I had always wanted to paint. I just didn't have time until I was 78.
-Grandma Moses
Happy Grandma Moses Day! In 1960, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller declared September 7 "Grandma Mosses Day," in honor of the artist's 100th birthday. Grandma Moses, born Anna Mary Richardson, was a folk artist. She took up painting at age 78, and painted for 21 years. She was known for painting rural and farm scenes. Grandma Moses was also an embroiderer; she often made embroidered pictures for family and friends. Many of these rare pieces have been discovered in recent years. Her embroidered work is similar to her paintings, depicting farm and home scenes with muted palettes and fun textured stitches. You can view examples here and here.
I heard about Grandma Moses's embroidery from one of the educators at the museum where I volunteer. I was giving a virtual museum talk in July, and she was telling me about her research into Grandma Moses for a similar talk. She wanted to include something new in the discussion, and found references to embroidery. She shared the article with me, and I decided to make my own Grandma Moses-style piece today.
This is based on one of her designs, although I've made a lot of modifications and selected completely different colors. I also don't know what stitches she used; it looks like a lot of back stitch and straight stitch, but it's hard to tell. I primarily used back stitches for the large sections and some satin stitching for variety.
Grandma Moses teaches us that it's never too late to try something new.
Details:
Stitches: back, satin, straight, and stem stitches, French knots
Thread palette:
- House: DMC 310 (2 strands, 712, 3808 (3 strands), SS 703, 704 (3 strands)
- Grass and flowers: DMC 910 (6 strands), 909, 223 (3 strands)
- Tree: SS 115 (3 strands)
Reference articles:
https://sewjewish.com/2017/09/28/grandma-moses-embroiderer/
https://laterbloomer.com/grandma-moses/
https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/A-rare-sight-Grandma-Moses-Old-Bennington-4843299.php
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