Wednesday 28 January 2015

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



24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Queenie, How wonderful to be able to visit such a fantastic, inspiring exhibition. Such a vast array of different styles and their talent is fantastic!! I love the same one as you and also the abstract one! Thanks for sharing with us :)
Barbara M

carorose said...

I just love these quilts. So much variety and the makers have such good skills.

Queeniepatch said...

Framed quilts are quite unusual, aren't they?

Queeniepatch said...

This category gives you the chance to play and really be creative.

Annet said...

It's great to see these framed quilts, love the differnet frames too. Thanks for the time you put into these posts, I enjoy watching the show!

J Honda said...

just beautiful...simply beautiful ; the frames are so very much a part of the art piece - just stunning

Janie said...

Thank you for sharing the framed quilts; how interesting and challenging, the constraint of size and frame.

Julie Fukuda said...

I really like the way these look. If you sleep on a futon, no one sees that quilt on your bed. If you are making a full size wall quilt or art quilt, you probably won't have wall space to hang it ... unless you live in a museum or gym. A frame not only sets the quilt off but will protect it from all the wind brings in and maybe even the dampness of summer.

Pamela said...

Thank you for all these beautiful reports! There are so many talented needle artists.

crazyQstitcher said...

I wouldn't like to be a Judge on the panel to select a winner as they all are beautiful and lots of dedication has gone into each one.

Thank you for sharing more of these mini quilts.

Queeniepatch said...

My pleasure! I guess many of my readers won't have the chance to attend this show in person and the FRAMED quilt section is unique.
You're right, the variety of frames is interesting, too.

Queeniepatch said...

Yes, aren't the frames important - would you make the quilt for the frame or the frame for the quilt?

Queeniepatch said...

Absolutely right, there is a limit to what you can put inside a frame. You could see it on some of the quilts that the piecework did not fit the size of the frame. Then you might need to add a border...

Queeniepatch said...

How many bed quilts are seen by others than the family? How often do you look into someone's bedroom when you are on a visit? If the quilt is on a sofa, you will sit on it and only see smaller details. If the quilt is on the wall you might only see half of it if there are things in the way. A FRAMED quilt however, will probably be hung so it is highly visible. The weight of the frame will keep it still and if there is glass that would protect it from dust, moisture and curious fingers.
The con, in my opinion, is that a quilt looses its 'homely' feel when it is inside a frame. Maybe that explains why so many of these are more embroidered or embellished pieces of fabric art rather than pure quilts.

Queeniepatch said...

There is a great variety, don't you think?

Queeniepatch said...

Oh, Maureen, I am so sorry I did not take a photo of the winning framed quilt. In my view it was not that good, and I'd rather have seen the first quilt (sun, birds and hearts) with a ribbon.

Renee said...

Oh wow, these are just amazing! I think my favorites are the one that stole your heart and the pastel one you shared next, although the one centimeter black and white one is pretty incredible. I cannot imagine working with pieces that small. The quilt made with 5 mm pieces is incredibly impressive. Wow. Thank you so much for sharing!

Unknown said...

Wonderful, thanks!

Queeniepatch said...

There was such a variety among the framed quilts. For us embroiderers it was easy to find interesting ones. I think you need to be a bit obsessed to work with the very small squares.

Anonymous said...

Hello from New Zealand
I have also just been to the quilt show in Japan and reading your blog is like re-living every mad and magical moment. I was just wondering if it is possible to enter a quilt into the Tokyo show and how do you go about it. I could not find a contact address for that purpose on that on the Internet. Can somebody please help me. Thanks

Queeniepatch said...

Ah, well first you need to either learn Japanese or get the help from someone who can help you read and do the paperwork as it is done in Japanese.
Then you need to keep an eye out for the quilt festival's online entry information, usually posted in summer (June?). Google Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2016 and see if you get a Japanese site. The URL would probably be something like this: http://www.tokyo-dome.co.jp/quilt/contest/index.html
All entries are judged, so you first have to send a photo. I think it is VERY hard for a foreign quilt to be accepted, although I do not know the reason.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for taking the time to reply and for all the info. Thanks also for sharing your great photos and stories. Great blog! From the Land of the Long White Cloud

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

These are lovely quilts, all different and hard to pick a favourite.

Queeniepatch said...

Maybe the most interesting thing about the framed quilts is that they are so styles. When you walk among the big quilts (bed covers, wall hangings...) you CAN get bored after having seen a lot of similar quilts. Here, there is a surprise in every frame.