Archive for the ‘Embroidery’ Category

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Cheddar Color Embroidered Quilt

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

The last time I visited with a dear friend of mine, she left a quilt with me that she calls “Yellow Work” Quilt. Most likely, it was made in Pennsylvania. The color is a good tip-off to that. She accompanying paperwork states that the quilt is from circa 1930, and measures 76″ long x 75″ wide, approximately twin size today.

whole quilt - c. 1930

Whole view of Cheddar Color Embroidered Quilt

Like Redwork, Bluework, Greenwork, Purple Work, Variegated Work, etc. this quilt has line drawings that were rendered into designs with the use of cheddar color thread. All of these kinds of embroidery use the same technique: Surface Embroidery with Outline Stitch Embroidery being the predominant factor.

The surface represents some designs that are clearly from the Kate Greenaway era before the turn of the 19th century to the 20th century. (Kate died in 1901). This kind of embroidery is still popular today and is the topic of my e-book: Redwork Renaissance Revisited, available to purchase as a mail-order product from our website.

Here is a close-up of the quilt just shown:

Close up of Kate Greenaway-like figure

All photos, on our blog and website, copyrighted; property of James Cummings, photographer, et.al.

Many of the motifs on this quilt are botanical, as are the designs in the borders. The quilting is “Baptist Fan” style, sometimes called “Methodist Fan,” depending on who was behind the needle! I certainly treasure the chance to enjoy seeing this beautiful piece of work, from a time when quilters really did a lot more handwork than we are seeing today, oftentimes.

Blessings to my friend. She has hinted that she may just reclaim this wonderful quilt, at any time, so I guess I should get busy studying all of the details!

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

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“Angel’s Heads”

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

First, let us turn to the dictionary for an explanation of the word “angel.”

angel (n): a spiritual being believed to act as an attendant, agent, or messenger of God, conventionally expressed in human form with wings and a long robe.

Yesterday, while antique-shopping near Rutland, Vermont, I found a wonderful old print of “Angel’s Heads,” a famous painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds, b. 1723.

by Sir J. Reynolds

My delight in finding a tangible document, that I could reproduce to show you, was about on the same par as finding this image rendered in Redwork, in a Maine antiques shop, a number of years ago. I have re-created a usable line-drawing, for Redwork, for anyone who would like to order it and embroider their own design.

The Redwork version presented a conundrum and was nothing like we’d seen before. It features the words, “Angels Sing Thee to Thy Rest,” derived from Shakespeare’s play, “Hamlet,” of course. If you are interested in ordering this pattern, please contact me at: pat@quiltersmuse.com

Angels are often found as stone carvings in cemeteries. Perhaps, they help to transport a soul on their heavenly journey.

The most interesting point about Reynolds’ painting, held by the National Gallery of London, is that the angels’ head actually represent only one little girl, his model, Miss Frances Isabella Gordon. To him, she looked like an angel.

Looking at the reproduced Redwork piece, one would never guess that the angel represents the same little girl, from different angles and affects.

Victorian Angels Redwork pattern

A question remains: Why was this piece re-created in Redwork? One answer is that the image could be ordered from a 19th century catalog for stamping patterns. The second reason might be the Victorian Era’s preoccupation with Death and the occult. The piece in our collection may have been used within a coffin, or on top of a coffin, at the time that funerals were held in the front parlor. When we purchased it, the white cloth was very dirty, almost as if it had been buried, at one time.

Since then, a few times I have seen this pattern worked with Black embroidery thread, but the angels did not look angelic at all. Rather, they looked demonic, a large sway from Sir Joshua Reynolds’ original intent to paint a beautiful little girl and “save” her for posterity. We are so glad he did, and I hope that you agree that it is fun to see the original work from which derivative pieces in needlework came forth.

We never know what will turn up in the antiques shops of New England. The “hunt” is the fun part of the game. This was a serendipitous find. We hope you will enjoy it.

I will be making the pattern available on the Products Available page on our website, when I can get around to having more copies made, which involves a trip to a copy shop. Hope your day will be a good one!

P.S. – We are making some changes at Quilter’s Muse Publications. The change we made to this blog is to do away with automatic feeds to subscribers. Please bookmark, http://quiltersmuse.com/blog/ to visit our posts. One reason is that too many subscribers had changed their e-mail addresses and every time we posted a blog, we’d receive notices from the Mailer daemon. It was a real pain.

In the future, we will not be posting one word comments that individuals make as a response to posts, just so they can list their own blog’s address. If you don’t have something substantive to say, don’t bother trying to leave a comment. I hope that doesn’t sound just awful. I am sick of being used for everyone’s else’s self-promotion. Whom I choose to promote because of their quality contributions is another matter. Thanks for understanding.

