Sashiko

The third class I took was a Japanese Sashiko quilt. The class was taught by a little tiny lady named Lorraine, a retired school teacher. The quilt was 18 blocks each with a different Sashiko pattern and another 17 for every other block, all 8 1/2 inches square. All the blocks were backed by Thermor so the stitching was done through both the cotton top and the Thermor batting.

Lorraine would get each of us started on our blocks. She has lots of stories about her travels to Japan to learn more about Sashiko and the meanings behind the patterns. At the same time, she was feeding us home-made mango bread. Very good!

It took me about two weeks to get the blocks stitched and I had calluses on 2 fingers. I had to alternate fingers when one got sore. Because the blocks were not very big, I machine-quilted this one by stitching in the ditch on either side of the burgundy sashing strips. I am really happy how this quilt turned out, but I'm not sure if I want to do it again!