Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Summertime Simplicity


The temperature here has spiked into the 90's and just like last summer, my desire to make heavy quilted pieces has been replaced with the urge to stitch simple lightweight Pojagi patchwork.


For those of you who may be new to my blog, or those of you like myself with memory that isn't always the best, Pojagi, (also known as Bojagi or Bojaki) and pronounced Po-Jah-ki, is a very old form of Korean patchwork.


I adore Pojagi for so many reasons...


It is simplicity at its best. A thin patchwork cloth. All seams enclosed. Both sides beautiful.


When held to the light it becomes transformed.


Eco-friendly in nature, Pojagi is often used for the practical purpose of a wrapping cloth, such as to wrap a small gift item, or to wrap and carry ones lunch, (once unwrapped it serves as a place mat).

Now I ask you... what's not to love about Pojagi?!

To see a wonderful video featuring the acclaimed Korean Pojagi Artist, Chunghie Lee and how she has pushed the boundaries of this ancient form of stitch work, go here.

You can see my past Pojagi work here, and stay tuned for more, as Pojagi is what I plan to be stitching all summer long!

PS. Yes, my blog break is officially over!

35 comments:

Abby and Stephanie said...

Summer, stripey goodness. Looking forward to all of your summer creations.

Vicki W said...

Oh wow, that's fabulous!

Angela said...

Victoria, thank you very much for this, I did not know about pojagi at all. Watched the video, and saw all of your pictures, I am amazed. I love this, I really do. Your pieces, as always, are beautiful.

Mary Keasler said...

Sssssweet. As well as incredibly lovely.

andie said...

Wow! I really want to try this. Yours are beautiful. What do you do when seams cross or overlap? Does it get really thick there? Maybe I just need to give it a try.

Diane J. Evans said...

Lovely! And so perfect for summer. So glad you're back!

Diane

Victoria said...

Thanks to each of you. :)

Angela, so happy to share something new with you!

Andie, good question! Generally thin fabrics are used, which cuts down on the bulk of overlapping seams. So far, I have used light weight muslin, Kaffe Fassett's woven shot cottons and ikats and right now I am workig with some very light weight cotton lawn. However I am thinking about using some quilt weight cottons in an upcoming project... we will see how that goes!

Gina said...

Good to see you back. A beautiful piece of work as always.

Nat at Made in Home said...

That is amazing! Need to learn more about Pojagi!

Leslie said...

this is gorgeous....i need to look into those gorgeous finished seams....i could make a tablecloth!!!!

Jackie Russell said...

I'm so glad your blog break is over. Looking forward to your new works. I have never seen this before. Will you be sharing how you do this? Maybe a book or website?

Jackie Russell said...

I found your post on how you create the seams.

Victoria said...

Thanks again. xo

Leslie, yes a table cloth, exactly what I have been thinking of doing after I finish up some smaller projects. (Great minds think alike, huh?!)

Jackei, glad you found it as I forgot to mention... if you google 'pojagi tutorial' you will get a link to how I sew my seams.

Nifty Quilts said...

It's so nice to see your new work--beautiful, as always! I'll look forward to more Pojagi, seeing yours and perhaps joining you in making some. Did you know there is a show coming up in San Francisco? It's at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art from 6/17-10/22. It looks like Chunghie Lee is a big part of it. Loved the video too!

Anonymous said...

Summertime blues, fun and cooling. xox Corrine

Colleen MacDonald said...

Oh to experience summer heat; I hope it comes our way soon! Your stripey pojagi is incredibly lovely; you're right, there's everything to love about it!

Karin på Ösäter said...

I don´t know how I can stop my self from learning more about pojangi now. It looks great, simplicity, quiet harmony.
It´s hard to find right words in a language I´m not use to.
Karin på Ösäter

Allie said...

I ADORE this one - love them all but love this best. Glad your break is over, I've missed you!

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

So glad to have you back!! Love this pojagi, I love them all.
glen

Fer said...

Oh so lovely@

Elsa said...

I've been wondering where you were.
The Pojagi is wonderful! I've been wanting to do one of these for a while now. Guess I'll have to stop wanting and do it!

patty a. said...

Love the stripes! Hope you had a wonderful break!

Cheryl Arkison said...

I feel the need for this kind of summer sewing too. I say this as I handstitch a binding on a hot day!

Sujata Shah said...

Another classic from you! Looks beautiful. I am drawn to the simplicity of this artworks of yours. They are always inspiring to me!

Corinnea said...

I was thinking about your Pojagi last week..... I have some beautiful linen just waiting in the wings.

Hope you had a wonderful break! Nice to see you back.

Candied Fabrics said...

Victoria! This is lovely - so light and airy...and those seams! Love them!

Funky's Mama said...

Beautiful. I think I just added a new project to my bucket list...

XUE said...

Yippee! You're back! And with a super Pojagi furoshiki !!!

Karen said...

simply beautiful...

Sewhappy said...

I am so happy that you are back, and what a great start. I ove the way the stripes look. Oh I wish it could be summer here, I long for warmth.

Unknown said...

i love it. simple things are so difficult to do. Brava!

Rachel said...

Victoria, I have really enjoyed seeing all your pojagi creations and, yesterday, I had my first go at making some myself, using the method 2 from your tute. Thank you so much, for both the inspiration and the information - I really enjoyed the technique and can see myself doing lots more pojagi in the future!
Rachel

Deborah said...

Lovely and perfect for summer.

MaryLu said...

What a lovely piece of patchwork! What method do you use to enclose your seams? Are they flat fell, or turned back and stitched down as in the darker chambray one you posted recently?
I really love the look of these things, much different than a layered and quilted quilt runner.
Thank you for sharing.

Victoria said...

Thank you so much everyone for you comments!

MaryLu, you can find my tutorial for how to machine stitch 2 different types of seams for creating your own pojagi patchwork here.

(I also finally put a link to it on my sidebar.)