We do our best to bring great information to you and important public notices. We will continue to do so.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

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New Book Available Today: Redwork Renaissance Revisited

Monday, May 4th, 2009

Patricia Cummings
Patricia Cummings, author of yet another book about Redwork and outline stitch embroidery!

In 2002, I wrote my first book, Redwork Renaissance: 49 Designs from an 1893 Coverlet. After a good run, we went on to other things, and the book was out of print for quite awhile. I began getting inquiries about its availability from friends of people who had bought the bound copy. Within the last year, we decided to bring the title back as an e-book on CD, with greatly-expanded content and additional information. The result is Redwork Renaissance Revisited by Patricia Lynne Grace Cummings and James Cummings, ISBN: 978-0-9769763-6-3. “Greatly-expanded” are the operative words with historically-significant textiles, and just downright cute motifs on many different items. Many designs are one to a page, ready to print out and trace for a project of your own.

The Crescent Moon Goddess was the central focus of the 1893 coverlet and I had adapted that pattern to a large framed Bluework piece. One reader, Linda Mageske, followed suit and added the moon goddess to her Crazy Quilt block. Here it is:

Linda Mageske's Crazy Quilt block
Linda Mageske’s Crazy Quilt block with a smaller version of the Crescent Moon Goddess. (There is a second, large, nineteenth century design of this type in our e-book, as well as directions for making a framed piece.

If you would like to learn how to do the stitches of Surface Embroidery, this book is great for any beginner. With the many quaint antique designs, the book is perfect for a child making a first quilt, or even a smaller item, such as decorating a pillowcase, my first project when I was five years old. I have a larger write-up about the book and its contents. One feature of the pdf file format of the book is that one can view thumbnails images on the left hand side of the screen. That makes it easy for finding the full size pages of patterns, without scrolling through dozens of them.

kitty design from an antique baby coverlet
This kitty design, on a new baby quilt made by Pat, was re-created from an antique quilt made in Canada. Notice the many straight stitches. It doesn’t get more simple!

I think there is a lot to like about this e-book and it features many designs that could be incorporated into Crazy Quilts or other projects that are smaller than full-size quilts or coverlets. As always, we hope that our products are synonymous with quality.

antique motif from unfinished quilt top - goose w/hat
The goose wearing a hat is one of 49 designs provided from an antique, unfinished, quilt top, a new acquisition for me.

For more information about this new product, please visit our Products Available page. We will mail you the actual CD. This is not a downloadable file. Offer good to U.S. addresses only. This is a really fun e-book. We have spent a great deal of time, effort, and expense to develop it, and we hope that you enjoy the results. There is additional information on the publications by Pat page of the website, and on the home page.

Patricia and James Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

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How Do Hmong Women Carry Their Babies?

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

For some time now, I have been fascinated with the history and ways of the Hmong people, many of whom have relocated to places within the United States since the end of the Vietnam War. In May 2009, the July issue of The Quilter magazine will feature the first of a series of articles I have written about the Hmong and their needlework. (Remember, the “H” in Hmong is silent, so please say, “mung.”) I have read a number of books about these people who are described as “fiercely independent.” I love their textiles and I am intrigued by their belief systems, faith manifestations, and folk legends.

Hmong baby carrier

I fell in love with this antique Hmong baby carrier made in Thailand. The bright colors attracted me, and the needlework, in person, is even more enchanting than any photo. The other side of the baby carrier is very drab in color, well-worn, and was washed often. Before selling a baby carrier, the straps are cut, according to custom. One can truly believe that Hmong women do embroider during every free moment. How else would someone get that much embroidery done?

Hmong people think that children are precious gifts and act accordingly. Mothers want their babies close to them, at all times, so they carry them on their backs. This particular baby carrier is not included in the articles I have prepared for The Quilter, mainly because it did not arrive in time, from Thailand, to be photographed. I hope this photo is a bit of a teaser for you, and that you will want to read the articles when they come out in the July and September issues (available in May and July, respectively).

I love to learn and am always seeking new venues, whether it is through taking a course, reading a book, watching a video, chatting with others, or visiting a museum. There are so many learning opportunities out there. Some of them cost almost nothing, or nothing … like my website and blog! See my current article, “Hmong Textile Art.” Enjoy!

