Redwork pieces

Despite the fact that is the first full day of spring, we have a nice snow storm going on outside.  Scout enjoys playing "snowball":

My Nana Betty had hot flashes from the time she was a child until she was a senior.  As an artist, she said the one color she disliked was red--because to her it was a "hot color".  Despite Nana's considerable influence on me, I love the color red.

 I love the color -- a lot.

 Because of my passion for red, the family's Hall pottery was sent my way.

Because red is a "hot" color and it is snowing out, I thought I would post some redwork pieces.  None appear on quilts.  They are linens like splashers and shams.  The motifs are appealing to me.

 Above baby piece, not constructed as a bib but seems to be a piece of linen that could be used as one.  

Below:  Reminiscent of Kingsley's Water Babies.

Below:  I think this might be a sham.  The quote is from Longfellow's poem, "The Song of Hiawatha."  Hiawatha motifs were still popular in the early 20th century despite the fact that the poem was published in 1855.  I suspect it was a poem that children often had to memorize.

For those of you in the Northeast during this snowy day:  Stay safe and warm!

Pick-up Work for Hot Summer Days

It's July in the Lehigh Valley and that means heat waves and humidity.  It doesn't help that most of us are all experiencing near drought conditions; my neighbor tells me we are about 5 inches below our normal yearly rainfall.  When I was young, most people didn't have airconditioning like we do now.  It makes one wonder how our fore-mothers dealt with the heat in bygone eras.

Well it certainly could be worse; we could be wearing these kinds of garments AND dealing with a lack of air conditioning.  One of my favorite headlines from old publications is a common advice that I find in the early twentieth century:  "Pick-Up Work for Hot Summer Days."

The articles that I have read from the late 19th century and into the early twentieth century usually mean some kind of handwork, often called fancy work.  "Commence now." The Cultivator and Country Gentleman advised in 1896,   "The long summer days are grand for such work."  

In 1915, The Young Woman's Journal  reminded young women of their duty to always be working and that, "During the summer there will be many opportunities for taking our sewing or crochet work into all sorts of odd nooks..."

I don't know about you but even with airconditioning, it feels too hot to be binding a quilt. These months I often spend completing embroidery projects and small sewing pieces.  If you are interested in some kind of embroidery work,  I suggest Pinterest, Q is for Quilter, or the Antique Pattern Library for free patterns.

What kind of sewing do you complete during the hot summer months?

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all!  

One of my favorite pieces of redwork celebrates the birth of baby on the summer spread. 

 The mother's hand:

The father's hand:

And the wee babe's hand with the birthdate:

Have a wonderful and safe holiday!

Happy President's Day 2016

Quilters have often incorporated images of president's in their quilts.  These two blocks of George and Martha Washington are from the "Merry Christmas, 1904" quilt in my collection.

On another redwork piece, a story is illustrated of the old tale of George and the cherry tree:

Have a wonderful and happy holiday!

First Snow Day/Sew Day

This morning feels like what my father used to call "the warm before the storm."  We are expecting the first snowfall of the season.  When I worked at our local college, I dreaded any kind of inclement weather, especially snow.  I just don't like driving in bad weather. 

Now I love snow days.  It is probably my favorite time to sew. There is a calm and a peace that descends with the flakes. I wipe the regular tasks off the calendar and spend the snow day as a sew day.  I'll be doing some embroidering today, binding a quilt, and maybe even work on a new quilt.  

If you are looking for a small project today, here is an embroidery transfer from the 1920s that you can sew.  As a child I loved ice skating in our backyard.  Although I could spend hours on the ice, my makeshift rink was uneven and I often ended up this way:

Redwork and Roadie Bags

My husband grumbles that I never met a piece of embroidery that I didn't love.  It's true; I even created a program to focus on this passion entitled, "A Perfect Match: Embroidery and Quilting."

I also love to make embroidered quilts and thought I would share a holiday piece I completed a few years ago:

I've been blessed to have an extensive collection of old transfers; most I inherited from my grandmothers and others were given to me by elderly women who had given up sewing.  These blocks came originated from transfers offered in The Workbasket magazine:  

People often ask me how I manage to accomplish the completion of so many blocks.  The answer is easy: always have a roadie bag ready.  A roadie bag is usually some kind of tote that I store by the front door. 

I started using roadie bags because in my family, I tend to be the main caregiver to well--everyone.  I've gotten phone calls in the middle of the night and rushed out to get Mom or a relative to the hospital.  A bag by the front door means that there is something I can do in a waiting room besides get anxious.  My friend Carol addressed this succinctly:  "I am never as calm as I am when I have a needle in my hand."
Inside the roadie bag I keep a project and supplies:

If you are interested in making a retro inspired Christmas quilt and don't have vintage transfers, you can check out one of my favorite blogs, Q is for Quilter, and find some of these patterns here.