I finally finished this sashiko tote yesterday. I'm glad to have it finished and I learned a lot. I showed it to Kaela and will send it to her along with the baby quilt (which I've finished, but I'm waiting for the cherry blossoms to take a good photo!).
The pattern is in this lovely book of projects by various designers. The bag happens to be by sashiko sensei Yoshiura's daughter.
I won't show the instruction pages (copyright) but..... suffice to say.... it was rough going for this non Japanese reader! And my mind just has trouble with anything 3-D. I just had to finally dig in, wing it, and get it done.
The lining is a luscious Liberty - and the bottom is improvised with cardboard because.... no taking trains to fabric stores right now to get a proper plastic piece.
A few process shots to jog my memory if I ever make another one:
I ironed this panel to some kind of two-sided iron on fleecy interfacing, then backed it with muslin - and because now it was quite thick, I quilted those lines on the machine rather than adding more sashiko lines, through all three layers, as the pattern required -
(Making the handles.... a long and boring story... forget it! ... live and learn)
Put bag into inside-out lining:
(Next time, make the lining such that the open seam will be on the bottom, not the side)
Sew all around, then pull everything out of the gap in the lining. Top stitch all around the top of the bag.
Cover plastic (or in this case cardboard) with lining fabric fitted to the bottom of the bag.
In other news... well, what other news, besides COVID19? Every single morning, and sometimes in the middle of the night, I wake up and check the news and it seems every time, there's some big change or announcement or worry in the U.S. We are glued to FaceTime, talking with our kids and extended family. I know that we all have loved ones we are concerned about. I really think it's so important to be serious about social distancing.
In Tokyo, things are quiet, getting a little more relaxed. It's hard to say, because there hasn't been a lot of testing, but it seems that the curve is flattening out here?
This woman and her dog are social distancing together, eating lunch outside -
This week David and I have decided no more restaurants, but that we will get takeaway now and then. Definitely no trains (it's been weeks since we've been on a train).
Cloud gazing is free, and safe. Have you ever seen this TED talk about clouds? It's sweet.
Cynthia
