I’ve been making holes in my fingers again this weekend while making my first attempt at sashiko quilting. It is a simplified version of the fan pattern. I didn’t have enough blue fabric that was fairly loosely woven so I used green instead.
As I couldn’t find a local shop to buy the authentic supplies I used the suggested alternatives of cotton perle embroidery thread and chenille needles. Something wasn’t quite right with my combination of supplies, I had the devil of a job getting the eye of the needle with the double thickness of thread to go through 3 layers of fabric. I ended up using my thimble as a battering ram and then a circle of grippy plastic that usually lives in the kitchen for opening stubborn jam jars to get enough grip on the needle to pull it all the way through 
I missed a few stitches on the back and I blame it on the generally adverse conditions under which I was working!
From the front the stitches look pretty good though – quite evenly sized. Not bad for a first attempt.
I was intending doing a bit more than just the bare minimum for this activity but I have decided to find an internet supplier for the genuine supplies before doing any more. Then I can see what I should be looking for as an alternative. I have a good resource book called the Ultimate Sashiko Sourcebook by Susan Briscoe that I bought at a quilt show. It explains really well how to work the various traditional designs over a basic grid. Lots of inspiration just browsing the book.
