Sashiko -ing Again.

   I'm back doing some sashiko while I let a few February days slip by for the Temperature Quilt, which will henceforth be referred to as TQ22. I'll catch up with that again in a few days. 

   So, the first big sashiko project I have chosen to do is a tote bag featuring the rounded 'Bishamon' pattern. Holy cow!!! Did I pick a complicated one to start with? No obvious continuous path to easily stitch along and then wander on back the other way with little or no skipping across gaps behind the scenes. And the instructions that came with the kit are not much help. I've had to figure out some sort of continuity myself, and with no 'practice' stitching leading up to it, this Bishamon pattern has nearly done my head in. Oh well, anything after this will be easy, eh? 

   Skipping across, with a long stitch on the back, from the end of one lot of stitches to start another line of stitches increases the risk of tightening the stitches up.  Being a beginner at this Sashiko caper, this was happening, so I started sticking a little bit of masking tape on the back to hold the long stitch in place. I do have to be careful how I pull the bits off as if I'm not careful I pull the little stitches on the front of the project out of the soft tension I have achieved. 

Getting the stitches even is proving to be a challenge.  I don't think i could do this without the printed dashed lines. And Vera keeps distracting me. I'll have to find something easier to watch while I'm sewing sashiko.

The instructions that came in the kit. 

The beginning of this project yesterday.

The effort so far today. Front view. 

This is truer to colour.

Back view. 

    Yesterday, a woman from the Kiwi Sashiko fb group I belong to posted some photos of her Bishamon stitching so I jumped on her asking for advice on where to go next. She advised me to concentrate on the circles. So I slept on that and it's kind of working for me today. I couldn't find an Australian group. 

   I love Facebook.