Stitching Joy: A Week of Community with the Sashiko Stitch Challenge

A deep breath in, the pull of thread through fabric. A deep breath out, the snip of sharp scissors.

Few things are as satisfying as being immersed in the meditative rhythm of slow stitching - except, perhaps, for the enjoyment of those beautiful sights and sounds with the addition of friendship. And that's what we experienced early in February as we enjoyed another round of the Sashiko Stitch Challenge, with stitchers of all experience levels joining together and taking on the challenge of creating a mini hana fukin using a variation on the Juji Hana Zashi, or Flower Cross Stitch.

In our Challenge, more than 2500 people shared a focused, supportive energy as we worked through this project one step at a time, learning one small piece of the puzzle each day via pre-recorded video tutorials. The real magic, though, happened in our daily Zoom gatherings, where people got to ask questions and we could use our combined knowledge as a group to troubleshoot and work out solutions. I love to stitch on my own, but these sessions have been such a great reminder that when we get together like this, our shared experience is more than the sum of our parts.

Along with sharing our successes in the group, many of the stitchers have found it so helpful to see other people showing what they are struggling with. We can put a lot of pressure on ourselves when we are learning something to be really good at it, right away - and to be honest, that's just not realistic. It's normal to struggle when we start with something, so having a community space where we can see that we aren't the only person who drew the grid a little crooked, or had to pull out rows of stitching, or had a tough time getting the tension right can help relieve that pressure to be perfect and remind us that our work can still be beautiful, even if we make some mistakes along the way.

A special thank you goes out to all of the Sashiko Stitch Challenge participants who took part in our Challenge, and shared not only their photos with us, but the learning as well. We can't help but show off some of the wonderful hana fukins that were made, so you can find photos from our members below.

Margaret Griffiths: 

 Baiba Jautaike | @baibasworkshop

Beth M.

Stephanie | @wabisabimooncat

Donatella Graziani

 Maria Rebelo | @myotherarts

Sharon Raymond

Penny Pettey

Cris Gorissen

Melinda Soules

Claire C

Donna Ratigan

Joanne Seruto | @stitchinggmajo

Rhonda Gladden

Suzanne R.

Karen O'Toole | @MycotaFiberArts

Jo C.

Lauren D.

Vickie Castaldi | @vickievcalifornia

And if you missed out on our live challenge, we do have an on-demand challenge that you can join in on here - the pattern is slightly different, but just as fun and fulfilling!