Wabi-Sabi Sewing Book Hop: Helping Hands

Welcome to the second stop on Karen Lewis' new Wabi-Sabi Sewing Book!  This book tour flows between blogs and Instagram accounts. Check out #wabisabisewing on Instagram to find posts related to the book.  'Wabi-Sabi' is a Japanese aesthetic celebrating beauty in that which is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. It embraces flaws, irregularities, wear-and-tear and finding contentment in what we have.  Karen has created twenty home decor projects embracing a wabi-sabi approach and covering a range of techniques (piecing, applique, sashiko for example).  She uses a variety of natural fibre textiles -barkcloth, linen, quilting cotton, denim- and a restrained colour palette to make a beautifully harmonious sewing book.   

I chose to make the Helping Hands mitten-style pot holder.  Part of the book's ethos is to use what you have so I used offcuts from a couple of projects- barkcloth from a dress and a heavy Art Gallery denim from a bag- along with thread, large eyelets, small hammer style rivets, leather, insulated fleece and wadding scraps all from my drawers and cupboards.

There are cutting plans, photos and diagrams alongside the written instructions so it's a quick, simple make. You can't tell from the book photos, but the upper section is shorter than the back section to make it easier for your hand to slide in.

I added some hand stitching in linen thread as I had such a lovely colour match, I couldn't resist fitting it in somewhere!  

I used a single rather than a double binding as the fabric was quite thick.

For me, Wabi-Sabi Sewing is a springboard type of a book where looking through it leads me on to make something inspired by it, so, after making Helping Hands,  I made another potholder- standard rather than gloved and with other fabric scraps.  This time I used linen left over from my Burnside Bibs and some Japanese print kitchen-themed scraps. I pinned the scrap on to the top layer, frayed the scrap edges and used running stitches and linen thread to attach one layer to another.

 I've recently been trying the Clover open-sided metal thimble for any hand sewing where I need a bit of push and I really like it!   It does leave a bit of a metallic scent on the skin but it is strong and with the adjustable prongs at the front, I found I could easily adjust it for a close fit.  I used a size M.

The quilting was the same sashiko stitches pushed through the layers.  The lines are a little wobbly and uneven as hand quilting is not my strongest sewing skill, but the effect is soft and textural.  For the loop, I used Prym snap pliers to cut out a little hole in the potholder corner and in the leather before slotting the small rivet pieces in and using a hammer to close them together. I've had these rivets for ages and I've put off using them as I wasn't really sure if I'd need a special too, but it turns out that a wack with a hammer is perfect!

Wabi-Sabi is such an appealing idea. We could all do with finding perfection in the imperfect, rather than constantly striving for more.  Wabi-Sabi Sewing is a lovely gentle book which guides you through the projects; nothing too challenging but still plenty to learn, and there are fast or slow makes depending on your mood.  The photos are pure eye candy with Karen's trademark blues, greys and mustards flowing through the imagery, gorgeous! I've got a copy of Wabi Sabi Sewing to giveaway today on Instagram today @verykerryberry and watch out for other's doing the same in the book tour.

Resources:
Large Eyelets
Small rivets
Wabi Sabi Sewing book - Amazon, Book Depository, signed copy
Insul fleece
Linen thread
Prym Vario Pliers
Clover metal thimble

Guesting at Quilt Story-Hexagon Handle Holder Tutorial

Today you will find me at Quilt Story,with a Holiday Tutorial starting the gift making season with an each project.  Heather and Megan have a great list of contributors- check them out here.

My tutorial is for a hexagon handle holder: a quick and easy make and perfect for scraps- especially those with a kitchen theme.  Let me know what you think over at  Quilt Story.

Thank you for lovely comments yesterday, I kept busy to keep thoughts from creeping in.  In fact I didn't stop either on the machine or the computer.  This project has been in my head like a crafting ear worm - (song that you can't get out of your head to the uninitiated).  I made a half log cabin wonky pot holder for a friend who has given me so many things and is an all round lovely.  She loves cooking so I put in lots of kitchen fabrics

On an aside, I spent ages working how to cut this image out from its background and I did it- if a little raggedy, I think I should've done something else so it has no background but next time I will nail that.  It is free photoshop type software on the oddly named Gimp. I used the magnetic scissors tool with this tutorial if you want to give it a try- warning it is a bit fiddly with a mouse.  

I made the potholder by drawing it out template style on paper first and then cutting round adding on seam allowances.  

Haven't done it this way before but I liked it.  A lot of prep initially but when it comes to sewing up, it is ready in minutes and you could reuse the pieces.  A little bit of masking tape reversed in a little sausage on the back of the paper pieces stops them moving when rotary cutting.

The backing is a bit of a carboot  find that I love.  I used a square spiral with 1/2 inch apart lines and used vanishing marker.  Nice and easy to do. And I had some matching thrift found plates to match!

Pot holder was inspired by this great find.

A Swedish translation from 1978 with so many great things inside and some stranger- quilted braille anybody?  There are odd copies for sale on Amazon

I will keep coming back to this book for more it is so packed full inspiration and ideas.

Enjoy today x