I was accepted into the 2006 IGMA Guild Show and TLSDesigns became a reality. I’m now living in Virginia with my two children who constantly encourage me to create new things.
