Crafting in the Time of Corona X

I had been doing less Corona crafting lately. Partly because of Christmas but also because the gym opened and I’ve been going to the pool so I haven’t had as much extra time as I did in the beginning of the time of Corona (it seems a little funny to continue to use this phrase but I feel kind of stuck with it). After settling into the still weird new year, I was glad to begin the Sashiko embroidery sampler my sister gave me for Christmas.

Sashiko (little stabs) is a type of Japanese embroidery traditionally used to mend or remake clothing using white thread on indigo dyed blue cloth. Sashiko patterns are worked in continuous lines of running stitches. Several running stitches are gathered on the needle before being pushed onto the fabric which helps to keep the stitches even and the lines straight. Traditionally there is an ordered sequence to how the lines are stitched, first all the vertical lines, then the horizontal, then the diagonal. This results in the pattern looking much the same on the back as it does on the front.

The Sashiko mini sampler kit from Minature Rhino came with the patterns already marked so it was a good introduction to Sashiko embroidery. I found it easier to control the tension than with “regular” embroidery. I’m not sure if that was because of the stiffness of the fabric or the different method of stitching. I liked the way the sampler looked so rather than cut it apart as suggested, I decided to buy some white duck fabric to match the white lines that separated the squares and turn it into a pillow.

Perfect for the work room/guest room futon covered with a blue and white quilt made by my younger daughter (which I must note looks much better in person than in the photo) and with the batik fabric pillows I made a few years ago. I had been given the African fabric when I was in high school and had made it into a dress. Since it no longer fit me and I wanted to keep it, I turned it into pillows incorporating the dress buttons as well. I also recently added an abandoned and rescued vintage quilt with embroidered “Happy French Chef” panels to the back of the futon (a long before I got there family had sent it to school as a child’s napping blanket and had left it when the child graduated). For now my husband and cat get to appreciate it all while I do yoga in the living area but someday we may even have guests sleep on our futon again!