Throughout his childhood, Tyler Redden would go to his grandmother Rae Elizabeth Kellgreen’s house and see a cross-stitch photo of the United States hanging in his living room. Redden said it was a photo that you couldn’t miss, not just because it was so beautiful, but because it was obvious how much work was needed to sew it.
Kellgreen spent more than a year from 1989 to 1990 sewing the photo. It was intricate and included each state, icons representing each state and each state capital.
“Anyone who does a cross stitch knows that you start in a corner and, if you make a mistake, you have to start over. So she started this one meter by sixty foot piece on the east coast, because she knew it would be the most difficult. If she was going to mess it up, it was going to be there. So she started sewing from the top right and kept going down, knowing it would be easier as she moved forward, “said Redden.
Kellgren had plans to send the photo, which was his best work of art, to the Minnesota State Fair. But only after finishing the portrait did she realize that she forgot to include the Kansas capital, Topeka.
As the perfectionist she was, Kellgren never sent the photo to the fair. Instead, it hung in his home for three decades and it was a story that brought a lot of laughter to the family.
Kellgren passed away in August 2020. The family sold a property in October. Somehow, the image was accidentally placed in the “sale” pile instead of the “save” pile. Redden said the whole family was heartbroken to discover that his grandmother’s most precious work of art was sold for just $ 10.
“This cross stitch is very important for my family. It was the piece that, you know, the centerpiece of her living room in the three decades prior to her death after it was made,” he said.
They believe that a woman in her 50s with a short, blonde fairy cut may have bought it. If you know where the artwork is or who can have it, Redden is asking you to contact him. He can be reached at 651-497-1611 or [email protected].
The family hopes to get the photo back before Kellgren’s funeral at Fort Snelling, which will be in a few months.