Bloggers Quilt Festival "David's Ties"

I am entering the Bloggers Quilt Festival this fall with my quilt made from David's Ties.

There is quite a story with this quilt, and I will do my best to tell it well.  David was my brother's partner for over thirty years, and this quilt is made from his ties.  David was a pulmonary specialist, and an accomplished cello player, just to highlight a few of his passions.  

These ties were beautiful, and I wanted to show them off as much as I could.  I designed a template that would use the wide end of the tie, keeping the tie shape, and working around that.

To prepare the ties, I opened them up, and then ironed featherweight interfacing to the wrong side.  This step was genius if I do say so myself, because it allowed me to cut and work with the silk, bias cut fabric without distortion.

The setting squares were made from a two inch square of fabric from my brother's bow ties.  I used raw silk for the sashing and love how nicely it complimented the shiny silk in the ties.

I used a feather plume design that I learned from Angela Walters, to highlight the larger pieces.  Each block was sixteen inches square.

I used silk radiance for the back, and it is beautiful.  The batting is wool which gave a nice loft and definition to the quilting.

As I deconstructed the ties, I saved all the labels and sewed them to the hanging sleeve.

This tie is so full of memories for my brother, and has helped him heal.  The quilt is a tribute to David, and something that my brother can hold, look at and remember.  Each tie tells a story, and now the quilt brings a new beginning to an ending.

So that is the story of David's Ties.  Thanks for looking.

This quilt is 70"x70"

Designed, pieced and quilted by me, Esther

Bed quilt

Art quilt

Scrap quilt