Julie and I met up for lunch. Now here comes a bit of information for those who intend to visit the show one day and want to know about lunch.
There are several options.
- bring a packed lunch (e.g sandwiches from a convenience store)
- or buy a lunch box and eat in the stands (see picture)
- sandwiches are served in the Key Coffee shop inside the arena
- you can get rice dumplings 'onigiri', or Japanese noodles in the Ureshino tea shop (also inside the arena)
- walk up the stands and buy a simple lunch (fried noodles, fried chicken, snacks, ice cream...)
- get your hand and ticket stamped at the exit and go out to eat in the Tokyo Dome area (sushi, pizza, you name it...)
(Please note there are not many options for the vegetarian. My advice is to bring lunch.)
Julie and I opted for fried noodles and ate them in the stands.
Neither of us had done any shopping but it is a WONDERLAND of trade stalls, if you can get near enough to see the goods!
Fujix is a famous Japanese thread maker. Often these corporate stalls show a new range, inventions or gadgets. Visiting such a stand is a good way to keep updated on what's new.
Then there are shops for fabric, notions and tools of the trade, as well as second hand kimonos to cut up and use for patchwork.
Another feature in Japan is that many famous quilters/teachers run their own business and sell kits, books and the selection of fabric they use.
Go shopping to Yoko Saito for taupe, Kathy Nakajima for Hawaiian, Shizuko Kuroha for indigo, Michiko Sonobe for Victorian lace...
There are 244 stalls!
Quilts made by Juniors
Here are some examples of what children (under 15 years of age) have made.
あっ飛んだ by 田中智章
This quilter pinched her mother's false eyelashes!
うーん！あまい！ by 大場彩希
はらぺこおべんとうランド by 東広島市立松賀中学校
If you are still hungry, how about one of these lunch boxes at the amusement park?
This map of the world was charming! Can you find your country?
It was made by students from the same junior high school as the picnic quilt above. Isn't it great when teachers lead a project like this?
世界中の友達に『こんにちは！」by 東広島市立松賀中学校
A most unusual section of the quilt show is the
Framed Quilts
The 'quilts' have to be inside a picture frame, but quilting does not seem to be a must. Many are appliquéd, pieced, glued or embroidered.
旅の思い出 by 大畑裕美
ルビー色の幸せ by 坂口圭以子
Lots of knitting in this!
赤い月 by 彦坂泉
By this time Julie and I were ready to meet our blog friend Tanya. It was the first time for us to meet her and she was just as lovely as we had expected. She is a true vitamin injection! Tanya has written about her visit to the dome, with great pictures. Check out the crowds!
16 comments:
Thanks so much for sharing this great event!
I think you are covering all the details and I am still trying to sort through the names. I almost feel like posting some of these pictures without giving credit. I brought a questionnaire home to see if my husband can help me fill it out and I plan to take it back tomorrow.
I hope this has wet your appetite for next year's show!
Of course you can post your pictures without mentioning the makers' names; NHK should have given them in Roman letters and it would have been easy!
Good of you to fill in the questionnaire. I didn't even find one! Have a great day tomorrow.
Such funny quilts in your post today. The quilt with the map looked very strange, but suddenly I saw the left and right was switched compared to the maps we use here. So now my country was at the left side, hidden under a flag next to Santa. When I read there's knitting in the chicken quilt I just had to take a closer look. I was not disappointed, what a lovely combo of knitting and quilting! I also took a quick look at the crowd at Tanya's blog, way to many people for me!
I love the sushi box - and the orange rolls are looking like surimi (although I don't have a great idea of it - but is sold in France everywhere).
The framed quilt are great, great art! You can see me again in great awe (expression ok?)
I was on Tanyas "Visit to the dome". A wonderfully written post. I loved to see you and Julie and Tanya as well. Unfortunately, I could not enter a comment. I had wanted so much - I wanted to say hello and thank her for this report. So excellent.
ALL maps in Japan places Asia in the centre! It was very confusing when I first came here, to find Europe tucked away in the top left corner!
Isn't that chicken great?! To me it also serves as a time document; after all there is a real knitting/crocheting boom now.
Most of the weekday visitors to the show are housewives who need to go home to prepare dinner for the family. That means that by 3.30 the crowds begin to thin out and by 5.30, half an hour before closing, you will almost have the Dome to yourself. Here is your photo chance! Here is an opportunity to see a quilt in full.
Have YOU ever seen framed quilts before? I think it is a unique category at this show. They are so perfect for the small Japanese home and kind of cross the boundaries so non-quilt fans can enjoy them.
Tanya's blog is worth visiting for all sorts of reasons, great pictures, interesting insights into life in Japan and a variety of quilts. She has had hacker problems and commenting is restricted. I'll tell her hello from you.
Oh those crowds!! I think it must be quite stressful unless you are not too worried about shopping. I haven't seen framed quilts here but they remind me of some framed embroideries that are sold here as kits. The Asia-centred map is great, makes us rethink our Empire/colonies mindset!!!! I have a large wall chart map centred on the Pacific that I bought in New Zealand. Another great post, I wait in anticipation for my next visit to the show, be it with you, Julie or Tanya.
The framed quilts are of course all original designs and not really meant to be in a frame. It can be difficult to scale down a pieced landscape to fit the small space, so this is a category full of challenges!
Some very talented juniors, love the lunch box.
You can see how important the Japanese food culture is!
That cat, WOW.
The circles with a light edge resemble magnifying glasses.
Is the body of the rooster built out of lace? Wonderful!
I THINK the rooster's body has lace in the base which is then covered with lots of Suffolk puffs, lacy ornaments and 'sumputious surface embroidery' in white.
The cat was a crowd stopper. The title is Maru-de-asobou which translates to 'Let's play with circles'. However, Maru is also a common name for cats, maybe because they curl up into balls, so the title could mean 'Let's play with Maru'. So just as the circles in the patterns plays tricks with our eyes, the title plays tricks with out minds...
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