treasure. hunting.

I sort of needed the oatmeal.

But I needed the package even more!

First place.

森下圭子　Keiko Morishita.  樹海 Ocean of trees.  First place, traditional quilt category.

After taking a trip to Hokkaido, she could not forget the quiet and depth of the forest there, and recreated it in basic squares.  But in order to convey the far depth and heaviness, she put the seam allowances on the front, and to prevent fraying, all pieces were cut on the bias.

From a distance, it looks like a regular quilt.  But up close…

The pieces are what you normally see on the back of a quilt top.  Look closely, and you can see how all pieces were cut on the bias (to prevent fraying), and the seam allowances show on the front.  The quilt was finished in a regular way–quilted, and with a solid backing.

The quilt seemed to have a magnetic attraction to fingers and the tapping of rolled-up programs, despite signs on both sides asking not to touch.

This is why I go to the show at least twice.

Because I miss quilts like this the first time I go!

How??!!

I wanted to scan this into my brain and never forget…but I guess that is what digital cameras are for.

Pretty much unforgettable.

Ms. Takasaki collected the different (solid-color) tenugui cloths from her town, and then combined them with different fabrics to create a feeling of people gathering for a festival.

The photo set continues to grow!

Tokyo Great International Quilt Festival 2010 (III): Miyoko Murata

Most people who went to the Tokyo Great International Quilt Festival 2009, or looked at my Flickr set from that show will remember Miyoko Murata’s haunting piece, “a wind of memory”. As expected, she was back this year, with another expression of such beauty that it took my breath away.

“Through”.  She received a piece of fabric from an antiques dealer (the bird in the upper right corner is a family crest, or “kamon”), and used it in this quilt, in the “wind”-themed part of the invitational exhibit.  She values relationships with other people, and wonders when, at what time, she will be able to feel a wind (blow) her way again.

Edge detail.  Different pieces of lace were attached all along the edge.  You never know what you might find.

a heart,

a glimmer,

birds,

beads,

layers,

and lace.  What treasures her studio must hold!

Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2010 (II)

Just when my brain was overloaded with images, along came the optical illusions.

When I walked past this one, and looked at it from a short distance, I saw a lot of off-center, black-and-white log cabins.  Somewhat interesting.  Then I backed up and saw what I was really looking at:

See what I see?  I cross section of…the brain.  Confirmed by the quilt description.

I had the pleasure of walking through the invitational portion of the show with Jan, and when I could not see the message in this quilt close-up, with its riot of color and dancing drops of water, she told me, “Look through your view finder!”

Sure enough, it came into focus:  “H2O”.  :-)

More to share tomorrow! The Flickr set is growing.

Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2010 (I)

There were:

fresh ideas,

movement,

color,

technical mastery,

innovation,

explorations of machine and hand quilting and embroidery in the same quilt,

texture,

warmth and elegance,

friends,

and new work from old(er) masters.

On the way home this evening, I tried to write down some of my impressions and feelings about the show, both specific and general.  I saw many new interpretations of the “Wa” (Japanese) quilt category, a big trend towards texture (in a mix of hand embroidery next to machine quilting, in trapunto, in understated 3-D effects achieved with gauze and applique, textural/thread/yarn-like embellishments), whimsy in theme and execution, beautiful “My Room” exhibit featuring famous professional quilters (where photography was finally allowed!), charming and sometimes emotional or somber stories about the quilts and quiltmakers, and an always, always impressive mix of technical proficiency, clever use of color, and subtle-yet-intricate details in borders, settings, and quilting styles that make Japanese quilts and quilt makers stand out from the crowd.

I will add more posts here and photographs in my Flickr set in the coming days. Jan and I were doing a good job of filling our camera memory cards today, so hopefully these pictures will give you a small taste of this truly amazing show.

hand piecing (4)

An antique block purchased at the Tokyo quilt show last year.  To me, inspiration is found at the intersection of imperfection and charm.  It comes from patchwork pieces that are themselves pieced;

fabrics that may coordinate, but perhaps not;

the hand stitches that produce a soft seam that cannot be reproduced by machine;

the patterns that reflect not a designer or a fabric line, but the soul of the maker;

a piece of fabric in the palm of my hand that is from a particular point in time, yet remains timeless in its own way.  Maybe this is the way that handwork breathes, and maintains a pulse across generations in a way that mass produced goods never will.

(The first block has a fraternal twin, now in the care of my friend Jan, who managed to find me by chance in the back of a bookstore on Monday in this city of almost 13 million people. Best not to try to explain things that defy explanation–it was quite an incredible day).

hand piecing (3)

All I need to hand piece:  Gutermann 100% cotton thread (I used to use Aurifil, which is beautiful and silky, but more prone to breakage), size 10 sharps needles (size 12 glides through fabric the best, but it is hard to thread those tiny needles!), one or two pins, a thimble (I alternate between a regular silver one and the little one from Clover that fits perfectly over the knuckle), and scissors (over five years of use, and these precious little Scherenkonig scissors from Tilde are as perfect as they were on day one).   To this photo, I would add my large scissors for cutting fabric, and my metal templates from Clover.  Next time!

Five days until the quilt show…there will be a special exhibit of antique quilts from the Allentown museum in Pennsylvania, a “My Room”-themed exhibition space for Keiko Goke, Yoko Saito, Reiko Washizawa, and others, and the invitational theme this year is the flow of water, wind, and light. Can’t wait!

hand piecing (2)

Can you guess the pattern I am making?  Tumbling blocks!  But they don’t look like tumbling blocks yet, because I am piecing them differently from how one might expect.  First, I will never English paper piece again in this lifetime.  Papers, basting, needless whipstitching, awkward ways to join units together…I could go on.  And I might, in another post.  :-)

Instead of piecing these in a three-piece “block” unit, I am using Jinny Beyer’s method, from her book Quiltmaking by Hand.  First, I piece a regular 6-pointed star (join the three pieces of the top of the star, the three pieces at the bottom of the star, then piece those 2 units together to complete the star.  Next, I add the remaining six diamonds around the outside, in one continuous line, without cutting my thread.  Easy!  (Really!)

They will come together like this, in easily managed hexagon blocks.  For now, I am keeping the units separate, to play with color layout later.  Here are four units, placed together:

A digital camera is useful for doing a “squint test” to see how the colors are coming together.  If you look at the thumbnail size, it is the same as if you were stepping way back from a design wall, or using a reducing glass.

Six days until the quilt show!  Today I am so happy for Sharilyn and her beautiful feature in Better Homes & Gardens. Congratulations!