Sashiko Runner

Well it's been a while since I participated in 24 Days of Sashiko with Kazue @sashiko.lab, but finally, I pulled my sashiko-stitched runner out and got it finished! 

Just as a reminder, I had used Kona Windsor for the base cloth and four strands of Aurifloss 2390 [Cinnamon Toast!] for the stitching. For backing fabric, I was happy to find some of Carolyn Friedlander's Harriot Yarn Dyed in Blueprint in my stash. It has a really soft hand that seemed to go well with the stitched top. Note that the true colors are somewhere between the two photos above and below. It's been hard to get the lighting just right!

In retrospect, I didn't really need to use batting, but I did - Quilter's Dream Request. It's lightweight and low loft, developed especially for hand-quilting. Then I used the same Cinnamon Toast floss to stitch running stitches between each square of sashiko. 

I opted for no binding, per se, rather turned all raw edges in about 1/2" and then stitched around all the edges with a running or straight stitch. The finished runner measures 13" x 33", and I'm happy to have it done, basically a sampler of all the sashiko stitches I learned. 

All 24 Days of Sashiko

So I started 24 Days of Sashiko, hosted by Sashiko.Lab, back on October 24, and I kept up just fine with the daily prompts until I went off to Houston and Quilt Festival for a few days. Once I got back, it took me a day or two to get back with the program, but I worked hard to catch up, and finished stitching the final prompt on time on November 16. Getting photos was another thing entirely, so there went my initial plan of posting daily finishes along with the Japanese names of each stitch. 

In these two photos, the lower-left in the photo below was our first design; the upper-right in the photo above was the final design. You can see where several designs are variations of each other.

I really enjoyed learning some new sashiko stitches. My use of Kona Windsor for the base cloth made things a tad harder on myself, so next time I'll try to use real sashiko cloth. But I think the Aurifloss 2390 [Cinnamon Toast!] worked well, and for the record, I used four strands for all the stitching.

I'm thinking this piece might become a table runner, though I'll set it aside for a bit until I'm ready to finish it. Other projects are calling to me, but I know I'll enjoy completing it when the time is right.

24 Days of Sashiko

My daughter, Rachel, DM'd me over the weekend about "24 Days of Sashiko" with sashiko.lab, so of course I went to take a look and was immediately intrigued. Did I need another handstitching project right now, with my bow tie quilt and zen with Jen both far from complete? Of course not. But it sounded like a great opportunity to learn more sashiko, so why not? 

In fact before I even started stitching, I learned that we'd be doing the Hitomezashi method, where you use a grid as a guide to stitch. Whereas with the Moyozashi method, the pattern itself needs to be drawn on the fabric.

So yes, that means I needed to get started marking some fabric! Since I just found out about the stitch along a couple of days prior to its start, I'm using supplies I have on hand - Kona Windsor for the base cloth, and Aurifloss 2390 [Cinnamon Toast!] for thread. A little unexpected, but when I saw Kazue say she loves stitching in brown and navy, and I saw her sample, I was smitten. Besides, I love brown, and it feels unique. Definitely a different feel from my previous couple of sashiko projects. Anyway, each day's grid is made of 1 cm. or approximately 3/8" squares, with each day's stitching fitting within the 8 cm. grid. So here's my first stitching!

Day 1: Basic pattern-1 - The first pattern is Jyuji-sashi. Jyuji represents 'cross' in Japanese, so we will stitch crosses in some of the squares.

After a little experimentation, I'm stitching with four strands of the Aurifil floss. I'm loving the brown on the blue, and looking forward to stitching more designs.