Sashiko Finish Finished

Well I finish finished the Sashiko Embroidery I last told you about here.

I washed it to remove any remaining marked lines, ironed it dry and the added some interfacing and sewed the two pieces together to make a nice little table cover. Currently it sits on my mother's sewing machine cabinet we have near the entry. Not sure that will be it's permanent home, but we will see.

I took pictures of it on our sofa since the light was better!

Front

Front and back

For a size comparison those are my 4" long embroidery scissors.

 I really enjoyed this embroidery and would do more of it. It is a very nice take along type project since there is no chart to carry around.

Sashiko Progress and Drawstring Bags

As I told you here, I received this great gift of Sashiko supplies from my friend who now lives in Japan. She also has a GREAT blog on her life there which includes stitching.  Well I have been working on it and thought I'd show you some pictures.

First an overall of my progress:


Then a close up of my stitching.
I did a little bit of searching on google and I think this is the Asa-no-ha, Hemp leaf pattern.

Also last weekend I made 10 drawstring bags for Sampler Guild of the Rockies. I volunteered to make 10 and glad I did not volunteer to make more! I have never made them before, but following the directions that came with the fabric worked out fine. I do not have to put in the drawstring, just make the bag and here they are! I had to make two bags (2nd and 4th from the left) with fabric from my stash, but that is ok because I have plenty of Christmas fabric!

They are roughly 8 1/2 inches wide and maybe 14 inches tall.

That about covers it for now!!

Friends & Sashiko Embroidery

I lived in Raleigh, NC for a number of years and made some GREAT needlework friends there and we still keep in touch via email or facebook or at seminars. Earlier this year one of those friends moved with her hubby to Japan!! She has a great blog about her experiences there and it is very fun to read. I recommend it highly. She does some GREAT stitching too!

She sent me the following for my birthday:

It is marked fabric, thread and needles for the Japanese technique called Sashiko. I remember her blogging bout it here and so lucky me can try it for myself! Her husband was in the states for a bit and she had him mail it from here - wasn't that smart of her? On her blog she also talked about a visit to Aeon where she found a needlework store and shows some of the Sashiko supplies for sale. Thanks again Pamela!!!! :) 

I feel very blessed to have the friends I do, and the ability to keep in touch through the internet - which is a good thing! 

Have a GREAT day all!!