Redwork Embroidery Quilt Project

For the Midwives Collective's upcoming members' show (June 2010), in addition to our own personal works, we're doing a collaborative group project: a redwork embroidery quilt. Each of us is going to produce a single block. Then my mom and her friend are going to piece the quilt together and finish it off for us (Thanks Mom!). The pictured red fabrics are the other fabrics that are going to be used in our collaborative quilt.
This quilt will either be auctioned or raffled off during our show. 100% of the proceeds will go to benefit Midwives For Haiti.
The design I'm using for my own block is taken from an original repeated design Sarah and I are producing for our collaborative installation for the Midwives members' show. My current designs are based on the stylized florals of Richard Hoffman.

A Floral and An Argyle

The photos below aren't the best but it's some progress. For our MWC members show (theme is RED, be it the color itself and/or some emotional/psychological meaning of the color, or even the absence of it), Sarah and I are going to collaborate. We've tried to collaborate before, and haven't quite gotten there, but this feels different. We both have a long-standing fascination with the Turkey Red patterns popular in Europe in the 1890's as well as the redwork embroidery that was popular at about the same time (the red embroidery floss was dyed with the colorfast Turkey Red). For our collaboration, we're planning some sort of installation that celebrates this particular red and the patterns on patterns of the fabrics that were popular in the fashion of the time, possibly doing wallpapers. We worked once before on a wallpaper installation together, for Sarah's solo show "The Hesitation Waltz", where she designed a donkey wallpaper. I taught her the basics in repeat structures, helped her transfer her pattern onto the paper and helped install things. It was a good experience.

This is actually my first attempted argyle. I can't believe I've never designed one before. I am planning to layer on some sort of floral pattern over the argyle structure.


This is a simple "checkerboard" repeat with abstracted florals in a medallion setting. Not sure if I'm going to keep the grid or not, but will try different variations for fun.

WIPs - Beetle Paisley & Other Florals

Spent most of last night painting and drawing. Current beetle paisley done in "Turkey Red" color scheme popular in 1890's Europe:


And currently I'm working out other possible florals to use with this color scheme:



I have a self-imposed deadline for these and some more designs by this Sunday for a possible collaborative project for a June show. And thankfully I can design these things pretty fast (thanks to my college Print Design prof Michael Olszewski). The above florals are influenced by 18th-century designer Richard Hofmann's decorative florals.