Playing with Bunka Thread

 Our older daughter has lived in Japan for more than 30 years. She originally went there as a missionary church planter with her NZ husband, and all three of her children were born in Japan. For the last decade or so, she has been involved with education, both teaching and administration, in international schools.  

Over the years, we have been recipients of some lovely Japanese items with their unique craftsmanship. One year our daughter gave me a couple of Japanese embroidery kits.

These kits were quite different to the norm and I discovered they were meant to be worked using a punch-needle. I had tried punch-needle at one time and wasn’t very pleased with the results. I probably could have improved with practice but I didn’t really enjoy the process. It seemed to me a ‘cheat’s method’ of getting embroidery done quickly, while I like the slow journey of small stitches gradually building up a picture.

 

So, instead of doing punch-needle I decided to use the unique thread to embroider the picture with long and short satin stitch. Used this way, it becomes a form of thread-painting and I was quite thrilled with the result. The Bunka thread is a beautiful Rayon with a wonderful sheen. It is like a tubular knitted chain and is similar to the threads on tassels such as on a mortar board. To use it for embroidery, you pull on the end and it unchains itself to half the thickness or so. The pulled thread is like crepe with curliness and extends the thread by a lot – 3 or 4 times as much – so is very economical. The thing I love most is the wonderful shading that can be gained from using these threads.

 I finished the above kit some years ago, and made it into a bag for our daughter.

The other kit has been hidden in the cupboard with just a little done. It’s been the project I pick up if there is nothing else happening in my craft world. I found it again a few weeks ago and had a real hankering just to keep working on it. (I think I need new glasses [or my cataracts have worsened!] as I’ve had to use the magnifier a lot lately, but I can manage without that to use the Bunka thread in this kit, so that’s a bonus until I get to the optometrist.)

I really do love red roses!

I'm enjoying the process of using this lovely Bunka thread to do my own style of embroidery.

Meanwhile, thank you to all those who have commented about or joined the Gentle Gems 2021 Hexies of the Month Programme. In case you missed it, you can read about it here.

Happy stitching,

Val

Gentle Gems - 2021 Hexies of the Month

You have already heard that I had a monthly project planned for 2021, but it was not a normal "Block of the Month" quilt. That's because it is comprised of HEXAGONS! So let me introduce you to

Gentle Gems

2021 Hexies of the Month Wall Hanging

 

Gentle Gems:

• is designed to use up your scraps.
• has hexagons which require only small pieces of fabric for the backing/borders and appliqués.
• is portable - no sewing machine required.
• is full of appliqué and embroidery.
• has 22 hexagons, so the programme will run from January - November, with two hexagon patterns sent each month.
• has designs each month which are complete in themselves.
• can be stitched together to make a wall-hanging or to form whatever shape you choose. 
• could give you the opportunity to try out a few new embroidery stitches.
• measures 12¾ in x 33½ in (32 cm x 85 cm) and the individual hexagons are 4½ in x 5¼ in (11.5 cm x 13.5 cm).

I decided to use the word "Gentle" in the title, because it seems to me that in these uncertain times, doing some quiet, soothing stitching as in this project, helps bring a sense of peace and rest. Then, don't you think these sweet hexagons are like "Gems", each one shining like a little jewel?

The 22 hexagon patterns will be available at a cost of just $1.50 each, and I think you will agree that this is a bargain. 

However, if you sign up for the whole design, you will receive MORE THAN 50% OFF, with a cost of just $15 for all 22 hexagon patterns.

Join the 2021 Gentle Gems Hexies of the month full programme at the cost of $15:

Here are the two Hexie patterns for January: 

Apples:

and Wheelbarrow:

If you wish to purchase the Apple Hexie pattern separately, go here:

If you wish to purchase just the Wheelbarrow Hexie pattern, go here:

Thank you to my kind blog readers who expressed their care for me following last week's post. I really appreciate the love and concern you have shown. Unfortunately, I have not been able to reply by email to everyone as some of you are "No Reply-comment bloggers" which does not allow me to see your email address. I have responded instead to your comment underneath that blog post. Thank you to all who have said they will pray for me - wow, that blows my mind and fills me with hope!

Val

Living one day at a time in 2021

Happy New Year! I gave up making new year’s resolutions many years ago, for the simple reason, and I don’t think I am alone, that after a few days most of the resolve to keep the resolutions has gone out the window!

 And I don’t have any big plans for 2021 either! The older I have grown, the more I realise how fragile life is, and living one day at a time definitely seems to be the best way for me to tackle life now. I have plenty of dreams and aspirations, but my life is in God’s hands and so I trust Him to direct my steps each day.  

Within your heart you can make plans for your future, but the Lord chooses the steps you take to get there. Proverbs 16:9 (Passion translation).

In the past, I have refrained from publicly sharing my personal situation, but it seems the right time now to explain why it is so necessary for me to live just one day at a time. My brilliant, clever, quick-witted, wonderful husband - gifted lecturer, College principal, author, preacher, who has given his life in Christian service to others - the love of my life for 54¾ years, has dementia.

I’ve been through all the emotions imaginable over the last four or five years – the heartbreak of knowing that the man you married no longer exists, the grief of seeing a brilliant mind reduced to not even a shadow of what it was, the frustration that he cannot remember that he had a meal two minutes earlier, the distress of his now more frequent asking where Val is, or asking me to phone his wife, and the tension of trying to find diversional tactics so that he will not get agitated and upset when I cannot fulfil the impossible requests he makes, like his urgent plea for me to “take him to his home” while he waits in the comfortable house that we have called home for ten years.

I hope that helps in understanding why my craft output is so much reduced these days and my blog posts have been scarce!

I should add that, while hubby is eligible to enter a facility with full nursing care, it is my choice to care for him 24/7 at home while I am able. I am ever so thankful for our wonderful Australian government that gives support in the form of a Home Care Package with help with showering, vacuuming, mopping and mowing. We are blessed to live in Australia!

I am thankful that most nights I can still sit in my recliner and do some stitching. Being creative is so soul-restoring after a hard day! Small designs are much more attainable for me than big quilts, so over the last couple of years, in between other bits and pieces, I have been putting together some sweet little patterns. It has now come together as a wall-hanging which I have called "Gentle Gems", and I am able to present it as my 2021 monthly project. The plan is to release the patterns on the second Sunday of the month - so it all begins next Sunday, January 10th.

It is designed to use up your scraps, is full of applique and embroidery, it’s portable – no sewing machine required – and maybe you will learn a few new stitches. Make sure you come back next week to see the full design!

Warm regards

Val