Two Sashiko Projects

Sewing Before Writing

I am so excited to have my sewing machine back and am absolutely dreading teaching this fall semester that I have been getting a lot of sewing done (and not much blogging)! First off we have a quilt my mom commissioned me to make for her cousin who is getting married. I tried to be good and use some stuff from my stash, hence the background changes. Oh well. I have until September to finish this one.


I have also started making food to freeze so I have tasty things to eat when I am too busy teaching to cook. First off, homemade pita bread using 1/3 whole wheat flour. Yum!


Then some steak fingers with roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, and red cabbage coleslaw.


Oh yeah, back to sewing. Here is a sashiko panel I stitched up. I'm working on adding some super secret applique.


I also started working on some Moda Friendship Sampler blocks. I am going to try my best to provide links to patterns and color codes for the fabric I use. Eventually there will be 20 blocks made (of the available 31 patterns), but they are not going to be made in numerical order. I am making them as my LQS has the Bella solids I want to use.

Block 2: Daffodil (Bella 9900 250) and Clementine (Bella 9900 209)


Block 6: Cobalt (Bella 9900 227) and Kiwi (Bella 9900 189).


Block 8: Peacock (Bella 9900 216) and Amelia Pink (Bella 9900 166)


Block 12: Daffodil (Bella 9900 250) and Grey (Bella 9900 83)


Block 24: Kiwi (Bella 9900 189) and Aqua (Bella 9900 34).


Block 25: Bright Turquoise (Bella 9900 226) and Grey (Bella 9900 83).


Block 29: Fuchsia (Bella 9900 190) and Grey (Bella 9900 83).

Sashiko & More/WIP

Most of this week has been spend cleaning and getting my sewing "studio" back in order. I have to use the quotes because I am trying to fit and entire apartment of stuff into one bedroom, which is extremely difficult. Luckily, I am back to having an actual desk to sew on instead of sitting on the floor with my sewing machine on a chair. Woohoo! Here's hoping for fewer knots in my neck and shoulders!

I have also been working on a bit of hand sewing, especially sashiko. Mostly because I love sashiko, but also because I can sit in my comfy chair and admire my new sewing desk. 

If anyone knows the proper way to transfer designs to dark embroidery fabric, please let me know, because I know I am doing it wrong. I purchased some of the iron on transfer pencils, but the markings do not go away, which works great for standard embroidery where you cover the whole line, but not so great for sashiko. I tried tracing patterns in a dotted pattern and it was just incredibly infuriating. What I ended up doing was printing the pattern on iron on transfer paper and ironing it onto the wrong side of fabric. FYI: Linen was used for these sashiko bunny coasters.

This shows what it looks like from the back when the pattern is ironed on. Obviously this is too hideous for the front, but for the back... who cares?!

So this means that I am stitching from the back, which looks like this:

And it looks like this from the front:

Unfortunately, stitching from the back means that some of the stitches end up crooked and wonky. So if you know a better way, please tell me! I implore you!

Although it isn't too terrible. The bunny still makes me happy. 

I also worked on one in reverse colors. Eventually I plan on making one more in each color.

And I figured this fabric would make the most perfect backing for the sashiko coasters since bunnies were the focal point on the front. Mmm, this fabric really needed a good use. 

Now that my new sewing machine is setup, I also started messing with machine quilting and decided to dig these mustache coasters out of my UFO pile. These coasters crack me up because the background fabric is a beautiful yellow batik, and the foreground fabric is bright pink and flowery. These fabrics are not so mustachey, but to me, it makes sense. Each one is quilted in a different way. Now I just need to find cheater needles that actually work so I can hide threads. I found the kind with the notch in the top, and have purchased two different brands of these and NEITHER WORKS. It just shreds the thread. I swear, there isn't even an opening in the top! I need side threading needles, but am not able to find them for a reasonable price. Any suggestions?

On a completely unrelated note, my Brussels sprouts and broccoli are slowly but surely making a comeback from their near death experience with the horrid cabbage worms. Woohoo!

Speaking of plants, another ear plant was purchased this week. I know, I know, there are already too many of these on my front porch, but this one has a branch that is all white! I have never seen such a thing! It needed a good home. Honest.

