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.

Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2015 - 2 Flowers

In my second post about Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2015 I will be focusing on flowers.
Most of these quilts were entered in the contest.

These were the largest flowers I saw.

Mikyung Jang (Korea)

A double wedding ring quilt with interesting centres, note the feathered leaves.

 出口清美＊Kiyomi Deguchi

 This colourful quilt has a 3D effect.

宮下季久代＊Kikuyo (?)Miyashita

This floral display was created by one of the 57 famous quilters whose work was featured in a special section.

I like the off the centre design, and the hand quilting was fabulous.

吉野恵美子＊Emiko Yoshino

Back to the contest. In the Traditional section there were many medallion quilts.
This one was stunning from a distance and up close, too. A beautiful mix of piecing, appliqué and quilting.

直井トシイ＊Toshii Naoi

Apart from the perfectly planned design, this quilt had a nice shading in the foundation fabric.

菅谷康子＊Yasuko Sugaya (?)

Here you have a modern twist to flowering trees, or are they fruit trees?

 赤田千恵子＊Chieko Akada

Making Suffolk puffs, or yo-yos, is a great activity when you have 'time on your hands', in a waiting room e.g., but then you come home and have to put them all together...

A bed size quilt made by
杉田恵利子＊Eriko Sugita

These roses had a nice sharp look about them.

藤原順子＊Junko Fujihara

Whereas these yellow ones were much softer in their shape.

佐藤君子＊Kimiko Sato
Lotus flowers

葛城正子＊Masako Katsuragi

I like these framed quilts; you can start with a centre panel and then add borders one after another till you have the size quilt you want!

村田久美子＊Kumiko Murata

This quilt was unusual in its design, and a real crowd stopper. Lovely quilting design.

 荒田美知世＊Michiyo Arata

Cats enjoy flowers, too.

関谷みよ子＊Miyoko Sekiya

and so do fish

川口康子＊Yasuko Kawaguchi

In this last photo there is a hint of what is to come in my next blog post - thread play!
Some flowers were simply created with quilting and embroidery

葛西和子＊Kazuko Kasai

Have you noticed how many small dots there were in the quilts?
Have you noticed how many quilts there were with circular motifs?
Have you noticed how uncertain I am about the pronunciation of the Japanese names?
Why don't you head over to my friend Tanya's blog and read her excellent text about these questions, and don't miss her great photos! Click here and here