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

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Folk Art from South Africa – “The Grandmother to Grandmother” Campaign

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

Facebook, an interactive social network online, is more than what it might appear to be, at first glance. People connect there, in meaningful ways. It is on Facebook that I first became aware of a landscape quilt artist named Valerie Hearder. One can see Valerie’s beautiful work on her website. She travels the world to teach, as well she should, being so talented, and she has written several books. Her first one is already out of print. Valerie currently lives in Nova Scotia, Canada and has been quilting since 1972.

When I saw some intriguing folk art textiles from South Africa, on Facebook, I had to know more. I contacted Valerie and in so doing, was able to purchase a small, embroidered piece to help support the “Grandmother to Grandmother” Campaign. You see, due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in that country, the parents of children are dying, and grandmothers are left to care for not only their own grandchildren, but sometimes the children of neighbors. It is a dire situation. Valerie’s video on her Facebook page explains what is happening. The grandmothers are impoverished and sometimes very ill, but struggling to care for up to 20 children, in some cases.

Design area of South African textile

This scan shows the design area only of a 10 1/2 x 11 embroidered textile on a black background. The black borders (not shown) extend about an inch (unevenly) all around. As you can see, the colors are vibrant. The word “Rose” is present, but whether or not that is the name of the artist remains to be seen. Very few different types of stitches were employed in this work that relies heavily on chain stitch. It is a pleasure to think that the purchase of this work may help to feed some children.

She reports that Canadian grandmothers have responded well to this textile initiative to help. She can barely fill the demand there, let alone supply these wonderful embroideries to all who would like to help. Fifteen per cent of sales goes to the Stephen Lewis Foundation that (presumably) filters financial resources back to the South African communities.

If you want to purchase one of these pieces from Valerie, keep in mind that her prices are listed in Canadian currency. You can adjust Paypal payments to pay the seller, in any other currency. If you “Google” Valerie’s name, you will see that she runs a yahoo group about Landscape Quilts. She is one busy lady, and I am so happy to have made her acquaintance, online.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

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Mamma Mia Movie Spawns Question

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

I have not seen the movie, “Mamma Mia,” but a reader wrote to ask if the bed covering shown is Redwork. For a brief time, a photo of this piece was shown on a website. Unfortunately, it has since been removed since I first saw it there.

Knowing next to nothing about Greek embroidery, but about to find out tons more, I asked members of the Quilt History List for their input. One member consulted Dr. Linda Welters of the University of Rhode Island’s Department of Textiles and Design. She states that red silk on cream, in linen or cotton, worked in a darning stitch that almost completely covers the ground fabric, was traditional in the 17th & 18th centuries on a Greek island called Naxos. Those pieces appear to be woven (and most likely were not used to film the movie).

I have ordered a book titled, Embroidery of the Greek Islands and Epirus Region.

Traditional Redwork, as we know it, dates from the late nineteenth century and originated in Kensington at the Royal School of Needlework. Outline Stitch embroidery in other colors is an offshoot from the use of red thread, originally. Turkey Red was a stable color that would not fade or run when wet, thus its popularity, soon followed by blue, green, and later, the new pastels of the 20th century.

Redwork splasher

This is a 19th century “splasher.”

We, textile aficionados, are always on the lookout for quilts in movies and on daytime TV. Sometimes we can get very picky as to whether the quilt shown is true to the time period being represented. One recent movie I did see was “Gran Torino.” The first textile I noticed was the Hmong wall hanging, a “story cloth” on the wall, and was thrilled that the piece of authentic Hmong work was included.

We love to hear from readers and always will try to come up with an answer, sooner or later. Many thanks to Dr. Welters for weighing in on the subject of Greek embroidery. One can readily see why the study of textiles can become a permanent preoccupation. There is always more to know and understand!

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

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Mail Brings Gift – Embroidered Antique Huck Towel

Sunday, January 18th, 2009

Kathering Van Wettering huck towel

The mail often brings something interesting and recently, I was sent an antique huck towel that is embroidered in a most charming way. I have never seen one with such elaborate, crocheted edges, and pink roses within each scallop on the bottom side. In addition, there is a lovely yellow basket that is embroidered and holds additional flowers. This towel was made by Katherine Van Wettering, who was always called “Kitty.” She was born in 1912, and grew up in Jersey City, NJ. She died about thirty years ago, according to Carol Grace, her daughter. Carol believes that this work may have been done in the 1930s or 1940s. She was concerned about the yellowing on it.

At first inspection, my guess was that the yellow was a stain caused from being exposed to an untreated wood surface in a drawer, probably for many years. As you can see, the stain is not “all over” or even. Here is what the piece looks like, after I soaked it in All Free & Clear for a day and a half. It is a delicate-looking towel, and was beautiful, I am sure, when it was first rendered.

