I have recently been seeing some gorgeous images on Instagram of a hand stitching technique called kantha stitching. It's a form of embroidery with roots in India. The link is to the Wikipedia explanation and history of the term.
The Insta-friend I've most admired is another Jayne - from Texas and she spells her name correctly - the same as I do. *wink*
We have posted a couple of messages back and forth, and from scrolling through her pictures, I have gained quite a bit of background on some social media groups doing little projects like mug rugs, greeting cards and bookmarks.
Don't you know I just had to give it a try!
I imagine I am doing a few things wrong, but for a first attempt I am thoroughly pleased with this effort. I have a whole bunch of DMC embroidery floss, but I think most "masters" at kantha use perle cotton #8. I have not yet figured out the finishing part - do I bind this? Turn under the edges and whipstitch? I have much yet to learn.
I intend to play around with this and try more possibilities. It's an easy thing to do while watching baseball with DH. If you IG, then check out some relevant hashtags - #kantha or #libertysocietykanthastitchalong are two that I found which contained beautiful inspiration.
Here's a shout-out to @jayneellender - my new Texas IG friend. She doesn't know it, but she has inspired me! She has been steadily producing simple scripture-based, inspirational greetings on her bookmarks and cards. Watching her become increasingly more confident and skilled has been a fascinating learning experience for me.
I hope I never get to a point where I don't want to learn new things. I can't even imagine ever getting to that point. I have a bucket list of things I want to learn - and this wasn't even on it!
Happy Quilting, Friends!
That looks really interesting. Good on you for tackling something new, that is supposed to keep us young ;)
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