Hand Work. The Pleasure and the Pain.

Looking at the image above can you tell me which stitching is hand done?

My favorite kind of sewing is hand work. Hand appliqué, hand embroidery, hand quilting. The problem is that my hands are just not as strong as they used to be. Arthritis is taking a bit of a toll. Hand quilting through layers (the very definition of hand 'quilting'!) causes me the most pain. Several projects have languished because of the pain. Which brings me to my first playtime with the Babylock Sashiko 2. I began this small bag with plans to finish it in a weekend.....that was a long ago weekend!

Since this was a rather "slap-stitch" kind of project I decided that it be perfect for my first use of the machine. I had dithered about the BL Sashiko since they first came out...thinking that was way too much money for a "one stitch wonder sewing machine". That was before my hands began to balk at hand quilting.

It was fun experimenting with stitch length, spacing and various thread weights. The bag was finished quickly even with "experimenting time".

Would I have splurged on this machine if I could still hand quilt easily? Maybe. Maybe not. What I do know is that this machine is a boon to hands like mine. It saves times, produces a very nice looking result, and causes no pain. I am very happy that my Babylock Sashiko 2 is living with me! It will not replace the pride and pleasure that hand quilting brought me, but I am still able to enjoy those feelings through my hand embroidery and hand appliqué. They don't seem to stress my hands the same way that hand quilting does. So I still get the pleasure of hand work without the pain.

 

 

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