Sashiko Blooms

 Upon hearing the next theme was Sashiko, I considered using one of my Sashiko stitcheries, but of course I stashed it somewhere where I'd remember it, and I'm still wondering where that is. So, I stitched up a little piece, but then thought it wasn't enough, so that is still on my design wall. In the end, I decided to create some flowers using raw edge applique and Sashiko stitches. 

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I have a book on Sashiko that had examples of stitches, so I tried to use some of those. In the end, it really looks like I just did big stitching, but I really did use examples from the book. 

In the petals, I used long stitches and "pluses". In the brown center, I attempted some diagonal stitches. 

The stems are just long stitches in green threads, and the leaves got a little more creative. You might also notice the quilting, done by machine, but it is a nod to another Sashiko design. 

I added the blue/white border because I thought it worked well. The backing is a cheerful blue floral I had in my stash. 

I'm not really sure I met this challenge, but I enjoyed stitching wiht the 12 wt threads and finishing this little quilt. It measures approx 14" x 21". 

Wendy

Sashiko Colour

 

After ages of not knowing what to make for this challenge, I ended up making six 9 1/2" square quilts inspired by sashiko, colour and typography.

It was something of a scrap project, using up the fused silk pieces I had left over from my Circles and Squares quilt.

The first little quilt I made was probably the most sashiko/boro inspired but I was having fun so I just carried on without worrying about keeping too closely to the theme.

I've posted more about this project over over at Rainbow Hare.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone has made this time :)

Super Subtle Sashiko

 I knew this project would require a lot of time, so I started early and worked on it a little bit for weeks!  

I used a piece of Japanese silk for a base, and stitched along the lines of the pattern with lots of different threads, even a thin gold thread from Japan. But all that work really doesn't show.

Sashiko stitching embellishes a piece of Japanese resist-dyed silk.

Close-up of the stitching.

And from the beginning, I planned for this to be just one block in a sampler quilt I am working on, so it is not quilted and bound.

The sashiko-enhanced fabric will be one block of a sampler quilt.

I enjoyed the hours of hand stitching but I don't think I achieved any great effects.  You can read more about the research I did on this technique, and how I made it, and my home blog textileranger.com.