Going Crazy with Ties

I had a recent customer request for 4 more of my Crazy Ties, so I've been in a tie making frenzy. Making more ties had already been on my list for this winter, as my stock was almost all gone, but this request moved this task up to the top of my to do list.

I had promised more within 2 weeks, so was able to complete 10 of the batch yesterday.



As soon as I finish the rest of the batch of 26, I'll be taking individual pictures of each tie to get ready for listing them on my etsy shop, although I sell most of them in our inn gift shop.

Crazy Neckties - A New Batch

Finally completed another two batches of Crazy Ties. One set has a Fall/Halloween theme. Here's a couple of examples:

Then the other set is music/guitar themed:

Above is the one that was quilted with Aurifil 12 wt thread, that I was mentioning in a previous post.

The guitar ties are being held for David Taylor, one of Australia's top watercolor artists, who is coming to teach a workshop for us in September. He has been asking me to make these for a couple of years. He bought another one several years ago and likes to wear it to award ceremonies, but needs another for a change. Once he picks the one he wants, the others will be available for sale.

I'm still debating whether or not is is worth it to go the etsy route with my ties or just continue selling them at our inn, the Greenville Arms 1889 Inn, gift shop. Because each one is unique, I'd have to have to separate inventories - one for etsy and one for the inn. Hmmm. Will have to contemplate that a while longer.

Falling In Love Again - with Aurifil

It's always wonderful to rediscover a material that you already have in your studio. I'm talking about 12 wt Cotton Aurifil thread.

I've been making Crazy Ties to restock my supply for our inn gift shop (and a special request from one of our art instructors). This particular type of Crazy Tie is quilted and it is always fun to play with specialty threads on these - metallics, holographic, neon, and heavy weight threads.

The quilting can be used to either blend in with the fabrics or to stand out as the main focal point of the tie.

With the 12wt Aurifil thread it TRANSFORMS the fabric! I love the look and the feel of the transformed fabric. Call me crazy, but I love to pet this fabric and feel the texture and heft of the thread.

Here is another view where you can really see the difference in the look of the fabric with and without the Aurifil quilting. With the Aurifil, the quilting takes center stage.

This is a quilting treatment with regular 50wt Mettler polyester thread. You can see how the fabric remains the focal point instead of the quilting, which is the a supporting player.

But now I feel the desire to round out my selection of Aurifil 12 wt! I especially like the variegated colors.