I did not dare soak it for much longer that I did, as I did not want to weaken the fibers. All Free & Clear is a product that is desirable because it contains both anionic and non-ionic surfactants, as does Ivory liquid soap, which would have been my other choice for a cleaner, mixed with a little bit of dissolved Orvus paste. A lot of the stain leached out and turned the water a bit yellow. I used a Color Catcher to absorb any excess color in the water. The white got grimey and picked up some yellow colorant, but the yellow embroidery stitches remained a constant color, before and after washing (very light). I want to thank Carol for the chance to see this item and try to improve it a bit.

The use of huck towels was very popular in earlier times. Some of them were embroidered in the manner of Swedish huck towels. A friend of mine who passed away at the age of 90, had given me a pile of huck towels that had belonged to her father-in-law’s medical practice. In those days, paper towels were not in general use. She thought I might want to practice Swedish huckweaving. The closest I have come to that is to make a Swedish huckweaving design on monk’s cloth to create an afghan.

Where would we be without our needlework friends to share our passion and encourage each other?

Best wishes and have fun this weekend!

Patricia Cummings

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Rubia: An Effort to Aid Literacy in Afghanistan

Monday, January 12th, 2009

Afghan peacock pillow

Above is a photo taken by James Cummings: a pillow made with all natural fibers that originate in Afghanistan. The peacock pillow was created by a member of the Rubia organization, a group that raises money through the sale of Afghan-made embroideries. They are sold in Kabul and in the United States. Rachel Lehr, an American woman who is fluent in all of the dialects spoken in that far away country, has been instrumental in working with Afghan women in their attempt at a better life via literacy for themselves and their children. Travel is not safe in that country, yet Rachel has visited there on numerous occasions, under the shield of a burqa.

Several years ago, we had a chance to hear a talk by Hafiza Malikbaba, translated by Rachel Lehr. This resulted in a magazine article for The Quilter, and the following file that is presently on our website: http://www.quiltersmuse.com/afghanistan_embroideries.htm

To see updates on current Rubia activities, please access their current newsletter at: http://www.rubiahandwork.org/newsletter.html

Their annual calendar is now available. The calendar features the poetry of the women of Afghanistan. “They are songs of nature and earth, life and death, love and war.” See: www.rubiahandwork.org/calendar.html

This is a worthy cause.

Patricia Cummings

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Antiques Stores Hold Tiny Treasures in Time

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

We really like to browse in antiques stores. They can transport one to another time and sometimes say something about popular tastes, the type of goods that were valued during a past time, and items that have clearly served a long time before they hit the shelves. The material objects that one encounters are always delightful. Each time one visits a store of that kind, the surprise factor is in place.

The other day, we wanted a break from work, so we visited one of our favorite haunts. Walking in the door, I spotted the following item, and before anyone could say, “Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick,” I had scooped it up into my hands and was ready to claim it as my own. What was this item I so coveted? Here you go:

Redwork pillow with image of girl and feather duster

The image of a little girl in Redwork, holding a feather duster, appealed to me. Isn’t she sweet?

After that find, I didn’t care too much about buying anything else, although I did find a few inexpensive things that called my name. These treats for the soul did not break the bank. I think that it is important for us to continue to shop, especially in the small stores that struggle to maintain themselves, on the best of days. If we don’t help, the next time we go to shop there, the store may not be in place, just an empty storefront, and how often have we seen that lately?

Sometimes, the smallest things can change a mood, or make one feel happy. Now, don’t get me wrong. Don’t spend money you don’t have, but every now and then, break into the piggie bank to “borrow” a little cash to buy a little something special. I did. Isn’t she great?

Patricia Cummings, Quilter’s Muse Publications, the home of more great Redwork designs and books, offered at no charge!

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Small Needlework Project Holds History

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

Last Christmas, I was given a very special little project, a cross stitch kit that my son picked up at the Tower of London when he was in London to present an academic paper at an invitational seminar. So nice of him to think of me, at that time!

Tudor Rose

The size of the finished item is probably about as large as the image on this screen. The name of the project is “Tudor Rose,” and the design is the “flower emblem of England,” according to the instruction sheet, and commemorates events in British history. The kit was prepared by Textile Heritage, a company in Scotland: http://www.textileheritage.com

The finished product looks as though the project was easy. Actually, though it was not difficult to do, it was extremely time-consuming. I am very pleased with the final result. The piece has enough contrasts in color to be very striking. I had not done any counted cross stitch in a long time, and it was fun to work on this one. I especially liked learning about the history of the rose symbolism which became an official symbol of the Tudor dynasty under King Henry VIII.

Patricia Cummings, http://www.quiltersmuse.com

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