Dresden Plate tie quilt

I just realized that I didn't post any pictures of the quilt I use at the top of my blog.  I actually made it last year for a gal who saved her favorite uncle's ties after he passed away.  It is an original design of my own, and I had such a sense of accomplishment after it was finished.  No pattern, the quilt just evolved all by itself.  :)

The Process:

I first washed & dried all of the ties, then took each apart and ironed interfacing to the back to stabilize each prior to any cutting.  it's amazing how much fabric goes into each tie!

I used my handy little Dresden Plate tool to cut each of the interfaced-ties into petals for my flowers.

Here's a picture of the petals after cutting them out.

Next each 'petal' is sewn into a point to make a finished edge.  I use the little wooden turner to make sure each point is crisp.  This is where I start to get excited because I can see the flower starting to come together. :)

Next I laid out my petals into the order they look best in, then sew the petals together.

Here's one of my flowers!  Pretty cool, huh?

I continued to repeat this process a few more times until I had all the sections that I needed.  The picture below shows how I "audition" what color background would look best.

And a few more pictures of the finished project...

Before quilting:

The final product!