TIES TO BOW TIES: QUILTING NEATLY SEWS ODD, PAST TOGETHER

Kay Coleson of Chaffee sewed the quilt together from pieces of old neckties.

An old necktie provided three pieces that will begin a new life as a quilt.

Remnants of yesterday's style transform into mini works of art in Kay Coleson's hands.

Best of all, the styles don't have to be particularly tasteful. Surprisingly enough, the gaudier the better. "The ugliest neckties make the prettiest blocks," Coleson said, chuckling.

Therein lies a quilting truth, those who love the handicraft observe. Works of beauty can spring from the most unlikely sources.

"Way back when, you made your quilts out of whatever clothing you had left over," explained Pam Rehkop, owner of Sew and Sews Fabric in Cape Girardeau. The practices of the past are echoed and enhanced today in the craft that is limited only by the imagination.

Coleson's interest in neckties was sparked a few years ago during a conversation about quilts with her dad, Walter Oakes. "He said that his mom used to make quilts out of neckties. They just took the ties apart and arranged the ties together."

Coleson, who resides in Chaffee, continued, "I had seen the bow-tie-pattern quilt, and, I thought it would be neat to make the bow-tie-pattern quilt out of neckties."

With that, the father-daughter project was launched. Coleson and her dad set about gathering the 320 neckties needed for the project, a queen size quilt. "He got most of the ties for me," Coleson said of her dad. Plus, Oakes readied the ties for Coleson's scissors.

Oakes' closet yielded ties for the project, others came from yard sales. "We've asked everybody we know for old neckties," Coleson said, laughing.

"It takes one necktie to do one square, because I don't do two alike. That's why it takes so many," Coleson said. Her 4-inch-square blocks each incorporate five pieces of material. The bow-tie pattern is flanked by white, with the tips of the ties touching.

After about a year, Coleson completed the handmade quilt and presented it to her dad.

"When I gave it to him, I was going to sing "The Coat of Many Colors," but I couldn't. I started crying, and he started crying," Coleson recalled. "It is the quilt of many colors."

Strong sentiment is characteristic of the craft.

When it comes to quilting, people often want to capture a memory, Rehkop said.

As a result, unusual materials may be incorporated in the quilting process. For instance, Rehkop told of a quilt prepared from old blue jeans, and of a woman who made a quilt using her son's T-shirts.

Rehkop and her mother are planning a quilt using Rehkop's late grandfather's ties. "We're going to put a big sunflower in the middle and use the ties as the petals," she explained. "It will be like a family album."

Increasing numbers of people are learning how they can make such individualistic family heirlooms. For instance, quilting classes at The Sewing Basket in Cape Girardeau draw would-be quilters and others who want to learn more throughout the year. Classes range from beginning to advanced, along with instruction in incorporating quilting techniques within quick projects, said Corena Miller, co-owner of the shop.

"The ladies are finding that quilting is very stress relieving, very rewarding," Miller said. "You're making something that is going to last for years."

Plus, renewed interest in quilting has heralded many changes in the craft that was once a necessity of life.

There are myriad applications for quilting techniques. Technological advances are even making an impact in the field. "More and more women today are going to using their computers," Miller said. "There are several computer programs available for designing and template making and giving you yardage requirements," and much more, she said.

Coleson is among those who have learned to sew after reaching adulthood. "I couldn't sew a stitch when I got married," she said. "I would see things that I thought were really neat, and I'd think 'I could do that,' and I would try it and I could. That gave me the confidence to try something else."

Coleson learned to quilt with the help of a women's missionary group at her church. These days, finding time for all her handiwork is part of the challenge. Coleson, who is a communications operator at St. Francis Medical Center, has begun a tie quilt for her mother, Susan Angle.

Coleson shares her knowledge with others as often as possible. Her 5-year-old granddaughter, Kelsey Schott, already knows how to stitch. "She says, 'Grandma, see what you taught me,'" Coleson related.

The young girl is learning her grandmother's adage: "There's nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it."