Seeking Bliss through Stitch

I’ve been working on the flower panels for weeks (months?) already, but I feel like I’ve finally gotten started, now that the Kawandi inspired assembly process has begun. I’ve been putting other things ahead of it for a long time, but on July 15 I sorted fabrics and got started.

Handloom fabrics and Fruitti threads were sorted by value: lights, mediums and darks. I could spend every day of my life sorting and petting this fabric. And the thread with it. OMG. My plan is to start with the lightest colors on the outer edge, getting gradually darker towards the center.

I laid the backing out on my living room floor, wrong side up, and centered the batting on it. (Thanks, Hobbs! I’m working with Tuscany cotton wool blend, my second favorite batting.) I used several safety pins to secure the batting in place. This is not the ideal job when you have 3 little dogs in the house, but we persist.

Can you believe this? I can’t wait to have it hanging on my wall, finished.

Next I pinned the prepared backing to my design wall and positioned the floral panels. I used a Frixion pen to mark the corners of the panels right on the backing. I don’t want to handle the panels any more than I have to.

I cut two strips from each of the fabrics in the light value stack. One around 3”, one around 4”. I assembled my sewing kit. It’s such a simple setup. Scissors, needle, pins, thimble, gripper and thread. I love that about the Kawandi inspired technique - the simplicity and low barrier to entry.

Then it was time to get stitching. Woohoo! My favorite part! I can be quiet, and sit with my doggies cuddled against me and still be productive. I just love the process so much.

This is where I’m at as of this moment. I’ve done some stitching every day, and gone around 7 times. After I get around the outer edge, I stitch an X as my first stitch of the day. That way I can see how far I go each day. It’s very subtle, and I like it a lot. This is about 15 days of progress. Some days I work for hours, and some days it is just 15 minutes. I think I’m ready to start adding in the medium colors to the mix of fabrics.

Fun facts

Started with a 60” square batting

Backing is Double gauze. I went with this gorgeous print by Nani Iro in both black and white, because I couldn’t decide.

Favorite supplies can be found here.

Please feel free to ask questions. I enjoy making video content to answer the questions. You can find a lot of info on my YouTube channel.

Special thanks to Windham for providing me with Handloom fabrics for this project, Hobbs for providing batting and Wonderfil for the threads. It is amazing to be so supported by my industry partners.