This month we had a visit from Jeff Trown and his daughter Debby. They brought along some of his late wife's quilts to show us. They were beautiful pieces of work with hand stitched applique and quilting. They were her own original designs, including a lovely patchwork jacket with bead embellishment. I was so busy admiring them that I did not take any photos. This amazing lady also made 80 Linus quilts.
Our scheduled activity was a Sashiko demonstration. This is a Japanese technique that uses simple running stitches to create patterns that range from simple to complex. Traditionally indigo dyed cloth and undyed thread was used for Sashiko. Its origins are uncertain as there are no written records or original surviving pieces of work than can be conclusively dated or attributed to an individual or group. It evolved as a decorative craft in Japan during the Edo era (1615-1868) but fell out of favour in the early 20th century as Japanese people started to wear western style clothing. It has seen a resurgence, possibly due to the current trends in recycling, as it was often used in clothing to darn worn areas. Also it is likely that the interest in Japan for Western quilting using 3 layers, may well have prompted a renewed interest in a disappearing traditional skill, as Sashiko was also used to stitch 2 or 3 layers together for warm clothing and bed covers. Instructions can be found here.
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| Sashiko examples |
We had some Show and Tell quilts to look at
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| JN Linus quilt |
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| LE large bed quilt |
These two quilts are from HM who did not attend the meeting but forwarded the pictures for the blog
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| Quilt for a grandson |
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| Quilt for a granddaughter |
