Sunday 17 November 2013

International Quilt Week Yokohama 2013 - More quilts

They talk about armchair travelling, I hope this report can be a bit like armchair quilt show visiting.

I find it hard to do the quilt show in just one day, which is why I made a second visit, even though I saw so much more in the company of my friend Julie. Do head over to My Quilt Diary and read her take on the show.

I have some more pictures for you today.
Julie showed the giant quilts that are displayed high up near the entrance.
They are double sided and watch over visitors, exhibitors and traders alike. I have not yet been able to find out how they have been made or by whom.
Unlike the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival held every year in January at Tokyo Dome, this show in Yokohama is not so crowded; there is plenty of space between stands and visiting is therefore stress free and most enjoyable.

An annual event is the Mini Mini quilt challenge. The participants are given three pieces of fabric that must be included, even in the tiniest amount,  to make a basket quilt of the size 20 x 20 cm. 784 quilts were submitted this year.
 Sometimes it is easy to spot the fabric, in other quilts you need to look and look and look. Spot that print! Great fun!
Ms Morita made a traditional mini quilt.
Did Ms Yanagiya/Yanagitani (uncertain about spelling, sorry) portrait her sewing basket?
 我妻-san (Ms Agatsuma?) made this charming picture, there is even some slash quilt technique in it.

Two quilt categories that feature more in Japan than I think in other countries are Bags and Wear.

The award ceremony is rather formal with speeches, fanfares, hand clapping, bowing and handing out of diplomas and prizes.
Now let's look at some more quilts from the contest.

Wa-quilts, that means quilts made on a Japanese theme or with Japanese fabric.
'Murasaki no yukari', a friendship quilt hand stitched in purple kimono silk by a group led by Masako Masukura.
紫の縁*桝蔵昌子 他

Fashion of all sorts has always been of great interest and even in Wa-quilts do costumes feature.
'Koiki ni yosou Edo Mood' (or something like that!) by Yoshiko Takagi. The quilting line is also very Japanese, don't you think?
小粋に装う江戸モード*高木良子

'Wakoyomi (kimono de juni ka getsu)'. Mieko Suzuki and her friends made a block for each month of the year with an appropriate kimono, flower and celebration. Here you can see camellias and a thick kimono for January, plum blossoms for February, cherry petals are falling onto the sake picnic in April and in May, Boys' Day is celebrated in a light purple kimono (with iris pattern) among the blossoming iris flowers...
 和暦(着物で十二ヶ月)*鈴木三枝子 他

Cats, dogs, one's home, food and travelling are also very popular themes in Japan, as is text. Here are a few examples:
Home
'My Favourite Things' by Yuka Kimura (Contemporary category). Can you spot the Swedish wooden horses (Dalahäst) and the cat?
My Favourite Things*木村由香
There should be no problem spotting the cats in this quilt: 'Uchi no nyanko' by Junko Inui
家のにゃんこ*乾順子
Dogs
What do you think of this life like pictorial quilt? The dog is almost about to jump at those soap bubbles:
'Chasing Bubbles' by Hiroko  and Masanobu Miyama
Chasing Bubbles*深山公子*深山雅庸
Food, or in this case, sweets:
'Sweet! Delicious! Very Happy!' by Yoshiko Kuroyanagi and of course she has included some text for accent.
'Sweet! Delicious! Very Happy!'*黒柳佳子
Travelling
'Akogare no Istanbul' by Yukiko Ishiduka

あこがれのイスタンブル*石塚由紀子

So what about quilts with a modern touch.
In celebration of the fashionable eyelashes? or just a plea to 'open your eyes and look', 'Youku miru to' by Miyuki Moriyasu
Please note that the black and white background is PIECED! By HAND! No wonder you need to 'open your eyes and look'!
よおーく見ると*盛安美幸
Let us end with an entry from Australia, 'Beyond Art Deco Glass' by Patricia Reid
If you read yesterday's post you know all about the white chains that make it so hard to take good photographs. My apologies for not showing whole quilts, but mainly details.

17 comments:

margaret said...

more wonderful quilts to see. I am amazed at how different they are from the kind of thing we do here, or at least others do here!! The extra large ones must have bveen difficult t do being so extremely large Also the mini ones but their difficulty is the opposite extreme being so fiddly as they are so small Love the sewing basket one. Also very drawn to the cat ones and the dog with the children is so very like like, a lovely collection. Did you enter one Queenie and if so which is it?

Debbie said...

Thanks for the quilt show! Great photos, Carin!

Stitching Lady said...

I am again in awe of the quilts of the Tokyo Quilt Show. Thank you, Queenie, for showing all these wonderful works.

Cynthia@wabisabiquilts said...

I really enjoyed this sampling of the show. Thanks indeed for allowing us to be armchair quilt show travelers!

Queeniepatch said...

There are so few quilts from overseas quilters in these Japanese contest that everything has a 'Japanese' flavour.
It is extremely popular to belong to a quilt group, often run by a 'teacher' or 'master' quilter and the students follow that style.
The large quilts must be a nightmare to hoist and store. I guess they were made in parts and stitched together.
Mini-mini quilts are extremely difficult if you want to do something impressive. A simple 'pot holder' design, and the quilt is made quickly.
Yes, I have a quilt in the show and I will blog about that tomorrow. You might recognise it!

Queeniepatch said...

I am glad you liked them.

Queeniepatch said...

You mean the YOKOHAMA show? They were great, but I guess the really fantastic ones have been saved for the TOKYO show in January.

Queeniepatch said...

I hope you are comfy in the armchair. Take a seat again tomorrow when I will show more!

Annet said...

Thanks again for the eye candy. It's bee years ago since I visited a quiltshow, so it's nice to see it through your camera!

Lis Harwood said...

Oh, thank you for that final quilt where I could rest my eyes! What a bright and wonderful show it looks, such a wide range of quilts and other items. It seems much more calm than the Tokyo show as you say, room to breathe. Thank you for the armchair visits :-)

Queeniepatch said...

Oh, I am glad to have given you this chance of a visit! Later today I am offering a last visit to see the Miniatures.

Queeniepatch said...

The hall was calm and restful but the quilts were vibrant with colour and details.

Julie Fukuda said...

There is little left on my camera that you haven't shown better. I think perhaps, because the "week" is only three days, fewer vendors bother to attend ... especially those coming from overseas. That may be the reason for the more spacious viewing areas. I admit I liked that feature.

Pamela said...

Thanks for sharing! Maybe next year I can attend. I'll look forward to your post showing your quilt.

Queeniepatch said...

I just hope that the vendors make ends meet and come back next year. Quilts shows is a good chance to get hold of many things 'under one roof'. Physical shops are thinning out and online shopping is always a bit of a gamble if you have not seen the goods beforehand. Now I will go and treat my thread to some new Thread Heaven conditioner!

carorose said...

Fantastic quilts. Your photos are great. Thank you for sharing with us.

https://linsartyblobs.blogspot.com said...

Wow, so many great quilts. The pictorial quilt is amazing.