Saturday, October 29, 2022

Sandy, sashiko and stumpwork

Sandy, enormous storm system, hurricane-close winds, inches of rain, local tornadoes, broke overhead ten years ago today. 

We've had big storms before and since but the hour upon hour of screaming wind, roofs trying to lift, houses demolished, trees bringing down power lines everywhere, cutting people off for days, roads everywhere blocking evacuation,  that was one I'd like to forget but can't quite. 

Damage is still evident years later. There are still people fighting to get the insurance payout for their demolished homes.

So, thankful for today's calm cool sunshine let's move on to the newly arrived edition of Tatter and a lovely kit and class offering



Tatter is an online magazine about hand stitching and natural fibers. You've seen sashiko stitching in work I've done, a peacefully calming stitching form.

It originally was a way of reinforcing warm outdoor work clothing in layers against the Japanese winter, and of repairing and preserving garments. Done in beautiful formations, it's also a stitching art. 

If you fancy trying a bit of embroidery, it's definitely possible as a starting place. A simple running stitch in a contrasting color, often white on blue fabric. Definitely worth a look. 

This reminds me to take a look at my jacket of many embroideries, a gallery in garment form, to see about finishing the sashiko stitching I marked out 



Also my goldworked signature piece which used to grace my exhibits, in its own frame , and some butterflies. These are goldworked, done as stumpwork, wired so they can be posed.


Tatter always reminds me of something I need to do, along with the energy needed to do it. 

Soon I'll need to organize a way to hang the robe better than on a clothes hanger.

Happy day everyone, do what you feel like doing as well as what you have to do today. If you're lucky, they're the same thing.





18 comments:

  1. Thanks for teaching me about sashiko! It's a beautiful look.

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    1. If you can do cross stitch, you can certainly do sashiko. Silly text insists I mean sashimi!

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  2. You pass on to us what Tatter brings to you- the inspiration and the energy. Thank you for that.

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  3. I’ve never heard of sashiko. I might have to investigate a little further. Looks awesome

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  4. We watched Sandy from afar, and received reports from relatives in NYC. Can't imagine what it was like to have lived through it. I just read your decade-ago posts about experiencing it. Whew!

    What is stumpwork?

    Chris from Boise

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  5. Sandy is still on a lot of minds at this time of year.

    Stump work dates back to Elizabethan times. You see it in those face framing stand up collars. You design a wire shape on your linen, stitch over it to secure the wire to the fabric and cover it.. Then you do the rest of the embroidery within the shape before cutting out all around the wire. Then you have a wired piece you can shape to suit. I thought it was a natural for butterflies.

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    1. Thanks. I will have to ruminate on this a bit.

      Chris from Boise

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  6. I had made another skirt when I made the two I wear all the time but it's too long. Got it out of the closet with the intent of shortening it by about 3". So far it has made it to the table where I have my sewing machine set up and has one pin in it. thought I'd replace the tired elastic in a pair of lightweight cotton pants while I was at it. Haven't done it yet either.

    Hurricanes. I lived through four or five direct hits over my life. Fortunately always had an old sturdy house to weather it in.

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    1. Next good thing is neighbors to count on. Our house was struck by lightning once. That was exciting!

      I hear on just getting a thing done. Once you really start it's fine. It's just the getting momentum..

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  7. Sashiko is such a calming process and the finished product is so elegant. I have some fabric somewhere I should dig out and work on.
    Stump work looks like a bit too much work!

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  8. Stump work is long, slow and so calming. I had the best time making those butterflies.

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  9. That Sandy was some storm. My nephew was just training to be a flatbed trucker. His boss put him on an endless loop from a supply point in PA to NJ with Homeland Security stuff.

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    1. A belated thank you to him! We needed all the help we could get.

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  10. That storm was terrible. There will be permanent reminders of Ian as well. I love the elegance of that stitching and yes, the regular pet sitter is a godsend, I just hope there are not more weeks ahead like this last one. I;ve yet to see the final bill.

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  11. Ten years? It certainly doesn't seem as though it was that long ago.
    Re sashiko - I stumbled across a fun idea for using a sweatshirt and adding fabrics and covering it with sashiko which made me think of you because I remember you cutting sweatshirts open and making them into jackets (at least I'm pretty sure it was you!). I'd like to give it a whirl sometime but like a lot of other things, it's on the 'to do' list that never seems to get anywhere because I keep adding things to it.

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    1. Yes, I've cut sweatshirts and turtleneck sweaters to make useful jackets. It's one of those "quick" upcycles that take ages to get around to.

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