Sashiko Pincushion

Here's my first finish of the year. It's a kit from Euro Japan Links. I actually started it 2 years ago but put it to one side because I wasn't particularly happy with my stitching. When I was in Houston last year I visited the KimonoMomo booth and bought some sashiko bits and pieces. Carol Ziogas, the owner of KimonoMomo has some videos on her blog, which are worth a watch. When I got home from Houston, the technique clicked. So I started afresh and I was much happier with the stitching this time. It's a small square of shippo design which wraps around the cushion.

 



I was particularly pleased with the back of the pincushion because the design centred well.

 



This project has had an air of serendipity about it throughout. When I drew up the shippo design at the start, I found I had the perfect tool - a sashiko template from Sharon Pedersen. This was part of the kit from the Sharon's Sensational Sashiko workshop, which Steph and I attended during our first visit to the Houston Quilt Festival in 2008. This workshop was all about sewing sashiko designs on a sewing machine - a great technique, which I'm hoping to come back to in the future. The table runner below was the result.