The Japanese quilts at Sandown Park

 

Reiko Domon, leader of Peaceful Heart Quilt Group and one of the founders of Yuza Sashiko Guild, organised a special exhibit of quilts for the Grosvenor Quilt Shows this year.  So far, the quilts have been shown at Quilts UK (Malvern) and the National Quilt Championships (Sandown Park).  They will be shown at the Great Northern Quilt Show (Harrogate), the Scottish Quilt Championships (Edinburgh), the Kent Autumn Quilt Festival (Maidstone), and the Autumn Quilt Festival near Chilford (please note, there is a change of venue for this show).

I managed to get some good photos of the quilts on Sunday morning at Sandown Park - I'm told they were very popular during the show and it was difficult to get close!

The quilts were in two main groups - challenge quilts made by the members of Yuza Sashiko Guild who came to the Great Northern Quilt Show two years ago and some of Reiko's highly detailed wallhangings and other pieces.  All have virtuoso stitching with traditional Yuza sashiko stitch patterns, most in the traditional white thread on very dark indigo, while some of Reiko's quilts are more experimental, using hand dyed embroidery threads for different effects.

 

First, the 'Dream of Shonai' (Shonai no Yume) challenge.  I found some printed landscape panels at the Harrogate show two years ago, which reminded me of the landscape in Shonai, the district in Yamagata Prefecture where the quilters live.  There is one quilt (far left above) from the other challenge I set - 'Japanese Culture' (Nippon no Bunka) - which uses a Kona Bay panel with a gold print of the Kinkakuji (Golden Temple) in Kyoto. I need to get my challenge quilts made for when these go back to Japan.  These are all 50cm x 75cm (20in x 30in approx.)  Click on the photos to see the quilts larger size - click on each photo individually and select 'view' to see it even larger.

 

Reiko's quilts are stunning and much bigger.  'Goddess of the Spring' (top of this post) has a sashiko border similar to the style I used for the Denman Kannon, but Reiko uses more difficult stitch patterns ;-)  The shaded background was made with a Bali Batik Pop - I think she may  have bought it at Harrogate in 2010, as there were some lovely colourways on sale opposite our demo stand.

 

 

Her 'Genji Monogatari' (The Tale of Genji) quilt has been to the UK three times now.  It was made for an international quilt exhibition at the Shipley Gallery several years ago and it won second place in the theme category at Harrogate two years ago.  The fabrics include her mother's and grandmother's kimono, and the border is an antique maru obi sash.

  

More quilts by Reiko.  The first two show traditional dances - the Hanagasamai at Fukuro town in Yuza, danced at the beginning of May, and 'Fuji Musume' (Wisteria Girl), a classical Japanese dance.

  

This exquisite quilt features an Emperor and Empress -

  

Reiko also makes wearable art pieces using Yuza sashiko, like this waistcoat -

She has also made two gorgeous quilts with miniature sorihikihappi (sledge hauling waistcoats) as quilt blocks.  Each waistcoast showcases a different Yuza sashiko pattern.

 

The detail photo above shows the same pattern I was teaching in the one hour workshop at Sandown Park - gazashi (moth stitch) - although I made it easier for the students by only stitching one line of moths.  With repeated rows like Reiko has done, it requires a lot of practice to stitch it well.

The asanoha (hemp leaf) sashiko pattern added to the border makes it more interesting.  Here is the the first quilt as 'work in progress' in 2006.

 

It is behind Reiko in this photo -

  

I am so happy Reiko was able to send work over to these exhibitions this year, because she has also had a big exhibition to organise in Japan.

BTW, this is the first post where I have tried using the XL photo display.  What do you think? EDIT - I changed the photo display to L, because at XL, parts of the photos were missing i.e. the pictures were too wide.

"Treasures of Yamagata" quilts arrived for Quilts UK

Peaceful Heart Quilt Group from Yuza-machi, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, have sent their challenge quilts to be shown at Quilts UK, Malvern, in a couple of weeks. These will be in a separate section rather than with the main competitive quilts, as they aren't part of the competition. Some have been in the UK before - at Quiltfest (click the link to see them).

When I visited Yuza (the town where I used to teach) in 2006, I took challenge fabric bundles for all the quilters and set the theme of "Yamagata". You can see some of them as work in progress in this Youtube clip - there's a set of screeenshots and description here.

The fabrics included a Kona Bay gold print with cranes and pines, a tone on tone with a blue forest trees design and a semi-ombre fabric shading from purple to tuquoise in bands (made for a Quilters' Guild challenge). Here I am in Reiko Domon's studio in July 2006, on a very hot and humid evening, folding up the fabric packs (thanks to Mags Ramsay for the first two photos!) - I folded and ribboned the bundles once I'd arrived, so they wouldn't get squashed in my luggage.


Look out for the new quilts in the Yamagata set at Quilts UK, Malvern! All the show visitor details are available on the Grosvenor Shows website.

Butterfly Dance quilt

What I'm working on today - handquilting -


The uchikake (kimono robe) is about life size - 60in long! I couldn't make it any smaller and be able to use the applique figures realistically, cut from the Kona Bay range designed by Nobu Fujiyama. This meant that the top of the uchikake is wider than the 44in castle panel width, so I had to piece it on the left sleeve. Click the photo to see it in more detail.

Peaceful Heart Quilt Group are having another exhibition in Yuza in October 2009, so this quilt will be one of my contributions. I really should get my "Yamagata" challenge quilt done for that exhibition too. On a shorter timescale, "Butterfly Dance" has to be finished by Monday lunchtime!

I raced to get it tacked last night at Gresford Craft Group and my friend Annette helped me out - thanks, or I'd still be tacking!

Yamagata quilts at Quiltfest

As promised, here are the Yamagata quilts, at Quiltfest today. I'll add info about them tomorrow - just photos for now! Click the photos to see a bigger image.

