Luana’s Travel Calendar: Jan 24-Feb 2, 2020 – Tokyo Quilt Festival Feb 19-22 – QuiltCon in Austin TX Mar 18-27 – Wilderness Congress – Jaipur India June 17-21 – Quilt Canada – Edmonton June 26-27 – Intl Quilt Museum – Lincoln NE July 29 – Aug 2 – “Love Your Mother” Gallery in Birmingham UK
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In this 51″ x 51″ exclusive eQuilter Free Quilt Pattern, we’ve combined Songbirds prints from Elizabeth Studio and Timeless Treasure, with 3 different Stonehenge textures from Northcott. You can almost hear the twittering of the birds, and the rustling of the leaves.
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Greetings from Tokyo! I am writing to you a few minutes before I check out of my room and head to the airport. Sophie and I have had a very busy and wonderful 4 day visit here at the Tokyo Quilt Festival. After many years of traveling to this show, meeting local quilt artists, and photographing the show…we have many wonderful friends here.
As you probably know, Japanese quilts are quite distinctive compared to what we see at shows in the US. For many years the difference had to do with most of the quilts being made by hand. The Japanese motifs and vintage Japanese fabrics (including yukata and silk kimono remnants re-used in quilts) were another part of the distinction. Over the years we have watched the waves of trends here, and I would say the trends of Taupe and even Indigo fabrics is lessening in favor of more colorful and contemporary themes and techniques. That is the evolution of the art form – creative people are always looking for something new to excite their creativity.
As I have written in the past couple years, one of the bigger changes is the expansion of machine quilting here in Japan. In some ways this makes the quilts more similar to the US quilts, but we still delight in the differences…the motifs and fabrics that stand out because they are uniquely Japanese.
In the center panel of the collage above, you see a detail of a beautiful Chrysanthemum applique and embroidery quilt. The variety of fabrics used in the Mum petals is distinctive, and also the white embroidery on the charcoal black background. The essence is still Japanese, but there is a contemporary influence. The name of the quilter was not spelled out, so I have included an image of the name written in characters, to make sure the artist has credit where it is due.
Around the borders I have added some lovely Japanese fabric designs we have in stock now. We are headed to the airport now so watch for my photos in the next week or two, as I have time to edit and post on my photo page. Sayonara to my Japanese quilter friends!
Luana’s Travel Calendar: Feb 19-22 – QuiltCon in Austin TX Mar 18-27 – Wilderness Congress – Jaipur India June 26-27 – Intl Quilt Museum – Lincoln NE July 29 – Aug 2 – “Love Your Mother” Gallery in Birmingham UK
This colorful eQuilter Free Quilt Design starts with a panel of three elegant cat blocks along with two allover kitty prints, then adds Northcott Stonehenge tonal prints and a Hoffman Hand Dye to piece the quilt. The clever piecing frames each kitty scene to create a quilt full of museum-like masterpieces.
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Sophie and I arrived in Tokyo at Narita Airport after an 11 hour nonstop flight. Over the years it has gotten so much easier to get to this show at the Tokyo Dome. It used to take 2 flights and sometimes I’d get stuck in Seattle, Alaska or San Francisco on the way, due to delays. We are staying in the Tokyo Dome Hotel and we have a birds eye view of the entrance to the show from our window. When we arrived at the hotel, we saw several old friends in the lobby including Lisa Walton, the president of SAQA, who is leading a tour from Australia.
We slept for 10 hours and we’re up early to go in and take photos of the quilts, and then meet up with our quilter friends here in Japan. This is my 12th time to this show, but I’ve been traveling to Japan since the 80s when I lived in Hong Kong and worked in the garment industry as an import designer. In those days I traveled to Osaka, and it was a very different time. I worked as a designer for a big garment agent with offices in 6 countries, and I would travel to Japan to source textiles for their big name designers in New York.
You can see my photos from trips to Japan and the Tokyo Quilt Festival on this page and while you enjoy those photos, I’ll be at the show here taking photos of the 2020 event. I do urge everyone who attend the show here to make sure to photograph the artist’s namecard to give credit where it is due. Over the years there has been a huge increase in the number of Western tour groups coming to see the show, posting photos but often without credit.
Last year you may have seen the invitation and link that I posted, for Western quilt artists to enter the Tokyo Quilt Show. I will share that information again for the 2021 show, and I hope you’ll consider sending an entry for consideration. This show is opening up more to accept international entries and it is a great opportunity for artists around the world to be seen by a whole new audience, which is very exciting!
I’ll be posting from the show floor on my Facebook page, and then my individual quilt photos will start to pop up on my photo page in about a week. QuiltCon is next month and I’ll be attending that show to document with photos as well.
Luana’s Travel Calendar: Jan 24-Feb 2, 2020 – Tokyo Quilt Festival Feb 19-22 – QuiltCon in Austin TX Mar 18-27 – Wilderness Congress – Jaipur India June 17-21 – Quilt Canada – Edmonton June 26-27 – Intl Quilt Museum – Lincoln NE July 29 – Aug 2 – “Love Your Mother” Gallery in Birmingham UK
This generous 62″ x 70″ pattern combines a dinosaur central panel with coordinating frames, border and tonal prints to create a prehistoric masterpiece. Your ‘Dinosaur World’ quilt makes a great gift for ‘Jurassic’ fans of all ages!
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Deep in a tropical jungle there is a cascading waterfall, where delicate flowers grow in the shade, jewel-tone butterflies sip their nectar, and the plumage of endangered wild Macaws flashes as they soar between the trees.
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When we make a quilt – whether a bed quilt or an art quilt – we usually are aiming for a finished work that will last for a long time. Often we hope that the quilt will be around after we are gone. Often those quilts are also an expression of Beauty that captures a moment in time:
So many things in the natural world are of a fleeting nature, and whether you are a quilter, a painter or a photographer, you have probably gasped with delight at the fleeting beauty of sunsets, rainbows, flowers and butterflies. Often we drop whatever we are doing to fully appreciate those moments of transitory wonder. Perhaps we recognize that we are glimpsing divine perfection if only for minutes or seconds.
We have seen a lot of Butterfly fabrics over the years, but with the advancement of digital printing technology, these jewel-tone detailed fabrics are some of the most breathtaking designs created in the last few years. These fabrics capture those magical moments, and remind us of the impermanent nature of our existence.
When we see your orders come through the cutting department, full of sunsets, rainbows, flowers and butterflies…we smile and admire how you have combined the colors, the small and large scale designs, and imagine what beautiful quilt you will make from these fabrics.
Like the legendary Dragonfly that represents long life, may you live an expansive life full of joy and beauty, and may your quilts share your loving stitches for many years into the next generation.
Luana’s Travel Calendar: Jan 24-29, 2020 – Tokyo Quilt Festival Feb 19-22 – QuiltCon in Austin TX Mar 18-27 – Wilderness Congress – Jaipur India June 26-27 – Intl Quilt Museum – Lincoln NE July 29 – Aug 2 – “Love Your Mother” Gallery in Birmingham UK
You will enjoy this flute-playing story teller from Southwest Native American cultures, representing the joyful spirit of Music. The earliest known petroglyph of Kokopelli dates to about 1000 AD!
The rich Southwest colors of Terra Cotta, Turquoise, Cactus Green are also found in the pottery and Navajo rug patterns of this 56″ x 75″ quilt design. The geometric stripe is used to make the clever border. The last time we had this panel in stock it blew out, so we want to make sure you have another chance to dance with Kokopelli now that he is back in stock.
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the pattern as configured, or customize it to your liking with any of our
thousands of fabrics. Just place your desired fabrics in your
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