Sashiko Bag and ...

Around Rachel's birthday, we received a package from my mom who lives in Japan. She sent the kids lots of Japanese candies, some books for me, and a birthday gift for Rachel. My mom has been taking Sashiko lessons every week from a lady for almost a year now. She made a beautiful Sashiko bag (my mom did Sashiko, then her tutor made it into a draw string bag).

Basically, Sashiko is a traditional Japanese quilt design. Here is what I found out from a Sashiko book. In winter, a single layer of cloth wasn't warm enough, so people layerd two fabrics together and did Sashiko to stableize them. Then, when some parts of the cloth wore out, they added more layers of fabric and did sashiko to make it stronger. In olden day, Sashiko was used for practicality, but now people enjoy Sashiko design as a hobby. Like my mom.

Look at the stitches...


I called and thanked her and we talked for a while. Time like this I get little bit sad about living so far away from my mom. Usually, I am so busy and don't even have time to feel that. Looking at something she made, one stitch at time made me miss her.

Rachel loved her new bag and immediately started putting things in to carry around the house. Hmmm... where did she get the bag lover quality from... my husband?...

By the way, guess what I found at a quilt store the other day...


YES! New oil cloth!! They are so pretty, I had to buy some for my etsy store.

I have been sewing a lot lately. My friend who lives in Japan is going to exhibit her and her students' stained glass. The place she rented is so big, she wanted me to send some stuff from my etsy store to showcase and sell them. Also, my sister makes amazingly beautiful jewelery, so she will have a booth there too. My friend is making post cards to send out and posters to get the word out. I wish I could be there to decorate my own space and everything but I trust my friend's style. We have been friends since 10th grade and the distance and lack of seeing each other for years hasn't changed our relationship much. I guess only for better, because we are both busy moms who enjoy our current stage of life.

I am so excited about the exhibit!!

I am going to make more oil cloth bib from the new fabric. I already picked out the fabrics that I am going to use for the bias tape. I think they are going to be cute! I am going to sew some more before I hit the pillow. Well, every one, enjoy your labor day weekend!