Tuesday 20 May 2014

Memories to last for ever.................

From time to time I'm presented with fabric in one form or another which is just
too precious to throw away.
Usually there is a sentimental attachment that gives us joy; memories of happy times.
It might be scraps from the sewing box, garments and ties no longer worn or fabric that speaks to your inner sense for the need to create.
A while after my Dad died Mum presented me with all of his ties with the hope that perhaps the
 boys might be able to wear some of them.
Open neck shirts are now the order of the day for a Sales Rep and the only tie the
Lad will wear is a school tie so this wish wasn't going to be fulfilled any time soon.
What was I to do with a life time of ties?
I couldn't part with them, silks or polyester.
Tie for a Paymaster
 A tie from Dad's first day as Paymaster of Campbell Soups Australia,
  the tie he wore on his wedding day and the tie he wore to ours.
 - so many precious memories hidden away in the cupboard.-
A special one for his wedding day
I decided to re-purpose them (and a few others added in) and make them into a quilt for the lad, One that he could take through all stages of his life 
He's always been a tactile sort of chap and would enjoy the touch of  silk
So, after sorting the good from the bad,
 adding to the collection from other significant males in our circle and choosing a style, I set to work.
There is a great deal of fabric in a tie when you deconstruct it.
They're generally cut on the bias and are at least twice as wide as what can be seen.
After stripping close to 100 ties templates were cut and pieces interfaced with Weaveline
 to give the silk body but not stiffness and to reduce fraying. 
Corners were added in contrasting colours of silk dupion to complete the blocks and then the sewing began in earnest.
The backing fabric was a lump of something I had in the cupboard and fitted the bill nicely.
To get the correct size I needed to add a strip through the middle so I used up the left over tie blocks
(I always cut extras for "just in case" moments)
 and stitched labels from the ties across the back.
Once the top, batting and backing were sandwiched, I tied the quilt through the block centres with silk ribbon.

labels and more labels
silk ribbon bows
So there are approximately 90 ties chopped up here from
Pa, Dad, 4 Uncles, Mr Santamaria (awesome school teacher), Mr Agnew (awesome school Principal) Rodney Shire Council, and the Royal Australian Flying Doctor Service.
The finished product is queen size, and consists of 1300 pieces.
The batting is wool/poly mix.
The binding is made up of left over pieces from other quilts that I've made
Significant Ties

No comments:

Post a Comment