Redwork Quilt by Margie Hammett
Wins Ribbons
by Patricia L. Cummings
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Margie Hammett of Ridgecrest, California has created a unique wall quilt with very special Redwork blocks. Why is this quilt so unusual? She reveals that she created transfer patterns for the depictions of children and farm animals by using a "ragged and tattered" old book. Children's Animal Story Book was edited by Watty Piper, 1922. The book had been given to her mother on her fifth birthday. She carried the book with her, no matter where she moved, and Margie's mother gave the book to her in 1988, just before her death.
Margie Hammet's award-winning quilt. Notice the lovely scalloped edges and the Redwork designs in the borders.
In Her Own Words
I started quilting in 1994 and love of the art just grew. Several times, I looked at the book and thought, "I should do something to preserve it." Redwork seemed to be the perfect answer as the pictures are subjects of the 1920s. Selecting pictures of children, I went to work. First I made copies to create mirror images. Then, I resized the images so they were a consistent size. Sometimes, I simplified them to make embroidery easier. Notice that I took the boy and girl by the duck pond and made two pictures from it, giving the girl a goose to scold. In a scene that features a girl running with a goat, I left out the boy.
I traced the resized images onto thin tracing paper with a colored transfer pencil. The next step was to iron the designs onto pieces of muslin cut larger than the intended block. Mostly, I used two strands of embroidery floss except for delicate facial features or folds of clothing where I used one strand. To finish, I quilted the large red border flowers with #8 pearl cotton in Backstitch. I hand quilted the background of each block, using freehand drawings.
Judges Award Ribbons
Margie also entered her quilt in The High Desert Quilt Guild's biannual show in Ridgecrest, California, in March 2007.
While it is always fun to make any kind of stitchery that has some personal meaning and connections, it is validating to win ribbons for one's efforts. Evidently, the judges at her local fair agreed that the quilt is special. In August 2007, Margie won a ribbon for best fair theme: "Flowers, Feathers, and Old Fashioned," and one for "Best of Division."
Photos That Inspired the Blocks
Inside page shows stunning horse
Margie divided the book scene in half to get two different motifs!
Girl with bunnies
Boy feeding chicks
Girl feeding the chicks
Shades of Sarah Josepha Hale's story originally titled, "Mary's Lamb"
Image from book
As you can see, the blocks are charming. We thank Margie for sending photos and information and we wish her the very best in all of her future needlework endeavors!
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Copyright 2008. Please do not republish or distribute this file or photos in any unauthorized manner. Thank you for observing the copyright laws. Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, New Hampshire. pat@quiltersmuse.com