Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Stitching on the road: a Sashiko in color



    When Joe and I drove four hours away to see the grandchildren in ballet recitals, I put on a British mystery CD for us to listen to and I stitched away while Joe drove through the heavy rain. Ellen had showed me her pattern for a multi-colored Sashiko piece and how to braid Sashiko embroidery thread to make it easy to pull out a single color to work with. Debbie said Erika Wilson also taught about braiding the thread.

(Click to enlarge the photos)





     This piece is about 12" x 12." It is fun to have something one can finish. I bought a quarter yard of several deep colors from green to red and purple to create some Sashiko coasters or little sachet bags using  plain white or off-white Sashiko embroidery thread...a modest task only for the road. I got this idea at The City Quilter!

     I also found this fine panel to make something for the children. Maybe I could add batting and a backing and the girls could do their own hand quilting if they felt comfortable doing so.  I came to the conclusion on this trip, that I should make up some SMALL projects ahead of time for them to play with. Usually they want to create something enormous like a quilt from scratch for brother David;  and that is not realistic. Hannah says she is ready to deal with her Hello Kitty Janome sewing machine. 

9 comments:

  1. I love the look of the Sashiko piece, and, as a thinking grandmother, you are always "on the ball" with something new and exciting for the grandchildren to do! Good for you - and for the kiddos! ss

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  2. Sounds like the drive was almost as much fun as the visit. Which British mystery? I've got a yen for one.

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    1. The Sashiko is lovely - and my goodness, I haven't heard Erica Wilson's name in many decades! Ditto on the British mystery title question -- I devour them.

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  3. Looks like you had a productive happy trip. The girls are so pretty! N.

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  4. I love the colored sashiko. Could the girls do a small sashiko, maybe that could be made into a little bag.

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  5. I loved the way you displayed the braided threads next to the sashiko. The map of the world is beautiful. How are you going to use it?

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  6. The colors in the Sashiko piece are really appealing - such a different feel that one gets in contrast to the ones with all white thread. AND, I do LOVE that panel with illustrated parts of the world and the time zones. Such a delightful "feast" for children and grownups, too!

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