Pandemic Porch Quilt Show Days 25-28 : Over Japan

 Day #25: Tokyo Life

I made this quilt in 1999, a cathartic project working through memories of living in Japan for a year and a half, in the early 1980s.

Tokyo was indescribably dense, and everything seemed tinier than in the US - cars, furniture, cups, plates, clothes, and especially the people. Most of the women and many of the men were smaller than me - I felt like a massive Barney the Dinosaur, especially when perched on ludicrously petite chairs. Each day, I lumbered through a fascinating shopping street, decorated with strings of artificial flowers. The novelty fabric in the center of this quilt reminded me of those places, and launched me on this quilt.

I added Elvis, plus a couple of more traditional figures. I think the flowers are there to advertise the noisy pachinko (gambling machine) parlors. 

Sometimes, Tokyo's density was intoxicating; but over many months, it became exhausting. I couldn't even begin to wrap my mind around where structures and alleys began and ended. 

There was also an abundance of plastic food in glass cases in front of  tiny restaurants....

And there was as much going on underground as above - not just the subways, but more restaurants, more shops, more vendors, more pedestrian hallways. 

Tokyo's infinite above-ground and below-ground worlds were connected by endless stairs and escalators.

Every scrap of space in Tokyo was occupied. Not one inch  was wasted - and it was also extremely clean. 

Overall, I loved Tokyo. It made NYC feel like a wide-open prairie. So much to learn, see and taste, and above all, endlessly kind, thoughtful and interesting people who did their best to make me feel at home.  

Porch Quilt Show, Day #27.

In the early 90s, I returned to Japan, after an absence of ten years, because my husband had a conference there. In Kyoto, we stopped in a little shop called Aizenkobo.

We found a group of men sitting around; they asked us if we'd like to see a demonstration (or at least I thought that was what they asked), and of course, we said yes. They got busy, dunking and dipping and twisting fabric in massive indigo dye pots. It was just wonderful, right up until the moment that they selected seven pieces of fabric for us, folded them into a little bag, and handed it to us with a bill for I think about $100 US.

I was mortified, but figured I must have agreed to it, so we paid. Those indigo pieces sat in the bag, in my cabinet, for 30 years, until I became an empty nester and had gathered the time and courage to use them. I tried to cut off as little as possible - I may have taken an inch off each piece with this design. Find closeup photos of the Aizenkobo indigos, and other interesting and upcycled details in this quilt, in my blog post here. Below, when I took apart a red polyester kimono in my collection - that's the long rectangle on the far right - I found softer, aged cotton fabric with a gorgeous crane (with purple wing tips), hiding inside (that's the fabric in the middle panel). The blue-and-white panel on the far left is from a light Japanese yukata robe.

Day #26: The Wave

The front of this next quilt was supposed to be the back of the previous quilt. (That's why I put #27 before #26). But I liked it so much that I made it a separate quilt! Along the bottom and toward the top, I created log cabin block reflections of the iconic "Great Wave of Kanagawa" woodblock print by Hokusai, printed on the central banner. Find more photos and information about this quilt in my blog post here.

Day #28: More Japanese Culture

This quilt measures 96" x 75" It features more commercial banners and door curtains. I pieced the vertical side borders from scraps - I especially like the quarter-hexagon design on the left.

Of all the banners on this quilt, the one illustrating sumo positions is my favorite. 

See much more of the vivid Japanese graphics in this quilt in my blog post here. 

More from my pandemic porch quilt show is coming soon!

Road to California, 2020, Part 2: Shopping!

Last week, I showed off some of my favorite quilts from Road to California 2020 show. Now let's get to the fun stuff: Shopping! Disclaimer: If you click on these links, I don't make any money. But you might lose money, because this merchandise is (often) thrilling!

If there's one attribute that unites Road to California quilts - whether the top is pieced, appliqued, embroidered, fused, stapled, and/or mutilated - it's this: dazzling, immaculate, professional-grade quilting - the stuff that holds the three layers together.

That's why, every year, I walk out of juried show. and into the vendor area, thinking, "Gosh, I urgently need to buy a $46,000 computerized robotic laser-equipped longarm quilting machine, because otherwise I will never get another quilt juried into Road!"

And every year, the only thing that allows me to resist that urge - besides the price and the divorce - is that I would then have to learn how to use the damn thing.

Well, a girl can dream. There were longarms galore in the vendor area. Smallish longarms...

Medium longarms....

And longarms so long that you can operate multiple machines on them.

It's always scary asking prices, but the Innova booth should be lauded for their transparency. The machines they refer to in the bottom poster really are robotic, computer-controlled, and laser-equipped! For less than $20,000!

If you can't afford a longarm, you probably can afford an old standby - a Flynn Quilt Frame. (This is not an endorsement, I haven't tried it.) The show price was a mere $150. (That's just a little more expensive at the Flynn Quilt Frame website.)

