April OMG complete : Sashiko Dishtowels

Hi everyone -- hope you and yours are safe and healthy.

I'm so happy to report that I completed my April OMG to embroider a pair of dishtowels with sashiko patterns! Here's where I was the start of the month:

First I had to decide which pattern to use, which would then determine which way I would mark the fabric.

I chose the grass pattern for one, and the angled seven treasures for the other. Marking "grass" was straightforward -- I just used a white chalk pencil to trace the stencil. Marking "seven treasures" was ... well, it felt like MAGIC. I used this pattern and a chalk pounce pad and THE PATTERN JUST TRANSFERRED. It was NUTTY.

I started with the grass pattern, which was pretty straightforward. And then I started to stitch the seven treasures. Full disclosure: the towel sat there marked for a couple of weeks before I picked it back up to stitch. And within a few minutes of starting to stitch ALL THE MARKING WAS GONE.

I thought, okay, well, let me remark it -- maybe the marking just fell off while it was tucked in my project bag. So I got out the pattern and the chalk pouncer thing, remarked the pattern, admired how easy it was to mark, and went back to the couch to stitch.

And within minutes all the chalk was gone. I think that method works GREAT for people machine stitching, or stitching in a stretched frame. But with hand embroidery -- and especially hand embroidery when you smoosh multiple stitches onto the needle at once -- almost all the chalk just fell off.

So back to the drawing (marking?) board, where I used the chalk pencil to mark the intersections and corners that I could either see or estimate. And I decided that that would have to be good enough.

Several hours of stitching later, and it was done. Note that I'm not going to show you the towels close up so you can see how uneven my stitching is.

I'm happy with my first attempt at marking my own pattern, and embroidering these towels. Anyway, I think the recipient will be pleased with them, and I hope she actually uses them.

The One Monthly Goal link-up is organized by Elm Street Quilts with the idea that we can just focus on one task and make progress. You can see how everyone did in their April projects on the Finish Party page! Or choose an OMG project of your own and join us in May. I still haven't decided what to pick up next, though it may be A QUILT. Well, quilt related, anyway. We'll see!

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal - April Finish Link-up