Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2015 - 6 Bags

Have you ever looked in a Japanese quilt magazine? There is bound to be at least one pattern for a quilted bag. Bag making is extremely popular, and if you look at the ladies queuing up to get into the Tokyo International Great Quilts Festival, you feel as if you are already at the exhibition! A fashion show of bags right there in the queue! Many stop to admire others' bags; indeed my friend Julie has a bag that is a real crowd stopper.

By the way, Julie has posted pictures from the Children's Book Quilts at the TIGQF. Check them out here.

Back to the bags. Here is a handful of the bags entered in the Bag Contest.

The winning bag

菅原真弓＊Mayumi Sugawara

This was made to resemble a Penny Rug (!?)

高瀬美季子＊Mikiko Takase (?)

These red bags were made entirely of Suffolk Puffs (yo-yos) and beads.

 Sorry I missed the maker's name.

Don't you think this bag is quite original?

出本正彦＊Masahiko Demoto (?)

The bags need to be secured with wire so they don't 'walk out of the show'. That's popular for you!

Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival - 5 Building quilt scenes

NHK (Nippon Housou Kyoukai), the state run public broadcasting organisation of Japan, that is the main organiser of this big quilt event, are good at building quilt scenes. Maybe because they produce a lot of high quality drama series, they can whip up the Moomin house (last year), and before that, an Amish house, Anne of Green Gables' room, orchards with patchwork apple trees, Alice in Wonderland's tea party..., among many things.

This year was no exception. The theme was The House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I hope you have already looked at Tanya's blog post with a picture of the quilted wagon; if not, check it out here.

Notice the props.

The grass and flowers, the plums on the tree - made of fabric by quilt teacher Reiko Washizawa and her team of volunteers.

There was also the family's log cabin built by NHK,

and decorated by Yoko Saito and her team.

Then there was the general store. Suzuko Koseki and her followers had filled it with lovely goods.

 Even outside on the porch there were some chairs and a table. A felted tin of lobster held a single 'cotton' flower.

I know of no other quilt show where a whole scene is built up like this. Do you?

There were also a number of quilts depicting some scenes of Laura Ingalls Wilder's stories.

Family's Pleasant Time

志村恒子＊Tsuneko Shimura

 The Very First Day of School

寺井ちなみ＊Chinami Terai

I hope you have enjoyed US pioneer scenery in a Japanese baseball stadium!

Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2015 - 4 Framed Quilts

Let's return to the Tokyo International Great Quilts Festival 2015 and look at the framed quilts. Yes, this is a category that is unusual, as, to enter this part of the contest you must place your work inside a picture frame. It means the 'quilts' are rather small, and often embellished with embroidery or beads. Many are also pictorial.

(May I first explain that though I have tried to print the correct kanji (Chinese characters) of the makers' names, I am not 100% sure of the pronunciation. My apologies if there are mistakes in the Roman script, and please let me know if anything needs to be corrected.)


The sun is shining and love is in the air!

 田中和子＊Kazuko Tanaka

This deep frame made the quilt even more 'arty'.

 染野昌子＊Masako Someno

Black tulle gave this sunset a mellow glow.

 庄司安子＊Yasuko Shoji

These pieces were 1cm square and made the 'quilt' resemble kitchen tiles.

坂光真由美＊Mayumi Sakamitsu

This snow flake was made up of tiny Suffolk Puffs (yo-yos).

 金納満子＊Mitsuko Konno

Flat and raised, matte and shiny, frayed and even...

川地佳子＊Keiko (?) Kawachi

Here is a challenge for you - 5 mm pieces!

 横田弘美＊Hiromi Yokota

Ric-rac for cogwheels

 山本与志子＊Yoshiko Yamamoto

Here was a piece that won my heart.

 彦阪泉＊Izumi Hikosaka

Pastel colours

北村祥子＊Sachiko Kitamura

This piece was made in celebration of Japanese painter Tsuguharu Fujita, also known as Léonard Foujita.

畠中真由美＊Mayumi Hatanaka

WIPW - Does this count as progress?

Work In Progress Wednesday
I have made such little progress I don't think it counts...
(Much time have been taken up by the quilt show in Tokyo and family matters.)

Pile 'em On
I just added a short bit of TAST #69 Buttonholed Double Chain in blue.

There is no need to comment on this post!

Hopefully there will be much more to report next week!

Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2015 - 3 Thread Play

What do you need to make a quilt? Fabric, of course, wadding and THREAD.  In today's report from Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2015 I'll focus on thread.

You can use it to join blocks, insertion stitches:

 Or machine stitch knitting wool on dissolvable fabric, and then soak in water till the fabric is gone.

山﨑秀美＊Hidemi Yamasaki

Fill an entire circle with small embroidery stitches, and you are bound to get a crowd gathering.

福井多倭子＊Taiko (?) Fukui

Sow sewing seeds in Anne of Green Gables' garden and it will blossom with embroidery

井ノ本悦子＊Etsuko Inomoto

Add structure by simple stitches, tone on tone, on the piecework. Use your hand or your machine.

 岡部美咲＊Misaki Okabe

 Let your needle run some minus (-) or plus (+) stitches over the pieces, and throw in a bead in between.

湊啓子＊Keiko Minato

Take a printed fabric and 'paint' it with thread

深山実枝子＊Mieko Miyama

Forget the backing, the wadding and 'quilt' the single layer,  while watching TV, maybe?

岡村智子＊Satoko Okamura

Decorate the ric-rac with stem stitch, and ... what is the blue stitch?

小幡幸子＊Sachiko Obata

Add 'Bluework' to the antique blue and white china plate

吉田恵子＊Keiko Yoshida

Go fishing with your home made net.

石飛悦子＊Etsuko Ishitobi

Make a very Japanese quilt

but change the sashiko stitches for back stitches.

上村義子＊Yoshiko Uemura

Use the Japanese technique of shibori (tie dye) on gauze, 

but leave the tied strings in

門屋洋子＊Yoko Monya

Make mola lace with back stitch and Colonial knots

板垣マコ＊Mako Itagaki

Who said one can't play with thread?

My friend Tanya has written another excellent report from the show. She takes up much I haven't so please click here to read it.