Finally got round to completing the set of 5 coasters after choosing the backing fabric. Although the Sashiko coaster kit just require you to sew up the sides without any batting or backing, I chose to add on a lightweight iron on interface and a backing fabric.
I chose a dark Japanese print Kaufman fabric (almost black) with Kanji prints on it. I feel that it brings out the Japanese-ness of the Sashiko stitching.
I’m looking forward to completing the rest of the Sashiko kits!
We went for our ride on the Singapore Flyer last week.
Well, it wasn’t VERY VERY spectacular, but Benji had a good time knocking on the cabin windows and very excited about the cars and machinery that are working on the Integrated Resort and the F1 Grand Prix track near the flyer.
When I look at the roads, with their uniform lane markings, all I could think of was: SASHIKO!
I completed my 1st placemat the other evening, and I’m starting on another new one, and the lane markings on the road, with the ‘merging’ arrows look very much like the markings and instruction on how to stitch!
Ok. Time to get off the computer and start sewing now ;>
I’ve made some progress with my Star Quilt-A-Long project and I’m happy to say that I have completed all 30 blocks and cut up all my sashings/cornerstones, waiting for sewing now :>
There has been a number of completed tops at the group’s flickr folder and I thought that the quilt is ‘too square’ to fit into any rooms in the house. haha. A quick calculation shows that I can turn this into a Queen-sized quilt with an additional row. So, I added 2 more Stars and 3 more setting blocks.
And I also took some time to pick out my border and backing fabrics too, and they are washed and ready to go when I’m done piecing the top together.
You can see the preliminary layout below, without the sashings/cornerstones/borders. I have a piece of tape on each block to indicate which row/column they belong to, so I don’t have to bother with laying them out again until they are joined.
Here are my 2 additional blocks – Dutchman’s puzzle and a 9-patch star.
Recently, I found that my quilt shop carries Sashiko needles and I got really excited (for nothing). Unfortunately, the shop does NOT carry the Sashko kits/fabrics or even threads. It has been very painful looking for Sashiko stuffs in our local craft shops . And that of course gave me an excuse to shop online ;> Bought a bunch of placemat kits, some samplers and also sashiko threads. Of course, I did not have the patience to get my camera and snap a picture of the parcel as-is, but I remembered to take a pic of my spree here after I started stitching on a few coasters.
I felt that the threads supplied in the kit are not as good as the ones that you buy ‘ala carte’. They seem to be more loosely twisted and a bit harder to pull through the fabric. So I’ll probably just buy the sampler or the marked fabrics in the future. This is my 1st attempt at Sashiko sewing, though I’ve known of it for a while. Never got the chance to try my hands at i till now, because they are almost impossible to find in Singapore.
Then I visited the bookstore and bought The Ultimate Sashiko Sourcebook by Susan Briscoe which is really packed with loads of Sashiko history and patterns for reference. I. Love. It.
Loads of WIPs since the beginning of the year, and I sure hope I have more finished projects to show for in the coming months.
