This is my third sashiko project and, perhaps, my favourite. It was purchased after I did my cranes; I think I was looking to purchase more thread when I came across this one. A couple of years after I made the purchase I attended a Guild demo on the technique. The instructor was showing various threads for the stitching and she had some beautiful thread colours. I immediately decided that was how I wanted to work this project.

I didn’t have any specific sashiko threa colours in my collection (only white) but I had a couple of sizes of pearl cotton. In the end I only used a few colours as some of the others blended too much and wouldn’t have been a noticeable change.

When I thought I was done I discovered a black and white photo of the panel and realized I was missing a bit of the tree theme in the colours I had chosen to work with. So I went back to the drawing board and, thanks to Stacia, I was able to get the stitches in almost the same spots as the original.

I was at a loss as to what I would do with it when it was finished. It is long and wide and I really didn’t have a surface it could cover or a spot on a wall that it would fit. Thanks to taking down one of my less-than-favourite wall hangings on my ceiling I found a spot for it.

I’ve been curious about yo yo’s for a while and picked out a much larger project to use them on. Past experience has taught me that I should start small if I’m using a new technique. I found this pattern online and, since I don’t have a spring/summer wreath for the door, I decided it would be a good teaching project.

Little did I know how quickly the yo yo’s would go together. Stacia sent me a yo yo maker which I used for the smaller yo yo’s. Between my friend and I we had five different sizes of yo yo’s to choose from; this wreath uses a mid-size and the largest size.

Although I used the maker for most of the yo yo’s there were times when I didn’t cut my stitching thread long enough and Gail showed me how I could finish them after they were removed from the maker – good information to have.

I found two wreaths at the thrift store for $1 each; Gail made one using Christmas fabrics. We were playing with the placement of the yo yo’s on the wreaths when Gail suggested we use the large-head pins to attach them rather than the glue gun. It made a perfect finish.