Here was my favorite sign from the show (in front of the Aloha Quilt Shop.)

And here's my favorite couple. They run Rochelle's Fine Fabric. Look very closely at their heads....

Wait, I'll make it easier for you by whiting out the background:

I told them they're not normal, and they heartily agreed. It will not come a surprise to you that Rochelle's specializes in conversational (aka novelty) and licensed prints, including the broadest collection of sports team fabrics that I've ever seen. They were also well-stocked with one of the newer fads in the quilt world - giant panels, that you quilt in one piece - great for beginners or quilters in a rush. Find Rochelle's fabrics (but not the headgear) at http://www.rochellesfinefabric.com/fabrics.html. 

The colors in many of the booths were intoxicating. Here's another of my favorites - from the shop 'Applique After Hours.' 

Some of these are wool quilts. Their equally thrilling web shop is here. 

Another huge trend at this show - maybe all shows - are backpacks, bags, totes, zippers, and purse hardware galore. 

Here's the 'Sew Many Creations' wall of patterns. 

For bag making, the cork fad rages on, as it has for several years. The cork keeps getting more interesting.

'Sassafras Lane' displayed a yummy rainbow of cork wallets. 

And there were a whole lot of bags made from Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics. I think this booth was ByAnnie.com

Speaking of Kaffe - his fabric was ubiquitous.AllaboutcolorQuilting.com carried only Kaffe collective fabric. 

Villa Rosa had some of the best prices for Kaffe fabric (the sign below says $10.96). But for the most part, fabric of all descriptions at this show ran $12.00 a yard and up - often, way up.

As an antidote to all those brilliant colors, there were more booths than I expected selling primitive/country style quilt stuff. It's not my thing, but clearly plenty of quilters love it. Here's the One Sister Designs booth. 

Liberty Homestead: 

At The Cottage Rose/Debb Eggers booth, I saw this adorable game board. (I would make it in jewel tone batiks.)

Carriage Country Quilts showed off these embroidered creatures - the pattern is "Forest Friends" by Kathy Schmitz. 

The Primitive Gatherings booth had a different take - instead of browns, there were shades of black, grey, and navy blue.

The serene quilts in front of their booth drew admirers. 

And speaking of blues, there were several booths dedicated to Japanese arts, including fabrics, threads, and quilts. Here's a fabulous sashiko quilt on display at Kimonomomo LLC.

Shibori Dragon's wares included patterns for fascinating small Japanese bags. They sell a vast array of Japanese fiber art delights from their website. 

There were several booths selling African fabrics (and other stuff). This booth was AfricanEverything.com. They specialize in baskets as well as textiles.

And there were South American fabrics and wearables. Kuna Prints Mola Shoes sold shoes, boots, backpacks, and more, crafted from gorgeous molas that were created by the Kuna Indians of Panama and Columbia. More here.   

I forgot where I saw these. My kind of swimming pools. 

And for the quilter who thought she had everything, the shop 'Classy American' had something I don't - light sets that you push through holes in your quilt. These can be plugged into an outlet, or battery operated. The photo doesn't show that both these quilts are covered with twinkling lights. Snap your light sets up at their website, here. (This company primarily sells roll-up design walls.)

I learned that 'Quilt in a Day' is now working closely with Accuquilt.  From what I could see, 98% of the merchandise in the QIAD booth was Accuquilt Go appliques and supplies.   

When I got home I checked QIAD's website - thankfully, the company still sells books and patterns. (It was an Eleanor Burns' book - "An Amish Quilt in a Day" - that turned me into an enthusiastic quilter, in one day. Finishing the Amish quilt took a little longer than a day.) 

There were Singer Featherweights everywhere - that is, Featherweights belonging to people doing sewing demonstrations. There weren't a lot of them for sale, but one booth (whose sign I forgot to photograph) had stunning, custom-painted machines, including this glossy patriotic number.

 Continuing the red-white-and blue theme (plus black): 

The 'Spirit of the Artisan' booth sold this intricate applique tape, made in Thailand

Boxes of luscious silks:

Next, their "Chiffon Pintuck Ombre Polyester."

I don't know what you do with it, but it looks awesome! (I cannot find the Spirit of the Artisan website - if you know what it is, let me know.)

My second favorite place to shop is thrift shops. So it was not surprising that I was enthralled by 'Paganoonoo' - a pattern company that shows you how to cut up old shirts, jeans and such, and turn them into funky new wearables. I watched one show attendee look at their mannequins, shake her head and declare, "I don't get it!" For me, on the other hand, it was love at first sight. Find their offbeat eco-sensible patterns here.

Another unexpected booth, Chenille-It, focused completely on chenille quilts. I have always associated chenille with bathrobes, until I saw what they'd made. 

Especially this: 

So there you have it! A teeny fraction of the shopping sights at Road! Once again, my tour of some of my many favorite quilts is in the last installment, here.