This is a memorial quilt for a very special gentleman.  His wife gave me a sack of his neckties and asked me to make a memory quilt.  As we talked about her husband I found out he was an avid pilot (note the backing fabric), a graduate of New Mexico Military Institute (note the color choices for fabrics on the front),   and had an affinity for the zia symbol (quilted in the center of the tie medallion).  I was able to incorporate all that she talked about into the quilt.  The background quilting is representative of the sky that he flew in so often.  In the border I did a triple stitch to make the quilt a zia symbol in an abstract sort of way.  When she saw the finished quilt she was overcome with emotion and I knew it captured his memory.