Oh, yeah, back to sewing. Somehow, I have been sewing and quilting for almost 3 years now, but never had a pincushion. That was remedied this week when I decided to try my hand at a cathedral window for the first time. The fabric is all from different charm swaps.

I also made a few blocks for the Japanese X-Block quilt. So this is 5 out of 30 and 11 are being made by Color Bee Shocked, which leaves me with 14 more to make. That is easy peasy.

So those are all of my WIPs for the week. I am leaving y'all with a pretty sunset picture from my drive out to my cousin's house.

What projects have you been working on this week?

Quilt Junkie

Hello, my name is Sabrina, and I'm a quiltaholic. No, really. I left work early to go buy fabric yesterday.

Warning: This is an extremely picture heavy and random post.

I bought two blues for the charm swap I am participating in.

I also found what is either the most adorable or terrifying fabric on the face of the planet.

Look at their little paws!!! Awwww!! Look at their terrifying eyes! Ahhhh!!!

...Naturally, I bought 2 yards of it. :)

Well, with that out of the way, on to WIPs.

All of my normal projects, blocks, and cutting charms for swaps has been put on hold since the slicing of my finger. I don't think they needed to be put on hold, but this is slowly becoming a mental battle. In my mind, I can't quilt because of my finger. Now to me, that just means I can't use my rotary cutter or my sewing machine. Too bad I had only recently found enlightenment that told me I am happier in the morning if I sew/quilt/craft before I go to bed.

So I have been seeking other avenues to get my daily fix.

Enter all the hand sewing projects I have been delaying!

First off: SASHIKO!!

I have been to Japan twice and I absolutely love it. I could totally see myself moving there. I have plans to apply to teach English there. Maybe this will be the year?

Back to Sashiko. I love Sashiko. How could I not? I love quilting and Japan. Quilting + Japan = Sashiko.

I had been wanting to try my hand at it, then finally got into it while I was at a point in life where I had a lot of "hurry up and wait" time, which is perfect for little hand sewn projects that can be stuffed in a purse.

Drooling over the pages in this book made me really frustrated with my progress and so it was put on a back burner.

I still find myself looking through this book for inspiration a lot, but now I have finally started to get back into sashiko. I brought out the pieces I had cut to make myself a cute little purse from One Yard Wonders that I have made a few times. If you do not have One Yard Wonders, you need to stop reading this and go get it! It has so much awesome stuff. I could (and just might) make a whole post about all the stuff I have made from it, so far.

Anyways, there is one purse in OYW that I love and have made multiple times. I had plans on quilting my next one with sashiko, and I actually got started on it! My stitches aren't perfect. (Hell, they aren't even good yet!) But I am happy with my progress, so far.

Another project I wanted to try after traveling around the Pacific was Hawaiian applique. I have only done applique once and I do not even remember if I did it by hand or machine. It was to add cute little hearts on a baby quilt.

So, I finally found a pattern I liked for the Hawaiian applique and decided to make a throw pillow. I made the template, traced it, cut out the fabric, basted the edges under, ironed it, pinned it to the background fabric, and then realized people use other easier ways to do applique. This was with the basting and pinning.

Apparently, I live under a quilting rock where the concept of fusible web had not yet trickled down. Once I found out about it, I immediately unpinned everything, took out the basting stitches and tried again with fusible web. FYI: I am using Heat N Bond Lite and it seems to be working okay.

Here is a super fun picture of the soon-to-be appliqued piece looking much like a mystical sea creature. Or kelp. Whichever. This also shows the color a little bit better.

So now I have the design bonded on and have started with the decorative stitching around it.

Le Boyfriend and I are roadtripping it this weekend, so I'm sure it will get finished in the car.

So far this is how I feel about fusible web applique (newschool) vs. needle turn or machine applique (oldschool).

Pro for newschool: So damn convenient, no stabbing yourself with pins, faster, lighter to transport because of no pins, feels more sturdy.

Pro for oldschool: More satisfying, no stiffness, no "bubbling" where the web has bonded, can be repositioned.

The jury is still out on which method I prefer. But I also started working on some adorable fusible web applique mustache coasters for some of my BFFs. I decided to use them as practice for the pillow, then got carried away and started working on the pillow first.

The idea came from a tutorial over here but I tweaked the size to make varying sizes to accommodate nearly any project.

So here is one of the super cute color combos I have been working on. I just love the combination of the batik and the crazy florals.