Apologies for the slightly belated photos - I've been busy since I got back from teaching the Hinagata Kimono workshop at Serendipity quilt shop at Bovey Tracey, Devon, on Saturday.
There were some great fabric choices for the little kimono, including small and larger scale Japanese prints -
Making a hinagata for display calls for slightly different considerations in placing larger fabric motifs than if you are sewing a kimono to wear - if the miniature kimono is going to be displayed on a wooden hanger on a wall, all the prettier parts of the prints can go on the back and the back of the sleeves for example.Everyone worked really hard and by the end of the afternoon, the little kimono were nearly finished. There is a lot to learn on this workshop but everything can be applied to making full size kimono later.
Serendipity has an excellent workshop space, well lit and with easy parking for loading and unloading. The fabrics in the shop include some gorgeous ranges and, at the moment, there are some real goodies in the sale. I ended up with three more Jelly Rolls and a fab Japanese style print with tigers and dragons.
Just down the road is a very interesting craft centre, http://www.crafts.org.uk/, which I visited on Sunday morning on the recommendation of my host Ann. Next time I'm at David & Charles publishers at Newton Abbot, I must have a detour to visit. The current exhibition, Paper Works, is stunning. There were so many things here I would love to have brought home, not least a fine example of the chair bodger's craft that was virtually a woodland throne! With a great quilt shop and a craft centre that good, this place should be on every quilter's itinerary when they visit Devon.
On the way home, I collected my "Hakone Yosegi" sampler quilt from Christine Porter at Bristol. She had sent it as part of the UK entries to the World Quilt Fair in the USA last year and it just came back. This is it at Quilts UK, Malvern, last year. I'll post the judges comments when I unpack it - they made me smile, because this quilt wasn't quilted to be a competition winner and the quilting is quite ultilitarian quilt-in-the-ditch just to hold the lot together when it went on tour in Autumn 2009 with the Grosvenor quilt shows in the UK. I only had about a week to do any quilting on it at all, as I was finishing it off ready for that tour while we were working on the new workroom back in August 2009! I would, of course, like to add more quilting to this, but there are at least a dozen quilts that I feel need more quilting at the moment...
4 comments:
The pictures and write up of the kimono workshop made me wish that I had worked alongside all of you enjoying the commaraderie that comes with quilters who have similar interests. I can not transport myself from Forest, Virginia USA to Devon except in my mind and that I do gladly. I am there in spirit!! I look forward to each new blog entry with great interest in what's happening across the pond. It reinforces my interest in Sashiko and all things Japanese. Many thanks, Susan.
Are you going to be teaching another one of these courses sometime soon and possibly in the Midlands? Actually, I'd travel anywhere in the country to be able to attend a class like this. :)
I still need to learn how to sew my twin of our kimono.
~April
Hi April,
I haven't got another hinagata workshop coming up in the near future. We will have to get together to sew those twin houmongi! I'm hoping to get kate (rubyminky) making a summer hitoe, as I have two bolts that match, but we are meeting up more as she has joined our weekly craft group. If I had time, I'd write an online tutorial, but there's a lot coming up on the quilt front at the moment...!
I always look out for quilts at Malvern, Susan and often know they're yours before reading the catalogue. Your fabric choices are just magnificent!
Mary in Canterbury aka Quayquilter
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