Friday, January 2, 2015

Sashiko.... I think I have a new addiction!

Oh, MY!  I think I have a new addiction!  I started a couple of new Sashiko projects and I can't stop!

The first is my Two Owls piece.  Sylvia Pippen has a series of panels to make Chinese Birds.  This owl piece is my first one.  I'm starting on the doves next.  I don't know how many different birds she'll have in the series.  I'll just keep making them and figure out what to do with them when they're all done.


The owls are done on Moda Marble fabric with  traditional Sashiko thread.  I just love these little guys.  I think I need to put them up on my design wall so I can look at them often.  They make me smile.

The next project will take a little longer.  It's a quilt with 16 sashiko background blocks and 9 blocks that combine hand applique flowers with sashiko stems and leaves.  I'm starting with the 16 background blocks.  Here are the first 4:

 Key Fret

 Persimmon Flower

 Double Cypress Fence

Bishamon

The pieces will be trimmed to 7 1/2 inch squares when I use them to make my quilt top, but since this fabric frays, I think I'll wait for the last minute to do that.  I'm using Essex fabric because I like working with the open weave.  I'm not sure if that was a good choice for the quilt, though.  I should have used a flat cotton.  Oh, well... it's all part of the learning curve.  

Speaking of learning curves-- I'm new at Sashiko  As I make these pieces, I can see my work improving.  We're going for even stitch length, crisp turns and intersections, no pulls, and no long thread pieces on the back, so you need to plan your stitching path.  I won't point it out (because you should NEVER point out your mistakes when you show other people your work!), but I can tell which pieces were my oldest and newest.  I don't look at the first piece and cringe at the blooper spots.  I look at the most recent one and pat myself on the back because I can see improvement.  

I LOVE doing Sashiko!  It's a lot like machine quilting when you meander around... you just keep going, and going, and going...... 

Time for a little plug.... I carry a wide range of Sashiko products on my website.  I don't have the bird panels on there yet, but they're coming soon. The 16 Sashiko blocks are on there now.  They originally went into a quilt, but that pattern and the floral blocks are being discontinued.  If you really want them, let me know soon and I'll see if I can still get any.   I'll also be doing more Sashiko posts and tutorials.  This is so much fun- I'll be doing a lot more of it!

1 comments:

Judy S. said...

I first saw Sashiko in Hawaii and thought it looked really interesting. Sounds like you're really enjoying it? Your owls are great!