Redwork Embroidery

My poor little neglected blog!  Actually, I haven't been neglecting it.  My backup battery unit went out last week and I didn't want to take a chance with my computer by having it on without the back up battery.  I bought a new one over the weekend and got it hooked up today.  Our power goes out a lot here.  We live in a very wooded area.  Anyway, things are back up and running fine now!

My latest finish is this Redwork Cat Pillow:

Several years ago, I designed a set of 4 of these pretty little kitten embroidery designs.  I thought it would be fun to use one as a focal point for a crazy quilt piece.  I've always loved the old fashioned look of outline embroidery.  In keeping with tradition, I stitched this piece in red and white and used lots of vintage mother of pearl buttons and vintage red buttons.

 I've also re-released the patterns in case anyone else would like make one:

There are 4 Redwork Cat designs in this booklet and it's available at Magcloud.

In other news, Lesson 3 of my Crazy Quilt Color and Composition Classes will be available tomorrow, February 14th.  I'll have photos of my students blocks from Lesson 2 in the next couple of days.

Lesson 4 will be available on March 17th, 2013.

Goody's To Share Today!

Scott and I went to our favorite flea market this morning and I found a few neat things. First, a bagful of vintage embroidery patterns, none of which I have! They are odd things, most of them hand drawn or perhaps copied from commercial vintage patterns. Anyway, I thought I would share one with you:



I also found some vintage millinery flowers, some glass buttons which the dealer tried to pass off on me as antique but thankfully, I know the difference and a sweet little vintage embroidered towel:



I didn't get it on the scanner straight! Anyway, I need to wash and press it. I don't know what I liked about it. I see vintage embroidered linens all the time but this just called to me. It's a bit different than what I normally see. I may not use it as a towel but rather sew it into something. I'm not sure yet. I just liked it.

I also have a few more Fractal tags to share with you. I worked these up last week:





You can print these on cardstock and use them on handmade cards or as gift tags. Add glitter to them like I do!

Click on any of the images to go to my Flickr site where you can download the large versions.

Finally for today, I'm going to put my first 3 CQ ATC's together on the cards tomorrow. I'll post a photo when I have them ready.

To Knot Or Not To Knot

Do you knot or not knot? I thought I'd clear up the mystery as to when knots are appropriate and when they're not. Ha, ha, ha! Okay, enough of the not, knot stuff!

With counted cross stitch, it's generally recommended that the thread tails be woven in behind the stitches on the back. Cross stitch fabric, esp. evenweaves and linens are thin so knots would show through on the front, giving the finished stitched piece a lumpy appearance.

With crazy quilting, I would say that it's a matter of personal choice. For the most part, I knot my threads. With the foundation fabric and all the various surface fabrics, any knots on the back will not show through on the front:



There is one exception to that in crazy quilting. With Silk Ribbon Embroidery, I weave the tails under stitches in the back. I used to knot them. But too many times, while working in other areas of the block, I'd catch that knot and end up pulling the Silk Ribbon, messing up my stitches on the front. It's best to weave those tails under other stitches.

With redwork and outline embroidery, lumps from knots can show through on the front. The choice however, is really up to the stitcher. Most of the vintage embroidered pieces that I've seen at flea markets and antique shops have knots on the back. My own grandmother taught me to knot my threads so I will openly admit, that I knot when I do redwork and outline embroidery:



I hope you find this post helpful. Instead of just posting photos of my stitching, I've been trying to offer you helpful hints along the way.

If you like my Redwork Cat and would like to stitch him, you can find the patterns for him and his friends here.

Take It Further -January - Day 5 & Redwork Cats

I was able to use all 12 of my vintage dyed Mother Of Pearl buttons on this piece:



I really wanted to keep them all together so it worked out great!

I didn't get too carried away in beading the lace and trim. Because those pieces are antique, I wanted the beauty of those pieces to stand out. The vintage buttons and simple pearls seemed to be just enough to highlight the lace without overpowering it.

I'm almost ready for a few larger embellishments and I still want to add some pansies to the patch on the right of the tea lady.

In other news, the long awaited Redwork Cat designs are now available:



You can find them here.