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!

Fantastic sashiko exhibition in Yuza-machi!

Reiko Domon has sent me some photos of their second exhibition this summer, this time at the Yurari, Yuza-machi - click this link to see her website. Go to the menu on the left of the page and click on the "2008" titles - the first one shows photos from the exhibition at Shonai Airport (click each image to see a larger version) and the next two show panoramas from the Yurari exhibition.

As the second panorama scrolls to the right, look out for the "tansu" pocket hanging from "Japanese Sashiko Inspirations" (its the little bright blue piece hanging on the screen just after the fourth "pillar" from the left). "O-neesan" and "Kyoto Dreams" are also visible towards the far right.

The exhibition looks amazing! If you like indigo and white, sashiko, patchwork and old Japanese textiles you will love it.

This is a new work by Reiko - with a Houhou (Chinese Phoenix) at the centre. In legend, the houhou appears to herald a time of great peace in the world. Reiko works with a lot of recycled fabrics, including old kimono that are beyond wearing.


Sashiko workshops at the exhibition (you can see my Kimono wallhanging from my lastest sashiko book wrapped around the pillar on the right) -

Here's my twin "Koi Scroll", also from "Japanese Sashiko Inspirations", on the left of this triple group of hangings (below). The two koi leaping up the waterfall, in applique & sashiko, is one of Reiko's creations, made to celebrate the birth of her first grandson. The sleeveless patchwork hanten (with red patches, on the board at the right) is an antique piece.

My sashiko table runner, "Mihon" (sampler), includes squares inspired by a wonderful old jacket at the Chido Museum, Tsuruoka City, near Yuza. You can also see my little book bag with marumon (circular motif) designs. Don't the framed sashiko samples look great? I love the way that even the smallest piece of sashiko can be turned into something interesting.

Here is my "Japanese Fans" quilt (scroll down on link page), with two of the new "Yamagata" quilts in the background. Way back in 2006, when I visited Yuza with my quilting friend Margaret Ramsay, I set Peaceful Heart Quilt Group a challenge - on the theme of "Yamagata". These quilts are coming to the UK soon - I'll update more information here. The two shown below feature the Mogami river, which flows through Yamagata and was the major trade route to the coast in Edo times, and Mt Chokai, fifth highest mountain in Japan, right behind Yuza-machi. The creative use of tenugui souvenir towels is interesting on the second quilt, one with Mt Chokai and another showing the sixteen disciples of Buddha, carved on the rocks at Fukura, Yuza-machi, around 200 years ago.

I made fabric bundles for every member of the group, including a shaded fabric (from blue to purple) that was printed for a Quilters' Guild challenge, a lovely blue cedar forest print (from Dot Sherlock's Quilter's Needs) and a Kona Bay print with pines and golden cranes (not visible in the bundles unfortunately).

Here's more info about the Yurari. The exhibition hall is on the right of the spa hotel complex. Checkout the blog too - looks like the manager has just got a kitten! (I put these page through the Outlook Express auto translation, so the English might be a bit strange! Right click will bring up the auto translate menu, if you use Outlook Express - a very useful feature. Mostly I'm using Firefox these days, which doesn't have it).

It is an excellent venue. In July 2006, Peaceful Heart Quilt Group had a party for us at the Yurari - the food was delicious! Here's some photos -
- and Margaret with her "travel shawl" (the perfect travel project - pack some threads and a needle and add some more stitching whenever you like, and you have some instant evening wear too).
Chie Ikeda, who taught me sashiko, is on the right. Here's a quilt she made using some of the blocks from "Japanese Quilt Blocks to Mix and Match", shown at the Shonai Airport exhibition in June/July 2008 -


The blocks are based on Kurume Kasuri designs from the early 20th century - the second block invites you to add something in the centre, doesn't it?