Here is a photo of some sashiko that I have been doing. Thanks Kyle of
vacuumingthelawn.blogspot.com for the inspiration! I have been following her lovely work on some sashiko projects on her blog and decided to give it a try : ). I got the supplies from
www.snugglymonkey.com who sells sashiko supplies and kits as well as other craft supplies on Etsy. I was able to get everything I needed from the Snuggly Monkey site : ). If anyone has got a favorite source for supplies I'd love to hear about it. The kit is a dragon fly pattern that is stamped on the fabric and as you can tell I decided to use a blue thread. The kits info was all printed in Japanese and since I couldn't read it I relied on good old Youtube for some helpful info. One of the things I learned browsing on youtube is how to prepare your thread prior to stitching so that you can use it without getting it all tangled up. You take the thread out of the package and open it up which is basically like cotton embroidery thread so it is like on big skein of thread. You cut open the loop/skein at one end and then gently braid the skein all the way down. You can see the blue braided thread hanging in the picture. So all you have to do is gently tug on one thread at the top loop (top of the braid) as you need it and pull it out of the braid. This to me as a cosmetologist is already a winner : ). So I think I'll be braiding all my embroidery threads like this in the future. I couldn't resist the yellow and orange threads when I ordered the kit so those will be used on a future project. Also, I got a thimble as you can see tacked up with a pic of how you wear it on your hand. I didn't find that I needed it for doing the sashiko stitching but I'm sure it will come in handy at some point. It's a clever thimble.
On the subject of stitching - I'm a big fan of embroidery and just plain stitching. In the past I had taken Rebecca Ringquists embroidery classes on
www.creativebug.com and when she came out with a book I was excited and had to get it. I really like the book. In the background is one of the samplers Rebecca has on her Etsy sight for sale. The sampler uses all the stitches she teaches you in her Creativebug class. Also, in her book she suggests using various types of textiles for your embroidery, such as old embroidery pieces, vintage napkins etc. I like this idea so I've been gathering a few things I've found in the thrift to use for later projects. Here you see two napkins and a hot pink pillow case to be used in later projects.
Here is a close up of the sampler using all the various stitches.
Here's a close up of the little flower embroidery I did that was inspired by the flowers in this years garden. Its about 2 by 3 inches in size. It's worked on a piece of felt.
Here's what I've been doing to keep inspiration and design ideas at hand near my sewing machine. I keep a photo album book by my desk. The type where you can slide photos into the plastic pockets/sleeves. Also, for when my bulletin board gets full of inspiration and needs to be organized from time to time I have somewhere to keep the bits of info etc. You can even keep small pattern pieces in the sleeves for when you need them.
Here's a photo of behind the scenes at craftspacecontinuum : ) or should I say a HOT MESS. There is a method to the madness, LOL. Yes, I noticed the cobweb up in the corner after the photo had been taken and it will be attended to - soon : ). This is how I like to store my patterns and muslin fitting stuff while working on it. It's got to be parked somewhere and putting things into envelopes is so not me. I'm more apt to work on things if they are organized yet handy for the reach when need be. Me being a mood sewer/crafter and sometimes my energy level peters out sooner than I thought it would so storing things like this is a great help. If I get a back ache, migraine or life calls me in a different direction I can just lay what I'm working on over the hanger, use a clothes pin if necessary to secure and there it hangs till next time. There's been drawing, cutting, tweeking going on, soon to be shared.
In closing - Just for fun : ). I was going thru my project bag to gather the embroidery projects for this blog entry and look what I found. A petrified/fossilized orange at the bottom of the bag, YIKES! The thing is as hard as a rock. I know this thing has been in there since last march because that is when I packed the bag for when I went out of town at that time. I think if it were a banana I'd have smelt it by now. I always wanted to be an archaeologist.
Till next time,
TTFN : )
