Sunbonnet Sue Update

 I am still lagging behind with my Sunday Stitch School Revision homework, which is why there was no report last Friday. 

Instead of a new set of stitches, I will today show you the back of the Sunbonnet Sue stitch sampler in progress:

The aim is to have the homework done by Friday...

WIPW - Lagging Behind

Work In Progress Wednesday report is skinny this week.

I am lagging behind with my stitching. The Sunbonnet Sue design is drawn and prepared, but no stitching has been done yet. I will not meet the homework deadline by Friday!

Hexablooms

I have cut out old pieces of cardboard to make more hexagon templates. More white and metallic fabric has been basted over some cardboard pieces.

I am still working on attaching the row of blocks, mentioned last week, to the flimsy.

No need to comment.

The 18th Quilt Nihon Exhibition, Part 5

Finally, it is time for the last report, and it is on the Miniature Category.

First out is the winner of the category, 小方由美子. 

The quilt is called 華 (ka), which can be translated: 1) flashiness, brilliance, 2) bloom, flower, 3) China.

No 2 seems appropriate as there are appliquéd flowers, but the real reason the quilt won the First Prize must be No 1, brilliance.

 Why? 

Well, the quilt is small, 34 x 34 cm, and the material is 'chirimen', the tricky silk crêpe. 

In the picture below, look closely at the border, consisting of no fewer than eight thin strips of chirimen. We can clearly see the different weaves of crêpe, which all fray easily and can be a nightmare to handle. The appliquéd circles, as well as the hexagon and rhombus parts, are also minute and impeccable. The binding is so thin it looks like piping. 

The technical skills needed for such fine work are well worth a Gold Medal.

Here is another quilt with tiny parts in the piecing and appliqué. Created by 椋橋芳子.

What can be said about this quilt? Well, if you didn't know the size (55 x 55 cm), you would think it is a large wall quilt.

近康予made good use of her sewing machine's fancy embroidery stitches. I like how she has created the  White Horses, or whitecaps, of the waves with Feather Stitch quilting.

With the aid of her sewing machine and a good portion of patience, 加瀬サト子, excelled in making sharp points.

Notice the gradual angle of the five swirls, how the one in the middle is almost square compared to the two at the edges.

花岡順子 worked by hand to make this little charmer (25 x 25 cm).

木藤紀子loves hexagons and proves that she can make small appliquéd dots.

The quilting motifs in this small whole cloth quilt are all Japanese symbols. East meets West. 石井智美

Q: What is the size of this quilt? A: 42 x 42 cm. 

Q: What's the title? A: My Star of Bethlehem.

Q: Who quilted it? A: 菅谷由希子(Sugaya Yukiko)

There are plenty of details to drool over.

Here is another of those fantastic hand-quilted whole cloth quilts. The quilting lines are so narrow, the stitches so small.

'White - 2024' by 大石容子

Do you remember the Onion Quilt?  Here is its scaled-down version, of course made by the same quilter, 大澤惠美子.

Are you a fan of Colonial Knots and the quilting style called Candle Wicking? Would you make a small quilt with all these knots? 横井由紀 did.

The last quilt to report on is 浜場美由岐's 'Bon Voyage', (44 x 44 cm).

 

The 18th Quilt Nihon Exhibition, Part 4

 This is a continuation of the Contemporary quilts.

小林良子made a Log Cabin flow of trickling water.

In 関谷みよ子's 'Time Slip' you can see some old Japanese houses. In real life, they are hard to find as most older houses are demolished and replaced with smaller, taller, and in my opinion, less charming buildings.

布谷郁子 makes blocks of a unique design. I think I have seen them in a similar quilt from a previous contest.

池畑真由美 calls her quilt 'Passion' and its all in purple hues. Both this, and the previous quilt, have a lot of movement.

South Korean quilter, Jeong In Suk, dyes her fabric with pieces of iron that leave rusty marks.

On a background of Slash Quilt, a technique I have not seen in a long time, she has appliquéd geometrical shapes like triangles, squares and rectangles.

If you want to look at different quilting designs, study 松原裕美子's machine-quilted wall-hanging.

Do you remember the waterfall quilt? In the following quilt, you will see other things tumbling down. Or are the circles floating in the air? Maybe they are red and white blood cells in your bloodstream. 

The answer to this magic hoovering or downward flow is tulle.

'Live' by 野畠玲子.

The Swiss quilter Edith Bieri-Hanselmann calls her creation 'Out of Joint'.

If you want to go to Paris, why not play 伊藤培美's board game 'Sugoroku' and step by step you will reach the goal of the Eiffel Tower. 

If I were to walk my way around the streets of Paris, I would NOT wear those high-heeled shoes, though!

Can you name the other sights and flavours of Paris?

Here is a title that puzzles me: 'Que Sera Sera', which I think is translated into English as 'What will be, will be'. I wish I could ask the maker, 菊池郁美.

There are many houses, trees and the word LOVE spelt in all directions....

'Sunlight through the trees' by 近藤容子.

I think this is a very suggestive piece of art. Place it in a waiting room and sit and look at it for a long time, I am sure you will see many other things than rays of sunshine through the canopy of leaves. For example, if you had recently seen a forest fire on the TV news, wouldn't this quilt remind you of wild flames eating their way through the undergrowth? 

Here is another quilt that gets your brain working, 'Night Factory' by 竹脇幸子. Why is there a monkey climbing the ladder? In my ignorance, I think I have missed something of the meaning. Commercial espionage, an escaped zoo animal, a challenge on Social Media among the young and wild or is it King Kong reincarnated?

And with this puzzle, ends the tour around the Contemporary quilts. Next up are the Miniatures, in Part 5.