Redwork

During the Victorian era, women looked for new ways to decorate their homes and come up with what soon came to be termed redwork. They embroidered animal or nature, children or kitchen themes onto blocks of fabric later to be used in quilts, pillows, dishrags, wall-hangings etc. The name for this type of embroidery stemmed from the fact that they only used red floss. Imagine, an entire quilt embroidered in red. It thrills me just to think of it.

The tradition carried to America from Europe and was also known as turkey work (because turkey red was one of the only colorfast colors of the time) or as penny blocks (because a block stamped with a design could be bought for a penny, as could the skein of red cotton floss).

I was in high school when I stumbled across this beautiful idea: all red embroidery. I had already made my first dishtowels and was ready for more. Since then I've been working off and on on a redwork quilt with all the letters of the alphabet blocked out in typical redwork design. I've done over half the blocks, I just currently don't know where they all are (someone remind me to look in my box in the garage when I go home in a few weeks...)


In the meantime, I love love love doing embroidery. It is relaxing and calming to me. I have made a fair number of dishtowels and a handful of other fun projects. What is fun about dishtowels is that they allow for all sorts of creativity. Since the actual towels were fairly cheap, I don't feel bad about trying out a new design or getting done and deciding one wasn't my favorite. They are quick and satisfying and make for fun little gifts.

Yesterday, as I worked on this little dishtowel, I realized, however, that I am ready to finish that long-lost redwork quilt! No better time like the present, right?