Sashiko in Stockton - more photos

Jackie Lowery sent me some more photos.  This is her amazing double bed quilt sashiko sampler, which she will be quilting soon. Stunning!  She researched many of the pictorial designs herself. What you can't really see in the photo is the lovely texture to the border fabrics.

Yvette Cooper made this colourful sampler with oranges and greens (one of my favourite colour combinations too), including some applique blocks from my Japanese Taupe Quilt Blocks book.  It looks so fresh and summery.

 This cushion appeared on the front cover of The Ultimate Sashiko Sourcebook.

 This is a detail of the sampler from the same book.

An example of Reiko Domon's superb applique technique on a scroll style wall hanging, depicting bottle gourds. Here, the sashiko detail is in the border.

The shading on this iris kamon design cushion by Jackie Lowery is so subtle and realistic.

Anne Wright made this splendid sashiko sampler single bed quilt for her grandson - lucky thing!

She also made this cushion.

This sampler was made by Rhona Thompson on my very first sampler course at The Studio, Loch Lomond, back in 2013.  I noticed that the older samplers were the smallest, and the most recent ones the largest - from wallhanging size to double bed quilt, in just a few years! We now do some larger patterns as part of the course, but that can't be the only reason the quilts have got bigger.

We had two quilts 'in progress' from Liz O'Neil and Mary Clogg, which showed visitors how the quilts are put together from the sashiko samples.

Sampler from Moira Gaw, from the first course at Loch Lomond.

A single bed size sampler by Frances Lavington-Evans.  This is stitched completely in indigo dyed sashiko thread, which coordinates well with the blue and green stripe.

We had several of the quilts from Yuza Sashiko Guild's 'Dream of Shonai' challenge set in the exhibition, including this one from Keiko Abe.

 

I'll post more photos if anyone can send more!  Thanks Jackie!

Sashiko in Stockton

The exhibition went very well! We had lots of the Stockton sashiko course students to help us set up on Friday, who came up with all kinds of great ideas about how to display everything to the max in All Saints Church. It was quite a transformation. Anywhere we could hang something from an existing hook got used, and we improvised many different hanging systems, including clipping pieces to boards, and draping the piano and music stand.

The photos below were snapped during some of the quieter moments - most of the time I was too busy to take any photos.

This is how the church looked before we started...

We had lots of sashiko threads and fabrics for sale. Thanks to Man and Katie for these great pics of us in action.

 

 

 Katie from Japan Crafts also brought her fabulous prints, kits and more.

Susan Briscoe Designs and Japan Crafts group pic!

A view of some of the Scottish samplers and cushions, plus some of Yuza Sashiko Guild's 'Dream of Shonai' quilts.  All the quilts, cushions, bags etc. were labelled with the maker's name and project title during the exhibition, along with a lot of 'please don't touch' labels - but we did have some 'handing samples' for those who wanted to know what sashiko feels like.

If anyone has more photos, please send them and I'll add them! It all went down so well, I am now thinking about next year...

Sashiko in Stockton - exhibition on Saturday 20th July

The Sashiko in Stockton exhibition is on Saturday 20th July, from 10am to 3pm, at All Saints Church, Hartburn, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 5EB - here's a map. (NB - there's another All Saints Church in the Stockton area - make sure you head for the right one!)

Exhibits include work by the Stockton sashiko groups, my Scottish sashiko students, Yuza Sashiko Guild, and a selection of pieces from my books.  I can't wait to see some of the Stockton sashiko samplers finished and they are BIG pieces!

We will be serving light refreshments (teas, coffees, cakes/biscuits etc.) in exchange for donations which will be going to the Butterwick Hospice.

Traders are Susan Briscoe Designs and Japan Crafts, so you can get all your sashiko and kogin goodies at the exhibition, plus the new Olympus stripes, Japanese printed patchwork cottons etc.

See you on Saturday!

Olympus stripes!

I have added the new Olympus woven stripes to my website shop now.  A few of them are in the photo above, and I now have the full range of 24 - four different stripe patterns in lots of colours.  Click here to shop.

I use stripes a lot in my quilts and sashiko projects.  Most of the stripes in the photos below were narrow traditional width cotton stripes from Japan, very similar to the Olympus stripes, but of course only 14 1/2in wide, which a) limited how I could use them, b) made them much more expensive.  You can order the 110cm wide Olympus stripes, which are the same quality and almost identical weave to the traditional narrow width stripes, in half metre increments and they cost just £18 per metre.

My internet shop is now OPEN!

  

At last - I got the website shop open! I'm adding more items all the time, so keep coming back for a look. Click here to go to the shop.  So far, I've listed most of the sashiko threads, fabrics and needles, and the new kogin supplies (need to reorder some of those!).  Happy browsing!