More Photos & Info on Sashiko Easy & Elegant Designs for Decorative Machine Embroidery Book by Mary Parker: Hoarder Rehab Review #5

More Photos & Info on Sashiko Easy & Elegant Designs for Decorative Machine Embroidery Book by Mary Parker:  Hoarder Rehab Review #5

This book has beautiful photo examples of 25 projects and over 200 sashiko designs!

Like New VTG Sashiko Book Easy Elegant Designs for Decorative Machine Embroidery by Mary Parker, available here.  Photo via Hoarder Rehab

The best part for me, is that It has 25 DIY sashiko projects with more than 100 color coded patterns and a huge sashiko pattern dictionary.  The book has 144 pages of sashiko fun and the pattern dictionary is 54 pages with 4 designs on each page.  That's over 200 designs!  They designs range from simple to traditional to intricate.

I'd show you the table contents, but all those photos are already in the listing if you want to see what's in the book by it's table of contents.

I'm just going to over the parts that interest me! lol.  Like the secret to successful machine stitching using transferring patterns is really interesting, she shares several methods on how to transfer the patterns on to fabric, I haven't tried any of the ways yet, but they seem easy enough.  It's probably the only thing I'd use from this book, besides getting inspired by the photos and the pattern dictionary.

  Like New VTG Sashiko Book Easy Elegant Designs for Decorative Machine Embroidery by Mary Parker with 20 projects and pattern dictionary, available here.  Photo via HoarderRehab

She shares at least 5 different ways to transfer sashiko patterns to fabrics of all kinds.  I lost count after 5.  I'll do an update if I try them and let you know how well they work for me.  I wish she gave brand names for the pens she uses.

 Like New VTG Sashiko Book Easy Elegant Designs for Decorative Machine Embroidery by Mary Parker with 20 projects and pattern dictionary, available here.  Photo via HoarderRehab

Out of all the projects I quickly breezed through in her book and if I had to choose one thing to make from it it would be this tote bag, but I'd most likely make it from boro and free hand the cherry blossoms, so I'm sure mine would look quite different.  More like ultra free hand wabi sabi wonky lopsided!

She does give the pattern and dimensions in inches and in cm and there are only 10 steps, so maybe I will try it my way.  Eyeballing cut and sew and then free stitching the cherry blossom sashiko.

or maybe I'd have to start off with something easier, like placemats!

We could use some new placemats and I have plenty of boro to do so.

Like New VTG Sashiko Book Easy Elegant Designs for Decorative Machine Embroidery by Mary Parker with 20 projects and pattern dictionary, available here.  Photo via HoarderRehab

Or maybe I should start off with something smaller, like coasters?

There are more photos at our shop of other projects, the larger ones, like duvet cover and a sashiko sampler on room divider screen panels, which I think would make beautiful window coverings, even blackouts.  Like New VTG Sashiko Book Easy Elegant Designs for Decorative Machine Embroidery by Mary Parker with 20 projects and pattern dictionary, available here.  Photo via HoarderRehab

We don't need coasters.  I've made some weaving pine needles, when I used to make pine needle baskets, trivets and pin cushions and they look like they'll last forever!  Moving on.... or maybe I'll be making placemats?

My other favorite part of this book is the sashiko pattern dictionary.  It's quite extensive and appears to start off with the simple ones and moves on to the more elaborate and ends with family crests, but I just browsed, I didn't really read it.  I added two photos of the intermediate traditional looking types at the shop.

Like New VTG Sashiko Book Easy Elegant Designs for Decorative Machine Embroidery by Mary Parker with 20 projects and pattern dictionary, available here.  Photo via HoarderRehab

Some of the information in the pattern dictionary will suggest which pattern will work better for your projects.  I think the one above is for the pillow shams.

 Oops a project snuck in!

I just noticed some 2 other photos have appeared that are not from the pattern dictionary, but are 2 other projects, the pillow shams and the table runner.  I'll leave them so you can see the other types of projects, just in case they inspire you too!

I wanted to put the photos in order from easiest to more elaborate, but my eyes are failing me on the small photo choices from the upload folder.

I didn't check each project because there are 25 of them, but I saw many patterns like the one above, while browsing the book to take photos.