Quiltfest - Japanese Quilts Update!

This beautiful wallhanging arrived today. It is called "Sennin no ki" (1000 year old tree) and is an original design by Aiko Sakuraba, a member of Peaceful Heart Quilt Group from Yuza-machi, Yamagata, Japan. The hand quilting is very subtle, with a simple cross hatching over the centre background (the cranes panel) contrasting with very densely quilted lines in the righthand section, which suggest the shapes of the mountains (mid blue section, second from top) rising out of a sea of mist. There is a beech forest on Mt Chokai where the hot spring rises and this is one of the ancient beech trees. It is one of seven quilts from the group that will be featured as part of Quiltfest (please click link for all the exhibtion info).

This quilt is one of the challenge quilts made on the theme of "Yamagata". Other quilts explore themes of traditional festivals like Yamagata City's Hanagasa Matsuri (flower hat festival), famous Yamagata products such as the delicious cherries, sites of historic interest such as the old Sankyo Rice Warehouses in Sakata, or features of the natural landscape including Mt Chokai (the fifth highest mountain in Japan) and the beautiful scenery of the coastal Shonai Plain. On my trip to Yuza in 2006, I took fabric bundles for all the quilters and set the challenge. Aiko's quilt shows these fabrics as whole pieces in the background to her marvellously textured tree (she used Japanese taupe woven quilt fabrics for the bark texture).

I'll have to make my quilt, although I still can't decide which aspects of Yamagata I'll feature! I will post photos of the other quilts soon - at the moment, they are with the other exhibits, waiting to be hung in the gallery. Do visit the exhibition if you have a chance! I'm going to be demonstrating sashiko every Tuesday and will be at Trading Day with my vintage Japanese fabrics for sale.

UPDATE - Reiko sent me a photo of her Yamagata quilt, showing the waterfall and steps at Mt Haguro, but I don't know if she is going to send it yet. I like the way she has linked the two images with the appliqued cherry blossom swirl.

Fantastic sashiko exhibition in Yuza-machi!

Reiko Domon has sent me some photos of their second exhibition this summer, this time at the Yurari, Yuza-machi - click this link to see her website. Go to the menu on the left of the page and click on the "2008" titles - the first one shows photos from the exhibition at Shonai Airport (click each image to see a larger version) and the next two show panoramas from the Yurari exhibition.

As the second panorama scrolls to the right, look out for the "tansu" pocket hanging from "Japanese Sashiko Inspirations" (its the little bright blue piece hanging on the screen just after the fourth "pillar" from the left). "O-neesan" and "Kyoto Dreams" are also visible towards the far right.

The exhibition looks amazing! If you like indigo and white, sashiko, patchwork and old Japanese textiles you will love it.

This is a new work by Reiko - with a Houhou (Chinese Phoenix) at the centre. In legend, the houhou appears to herald a time of great peace in the world. Reiko works with a lot of recycled fabrics, including old kimono that are beyond wearing.


Sashiko workshops at the exhibition (you can see my Kimono wallhanging from my lastest sashiko book wrapped around the pillar on the right) -

Here's my twin "Koi Scroll", also from "Japanese Sashiko Inspirations", on the left of this triple group of hangings (below). The two koi leaping up the waterfall, in applique & sashiko, is one of Reiko's creations, made to celebrate the birth of her first grandson. The sleeveless patchwork hanten (with red patches, on the board at the right) is an antique piece.

My sashiko table runner, "Mihon" (sampler), includes squares inspired by a wonderful old jacket at the Chido Museum, Tsuruoka City, near Yuza. You can also see my little book bag with marumon (circular motif) designs. Don't the framed sashiko samples look great? I love the way that even the smallest piece of sashiko can be turned into something interesting.

Here is my "Japanese Fans" quilt (scroll down on link page), with two of the new "Yamagata" quilts in the background. Way back in 2006, when I visited Yuza with my quilting friend Margaret Ramsay, I set Peaceful Heart Quilt Group a challenge - on the theme of "Yamagata". These quilts are coming to the UK soon - I'll update more information here. The two shown below feature the Mogami river, which flows through Yamagata and was the major trade route to the coast in Edo times, and Mt Chokai, fifth highest mountain in Japan, right behind Yuza-machi. The creative use of tenugui souvenir towels is interesting on the second quilt, one with Mt Chokai and another showing the sixteen disciples of Buddha, carved on the rocks at Fukura, Yuza-machi, around 200 years ago.

I made fabric bundles for every member of the group, including a shaded fabric (from blue to purple) that was printed for a Quilters' Guild challenge, a lovely blue cedar forest print (from Dot Sherlock's Quilter's Needs) and a Kona Bay print with pines and golden cranes (not visible in the bundles unfortunately).

Here's more info about the Yurari. The exhibition hall is on the right of the spa hotel complex. Checkout the blog too - looks like the manager has just got a kitten! (I put these page through the Outlook Express auto translation, so the English might be a bit strange! Right click will bring up the auto translate menu, if you use Outlook Express - a very useful feature. Mostly I'm using Firefox these days, which doesn't have it).

It is an excellent venue. In July 2006, Peaceful Heart Quilt Group had a party for us at the Yurari - the food was delicious! Here's some photos -
- and Margaret with her "travel shawl" (the perfect travel project - pack some threads and a needle and add some more stitching whenever you like, and you have some instant evening wear too).
Chie Ikeda, who taught me sashiko, is on the right. Here's a quilt she made using some of the blocks from "Japanese Quilt Blocks to Mix and Match", shown at the Shonai Airport exhibition in June/July 2008 -


The blocks are based on Kurume Kasuri designs from the early 20th century - the second block invites you to add something in the centre, doesn't it?