All tied up ! Quilts made from neckties

We're wrapping up our tie quilt series (and tying up the loose ends). Here are the fantastic quilts we've shown over the last two weeks, along with some invaluable resources: books, patterns, websites, blogs, and tutorials (whew !)

Row 1, L-R: Ira's Quilt, and Key Quilt, by Bet Ison at Home for Wayward Babydolls; Silk Orange Peel and Carnival, by Stacey Sharman at Peppermint Pinwheels.  Row 2: Tie Quilt by Bette Haddon at Studio Art Quilts; TieBurst by Matthew Spong at mspong.org; Corporate Attire, by Dale Fleming at dalefleming.com; Unwinding the MBA, by Caryl Bryer Fallert at Bryerpatch Studio.  Row 3:  Power Ties in Bloom, by Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood, at Craft Sanity; Movement, by Louise Silk, at Silk Quilt; Tie Quilt by Renay Martin, at Purse Strings Patterns; Wedding Quilt, by Matthew Spong, at mspong.org. Row 4: Power Ties in Bloom, by Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood at Craft Sanity;  Tie Repeat, by Louise Silk at Silk Quilt; Silk Tie Quilt, by Nancy Goodman, at nwgoodman.com; Tie Quilt, by Nancy Sturgeon, at Threads Through Time.  Row 5:  Catch, by Nancy Gamon, at nancygamon; Small tie quilt, by Nancy Sturgeon, at Threads Through Time; Silk Tie Quilt, by Nancy Goodman, at nwgoodman.com; Necktie hanging, by Nancy Gamon, at nancygamon.

Patterns for Tie Quilts

Row 1: Pieced Silk Tie Quilt from 1865, Shelburne Museum collection, pattern at Hoopla Patterns; "Untitled" and "Enticement", by Karen K. Stone (these out-of-print patterns can be found at Embroidery Etcetera).  Row 2: Making Memories, by Deb Rowden; Quilts for Guys, by Cyndy Rymer; Daddy's Ties, by Shirley Botsford.  Row 3:  Indian Orange Peel quilt, in Karen K. Stone Quilts; and Bella Bella Quilts by Norah McMeeking.

Memory Quilts: see Alix Joyal at Mamaka Mills (and her tutorial, how to sew a memory quilt using a silk tie); Lori Mason at Lori Mason Designs; Connie Bloom at conniebloom.com; and Cheryl Kirk at Sweet Dreams Quilting.

More necktie quilts and interesting blogs:  See "I've been working on the railroad", by Nann Blaine Hillyard, at With Strings Attached; Silk Treasure, by Barbara Hruby, at the Northern Lake County Quilters Guild; Sewing with Neckties and Woof Nanny are blogs written by Barb Lawrence.

Corporate Attire, by Dale Fleming

One of the most intriguing contemporary tie quilts we've seen is "Corporate Attire" by Dale Fleming, who lives and works in Walnut Creek, California. The impetus for this quilt was her husband's decision to discard a number of silk ties after he had cleaned out his closet. The quilt received one of 7 awards granted at Quilt National '01 (out of 1,411 quilts submitted).

Corporate Attire, 46 x 62", by Dale Fleming

Dale's visually arresting quilt is made from silk ties and other silk fabrics; machine pieced and machine quilted. On her website, Dale explains that she has invented several methods to make machine piecing easier, one of which is a cross between paper piecing and foundation piecing, where the backing does not have to be removed. When the backing is kept intact, the quilter saves time, as well as providing a stabilizing effect for delicate silk fabrics.

Dale writes, "These ties with their rich colors, wonderful textures, and intricate designs just begged to be used." This quilt flows from a single square into a design-as-you-go quilt that plays with color, texture, value, and shape. It is as if she began working from the center out, to show that her designs and her life as an artist emanate from her core, evolving as they go.

In creating art from menswear, the quilter is often faced with the blessing of using fine silks and wools, but s/he also faces the challenge of drab corporate medium-value colors which do not provide much interest for the viewer's eyes. By selecting  pure reds and whites and juxtaposing them to show maximum contract, Dale solved this problem.  Dale combined the more subdued grays and navies together into a right-angle swath so that they do not diminish the high chroma reds, but rather provide a restful "negative space", much as shades of deep black serve to complement the brilliant jewel tones of Amish quilts.

Image credits and links:  The image is shown with the generous permission of Dale Fleming. "Corporate Attire" is featured in The Best Contemporary Quilts: Quilt National 2001 published by Lark Books. Dale Fleming is the author of Pieced Quilts So Simple by C&T Publishing.