I don't remember why I took this photo now, but at least it's another example of all the different sashiko patterns.

Saying Goodbye:  I hope this books finds a new life with someone who is interested in machine sashiko and wants to bypass all the hand stitching to machine sew and sashiko each project.

Like New VTG Sashiko Book Easy Elegant Designs for Decorative Machine Embroidery by Mary Parker with 20 projects and pattern dictionary, available here.  Photo via HoarderRehab

I hope this review is helpful to readers.  For me, I've been inspired to make some boro sashiko placemats!  I'll hand cut, free hand style sashiko and all around hand make mine.  I thank this book for it's classic sashiko beauty, motivation and the page on transferring patterns.  What about you?

However my free style sashiko is all free hand and looks more like this, lol

This is an example of my free style sashiko.  It's starting to look like some constellation or galaxy with a sun and a black hole.  This is on a large boro cloth that has mostly kantha stitching and is going to be a furoshiki type farmer's market bag.

This furoshiki boro farmer's market bag is large about 25 inches by 36 inches, so it has hand basting stitches and safety pins to keep the two layers together.  This has been my alternative to hoarding project for the past 6 years!

Here's a close up of the kantha stitching.  I found a huge tangled up ball of thread with embroidery floss and have been slowly untangling it and using the pieces to stitch on here.  I've also been embroidering random designs I see here and there.  The designs I find are usually on pottery, so I try them on here to see how they look embroidered.

Back to the last part of this book.  There are several examples of sashiko fashion clothes, so it appears to have a little bit of everything sashiko!

The book seems to have mainly home decor fabric projects, but I did see some fashion with sashiko.  Like New VTG Sashiko Book Easy Elegant Designs for Decorative Machine Embroidery by Mary Parker with 20 projects and pattern dictionary, available here.  Photo via HoarderRehab

"A very thoughtful and well-ordered introduction...A mouth-watering 'gotta try' wealth of designs and information." ---Booklist

Thank you for visiting my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things!  Happy Friday!

Stardust Lost by Stefan Kanfer: The Destiny of Things, Story 538

Stardust Lost by Stefan Kanfer:  The Destiny of Things, Story 538

Joy all around!

This book has sold, but we have many other vintage books, available here.

Photo via The Destiny of Things

Here is the surprise email I received:

Hi There.
I think this book looks really cool.
I am going to give it to my sister in law as a gift.
She converted to Judaism and just had a Bat Mitzvah late in life.
I think she will really like this.
Best,
a fellow Etsian

I just love it when someone sends me an email and lets me know that joy is being spread!  Not just from me to her and her to me, but even to her sister in law!  I thought the book looked really cool too and mainly kept it because it just looks vintage and I love deckled paper edges, so I had it listed as a book for crafting for either the pages, the black and white photos and/or for turning it into a junk journal, but I'm so thankful someone is going to read it first!

Of course, I wish I had some way to find out how informative and entertaining the book was to her!

This book has sold, but we have many other vintage books, available here.

Photo via The Destiny of Things

Here's what I wrote back:

Hi fellow Etsian!

I'm so happy to hear it's going to a nice "forever" home as a gift to your sister in law. Thank you so much! I hope I can use your story on my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things blog.

Thank you for helping me let go of some of my hoard! 

Kind regards,
Kennedy

Here is an example of the black and white pictures and you can also see the deckle edged pages.

This book has sold, but we have many other vintage books, available here.

Photo via The Destiny of Things

Saying Goodbye:  I am so thankful this book found a new life and forever home with someone who will appreciate what's written and the photos in it!  Because I had other plans for it, if it didn't find a forever home!

We usually take a photo of the back of each listing, but not this time!

We have many other vintage books and sheet music, available here.
Photo via The Destiny of Things

What I Learned:

1.  As a recovering hoarder, it's very difficult for me to say, "No!" to a free book or for that matter, almost anything free because as soon as I see it, my little hoarder crafter head starts spinning into action.  For example, I was going to use the pages for collage and use an ek tool paper punch out the photos and make little tags!  And then list the back and front cover for someone to make into a junk journal.  And most likely, none of those things would have happened!

