this looks interesting, and mixing with the linen look fabrics is inspired .. they are lovely to work with.

I love this quilt. Great inspiration.

What a really detailed review Denise – thanks! And I love the final product.

Well put together Juliet. I would add that the cost of searching the fabrics after washing can prove to be expensive. My biggest difficulty is pressuring (ironing) the creases out after washing. I thought my iron was just for pressing my seams open

This is a really useful and helpful review Lynda, because it would never have occurred to me to ask for the long arm service to use cotton – I had assumed that they always did. Now I know to always ask.

Gutterman makes quite a lot of fluff on my Juki domestic – although not so much that cannot be easily cleaned at the end of each of my (smallish) projects. I really like the Aurifil threads for piecing, and one of the reasons is that they make so little mess, last so long, and stitch so neatly even on the tiniest of stitches x

I was going to give the autumn swap a miss but I think I’m hooked. As a swap virgin this time I’ve learnt a lot about how to stalk and be stalked and also discovered new techniques and fabrics that I’ve come to love. Bring it on ❤️❤️❤️

How true…make it at the same time or it never gets made. My liberty butterfly is still not made but it’s on my to do list
Obviously I’m not going to make a Trek quilt but so glad you love yours

Beautiful quilts. I prefer the darker version as well but would happily live with either. I missed the swap this year due to bring overcommitted but have loved all the ones I have recieved. I too wish I’d made 2 of the ones I’ve sent out as I’ve never got around to making one for myself !

I love your quilts but prefer the darker one with the more defined outline. I wish I’d made myself the first mini I did . It was a butterfly by lillyella stitchery , you have inspired me to make it for myself

Lovely blog Juliet. I’ve done all four swaps, and made a few Angel minis, but each one has its own special memories. Each mini is a unique gift. We all appreciate the time and thoughtful that has gone into making what we receive.

The stencils look quite nice and useful. However, your point about the thread was interesting. From the photo, which is a little blurry, it looks like the thread supplied is by a Japanese company called Yokota – it will be written on the back of the label as 横田 and you will also see a USA cotton mark on it. They make a fine thread and a medium one – the fine one has a burgundy and gold label and the medium one has the blue and gold label, which is the one in the kit. This thread is NOT supposed to be split and should actually be used doubled for traditional sashiko (i.e. one thread but you bring the ends together and each stitch has both strands in it).

To use medium sashiko thread, you really need fabric with a much lower thread count than the cotton supplied, which looks like a patchwork cotton. If the weave is too tight/high thread count, it will be very difficult to get the thread through the fabric. If they had supplied fine sashiko thread, you would have been able to get it through the finer fabric without any problems or needing to split it. They haven’t matched the thread to the fabric properly.

The needles in the kit are not sashiko needles. There is a difference between embroidery crewels and sashiko needles – the crewels can bend quite easily and sashiko needles are hard tempered so they don’t bend and super sharp. The stitching action for sashiko (which you can see demonstrated in the video link on my homepage http://www.susanbriscoe.com, which shows the two x one hour sashiko lessons I did on Sewing Quarter last year) involves pleating the fabric onto the tip of the needle and then easing out the gathered fabric, which helps regulate the stitch length and keeps the twinned strand of thread under control.

The marker is fine for sashiko but really you only need a white or yellow marker for the dark fabric, so they are including a lot more colours than you actually need in the kit – selling you more than you really need.

My verdict – nice stencils, kit seems to need better instructions, £39.99 is a lot for what you are getting. You can buy a 40m skein of medium sashiko thread for £2.50 or less, a packet of Olympus or Clover sashiko needles for around £2 and £5 respectively, and half a metre of fabric for sashiko from £6 – £8. So even on the high side, that’s around £15 for materials. A Clover White Marking Pen costs around £8 (this is the roller ball one that irons off or washes out) and other markers are a similar price. That adds up to the stencil and instructions being worth around £17, which seems high.

Haha, I have been doing this sort of ‘darning’ and mending of my OH and childrens’, and grandchildrens’, jeans for the past 30 years or so and never knew it had a name! Thank you again for another eye opener!!!!!

Denise I love Boro and all it means and stands for. My first attempt was last month and I really enjoyed doing it. Look forward to reading more,

Thank you Lynda, looking forward to the next blog about the Dragon

Thank you Deborah, will keep you all updated

If I was new to the craft and read your post it would encourage me to ‘open the window’ to learn more. Really ‘opened my eyes’. Thanks you Denise

Well said, Denise. Mental ill-health in its many forms rarely just disappears – but a kindred soul (especially one who shares our love of fabric!) can help a sufferer feel a little less alone.

I love that you are rewarded and both rewarding with your craft I agree people are put off by the cost of crafting and unless they are enlightened by others keep up the good work. Jan