Redwork: Winter Twitterings

by Pearl Louise Krush

      Decorate your home for the holidays and the rest of the year as well with these eight redwork projects. They all feature cute birds in birdhouses, cages and posing with days of the week, or visiting a snowman friend, decorating a Christmas tree and adorning a candle with holly.

I’ve embroidered for years and thought that I knew about most types of embroidery, but redwork is a new one to me. If you too are wondering how difficult, expensive or hard to source this style is then you will be pleased to hear that it is beautifully simple. You just need red and white (or cream) quilting fabric, red floss and know just four basic embroidery stitches in order to begin. It is also beautifully effective, and suits the same linear design style as you could draw with a red pen onto white paper.

Projects suit beginner and intermediate levels, and although the embroidery is simple enough, you do need to be able to piece a quilt or make up a pillow or bag; this book teaches redwork, but not quilting and patchwork for beginners. As with most books from this publisher it is a book of projects - not instructions - on how to learn the basics of a needlecraft. The eight projects can be divided into two categories; holiday and anytime. Decorate a set of kitchen towels and make a sewing bag for all year use, or make up a wall quilt, pillow, hostess apron and table runner to make your home look wonderfully warm and welcoming at Christmas. Each project features full-sized redwork patterns and full instructions and materials list as well as ability level rating and diagrams on piecing. I look forward now to drawing up some of my own redwork patterns after using this inspiring book.