2.  I've been more discerning about what I actually take home that's free now, but it's very difficult.  For example, my mom sent me a box of boro (boro is Japanese vintage scraps of fabric or clothes or blankets mended with scraps, but in our family it basically means, "rags") and then later asked if I wanted another box and I could not refuse!  Then she asked if I wanted some scraps of light wool, tenugui, ikat, kuba cloth and felted wool!  

My head was rolling into crafting mode and I thought I need to practice to saying, "No!" to free stuff, so I said yes to everything but the felted wool and then a week later I found some holes in my Hudson Bay blanket and kicked myself very gently and then patted myself on the back for at least saying no to one free thing!

The photo above is an example, my mom sent me a medium and large Priority boxes squished down and chock full!  As a recovering hoarder, I love my boro scraps so much that I can't figure out which ones to part with first, so I'm listing all the boro I can part with, which is mainly silks from haoris and Japanese remnants.  Silk sleeve pieces from haori, listed here at Hoarder Rehab.

3.  I'm still sorting through her boxes of scraps!  Sorting through more off then on because I started a new project that is more time sensitive.  I have been working on some vintage spring to Easter patches and textile brooches from an old quilt with baby animals, like fawns, puppies, cubs, elephant and rabbits.

I've been experimenting with different colors of scraps of thread and embroidery floss, much in tangled bunches, which I have no idea where they came from and randomly using which colors untangle first.  The baby animal patches are so worn and faded that it's like embroidering on those iron on transfers from the old days!  As a child I loved learning how to embroider using iron on transfers.  I hope others do too!

I will start listing the patches and textile brooches next week, as either DIY patches and textile brooches and show some of the ones I've embroidered I'll use as examples of inspiration and ideas of how to use them.  I got so carried away with the embroidery like iron on transfers that some took me days to complete!

These small thin boro art patches are from a custom order from a t shirt patch I made years ago.  It took me 2-4 days and 13 patches later to get it so it looked like the custom request!

Available here with red details and without red details, here. 

Photo via Hoarder Rehab

Thank you Etsy buyer for ordering from  The Destiny of Things and letting me know how you are spreading joy.  I hope your sister in law is enjoying it as I write!

I've still working on a Farmer's Market bag, but haven't had much time to stitch on it with the new baby animals patch and brooch project started.  I have been mending some other bags and my pile of mending is growing.  We didn't take any photos last weekend, so hopefully we'll take photos of the FM bag this weekend, so I can see how it progresses.

Is there something in your life that is so what you love that it takes you to a place of timelessness?  Many times once I start stitching, I could do it all day and night!

Here are some thicker quilted art slow stitch patches that are worn to nothing in some spots, that you can patch, but still have some life in them to patch up some jeans or jackets! One is obviously a mending heart and the other one has a blueberry on it! I mended over most of the weak spots, and left a few areas for the new person to mend.  Available here.

Photo via Hoarder Rehab

My goal of listing on each shop until each has 180 to 181 items had been reached at all 4 shops!  but more hoard has sold!  So I'll be new listing again this weekend.  We are continuing our 20% off sales at all our shops at the moment.  They are kind of rolling shop sales, which just seemed to happen, so I think JunkDrawerAndMore's sale will be ending soon.

I've been trying to adopt this new way of thinking, "Be willing to forgo all perceptions of gain, desire or profit and thereby be willing to be of selfless service to life in all it's expressions," but it's really difficult for me and putting it in to practice is very wishy washy for me.  Anyone out there have any suggestions?  Anyone out there practicing it too?

My new love for making textile art has been a most joyful experience in a way I never imagined and I'm doing less shopping now or at least trying to do less shopping now.  I need to practice and realize that I probably have enough projects for another life time!  Some of it's on Hoarder Rehab in the handmade by me section, here.  

Click on the shop names to visit new hoard listed weekly: HoarderRehab with 180 items, The Destiny of Things- 181 items, VintageToGoEasy - 180 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 180 items.   

Maybe you'll find something and give it new life and a new home!  Thanks for looking!

Here are some tiny small patches that didn't as much time to stitch and are priced as such.  I left room for you to add on or color in with embroidery, available here.  I have several more batches of patches to list in beige boro with black embroidery too!  Photo via Hoarder Rehab

Thank you for visiting my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things!  Happy Friday!