Month / May 2021

by princesshotflash

A project from my queue

I started this a while ago, sometime during the pandemic. It’s this pillowcase I made with vintage Japanese fabric a long time back. It has begun to fray. I took off with the intent to patch the fraying pieces with some new material. Then I happened upon several articles and videos on boro.

Boro in Japanese means ragged or tattered. I grew up with the term boro-boro when you wore clothing that was falling apart. Boro is a style of patchwork using old cloth and sashiko (running stitch). Here’s a link to an article I found on boro. That goes into more detail. I love that some of these boro pieces are generational and turn into something new again. The graphical quality and direction that the stitches add to the patches are what I like about boro.

I decide to use this pillowcase as a sampler of different stitches and applique to find something I like. Maybe come up with my style. I also wanted to test out if I like hand-stitching.

I started off doing the basic running stitch, learning how to get my length consistent and find a size I like. I purchase sashiko thread and needles (sidebar: I’m a sucker great packaging and the packaging on these needle are great)from Amazon. I got the traditional off-white color. I do have a bunch of different embroidery threads that I could use also.

This is where I started. Working it as a sampler to teach me about boro and sashiko.

  • Adding a patch on top the old
  • practicing the stitch
  • holes in the Japanese crepe fabric
  • patches
  • more stitching
  • more patches
  • stitching and patching
The start

I stopped and hung it on the wall for a long while as I worked on my many other project sitting in my queue. I think I got tried of stitching and not sure where I was going. Then just this week I picked it up wanting to start stitching again. I think I’m seeing it more than a sampler. I might have to make a new pillowcase.

  • little buds
  • shiba inu patch
  • falling blossoms
  • flowerss

Here’s where I’m at. I know it isn’t finished. I hope I’ll know when it will be.

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by princesshotflash

Do you see elephants?

I finally got back to my d’Historie Naturelle blanket and made it past part 4, attaching the corners. I was avoiding putting them on because I thought I my have made a mistake and need to rip apart what I had done and that just got me not wanting to do it.

To my surprise, I did’t ripe it apart.

corners attached, phew!
Started on the flames row, I thought they look more like flower bud.
I’m not looking forward to weaving the ends in.

Part 5

I thought I would never get pass part 4. Part 5 starts our simple and pretty straight forward. I get to the famous elephant rows, simple repeats and simple stitches. No crazy triple trebles (uk term) in the next two rounds. How bad can it be?

Bad! I shouldn’t crochet when I’m stressed out (Dad issue). It’s only two rows with an easy pattern repeat along each edges. Well it must be hard enough to make the exact same mistake–1/2 treble (uk term) NOT double crochet (uk term)-TWICE! And I had rip it out to the beginning of the first of the two row. Sheesh! Annoyed. I ripped out, bundle everything together and threw it in the corner fix later! Ughhhh!

I wake up the next morning and determine to make this right, and TA DAH!

No ears but I’m not ripping them out again!!!

I can see the elephants!

from a text from my sister

There are two per repeat, facing each other, eight in total. The original pattern has them with no ear and I did find a link in the comments of the video for elephants with ears but I wasn’t going to rip them out again just for the ear. I like how they look, cute!

I hope to continue on till I’m done. Working a little everyday till I can show you this finished project. I should slap myself for stopping during the cooler winter month to only start back up in when the weather has turn to almost summer in my neighborhood.

For my birthday, I picked up another crochet pattern for bag and both the yarn. Corfu bag from Outstanding Crochet and Catona yarn from scheepjes from Wool Warehouse.

There are other projects in the queue before this bag but I couldn’t pass it up. More projects to come. Stay tuned.