This giant box from Baby Lock was delivered to my doorstep the day before Christmas Eve. I had my birthday in December (I turned 50! Yep, it's kind of a big one), it was like receiving a birthday present and a Christmast present both at the same time! The name of the machine is "Sashiko", look closely, not Sachiko; which is my name(means a happy child or blessed one). Sashiko is a traditional Japanese embroidery or stitching used for the decorative and/or functional reinforcement of cloth and clothing. The items that were created using Sashiko stitching are very beautiful and I feel like many traditional Sashiko designs resonate with modern design lovers too. I found a great website if you know more about it.
A long time ago, I was at a quilt store and saw a Sashiko machine for the first time. To be honest, I really thought that Baby Lock named one of their machines "Sachiko", just like they had named some of their machines "Anna", "Amelia", "Rachel" and such. But I thought to myself "why a Japanese name???" I looked closely and realized it was "Sashiko" instead of Sachiko. I learned what the machine can do and ever since then, it has been one of my dream machines!
I was astonished when I first found out about this!
I started out as a hand quilter in my teens and I did piecing/quilting all by hands. I am always drawn to traditional hand quilted quilts. I love the spaces in between the stitches and I feel like hand stitching gives a more softer, cozier and whimsical touch to the quilt. I still enjoy hand quilting, but I am starting to get concerned about my hands now that I am getting older. I will continue to hand-quilt here and there, but it will be amazing if I can use a machine and have it look like it was hand quilted! Wouldn't you agree?
I can't wait to share my new creations using the Sashiko machine in the near future!
