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.

Silk ties and textile art, by Nancy Goodman

When we came across this vibrant quilt we were struck by the colors. Although the quilt is made entirely from men's neckties, the warm golden yellows, oranges, and reds, combined with teal and royal blue, remind us of brightly colored silks from India or southeast Asia. The quilt was created by Nancy Goodman, a textile artist who has lived in Colorado, California, Gabon (Africa), New Mexico, and for the past 16 years in Alabama.

Silk Tie Quilt, 36 x 59", by Nancy W. Goodman

To make this quilt, Nancy Goodman started with a collection of neckties that were mostly dark red and navy blue, which were used to construct the kaleidoscope blocks. The pieced cross and borders were constructed with ties that were stripped and redyed with red, yellow and blue. Nancy explains: "For me, color drives a quilt. My primary task in designing a quilt is to figure out a way to distribute color over the two dimensions in a way that is pleasing and makes sense. I’ve found that as I move around the world, my sense of color changes dramatically, so that quilts I made while living in New Mexico, for example, are strikingly different from those produced in Alabama."

Nancy's interest in art quilts developed gradually, but took flight when she began dyeing her own fabric and abandoned traditional, templated patterns. Over time her interests have expanded to include many areas of fiber art: installations, public art, machine stitched embroidery, paper structures and books. She has exhibited throughout Alabama and in national quilt shows.

Image credits and links: For more information, visit Nancy Goodman's blog. The image is shown with the generous permission of the artist. Her statement on the use of color was published in Southern Artistry.