2011 Tokyo International Quilt Show

Celebrating its 10^th anniversary, featuring 1800 works and a seemingly endless supply of vendors, the 2011 Tokyo International Quilt Show had an abundance of eye candy. A group of us traveled up from Yokosuka by train, taking the Green Car with reserved seating, a new experience for our group. No standing in a crowded train car, packed with commuters. We were able to sit in style for the 90-minute train ride to Tokyo. Of course, we were probably anything but the demure, quiet commuters we should have been – I’m sure our fellow Japanese passenger’s wondered “Why did they have to pick this car?” and “When will they stop talking?” (when we arrived in Tokyo). For most of us this was a break, an escape from reality, a chance to see some incredible work by some very talented artists. Yes, yes – I’m talking about quilts. But until you’ve seen Japanese quilts, you really haven’t seen quilts. These artists take this fiber art form to the next level. The hoards of people crowding into the Tokyo Dome indicated that there are a whole lot of Japanese out there that think this show is worth seeing too.

My first mission was to scout the vendors. I had coerced my friend Judy into coming along, convincing her that this is a once a year opportunity that she really needed to experience. We formed up our attack plan and starting winding our way through the vendor aisles. I only had one thing on my list, but of course found many more items I just “had to have.” My rule of thumb was, when I returned to the States would I regret not having made the purchase? Of course the answer was almost always “yes.”

Bags, bags and more bags

There were so many vendors with bags – patterns for bags, kits to make bags, handles for bags, and the thing that was all the rage were the bags made out of tatami matt webbing. I had first seen these at the Tokyo Hobby Show last year and had picked up a roll and made myself a bag. Now the rolls were everywhere, different colors from what I’d seen before and some very creative techniques (see photos for some of my favorites – yes, Mom, I’ll make you one).

Special Exhibitions

After a break for lunch we headed towards the quilts. There were quilts in many different categories but probably my favorite section was the “WA” Quilts … I’m not entirely sure but I’m guessing this was the Wall Art category. Most of the quilts in the slide show are from this area. Like last year, the attention to details blew me away. There was also a “Quilt Garden” special exhibition and I was enchanted by the garden with the birds and village.

All in all it was a great day. It was hard to get a good photograph of the quilts – it was so crowded, all I could really manage were for the most part detail shots, but those are where the inspiration lies. The exceptionally crafted houses and birds, the blanket stitch surrounding the circles with the added purple “fluff” for dimension, the reemergence of the big-stitch – popular in the 1930’s in the U.S. – I love how it is used in the quilts to emphasize details of the quilts. I came home with my purchases, realizing my hands were itching to create, should I make a bag? How about finish up a wall quilt with the big stitch? Maybe I should place an order for fabric dye? No matter which path I choose, it’s clear that this years Tokyo Quilt Show left me … inspired. *

* for another take on the show, check out Kathy's blog "Aranoyas" - the link under "My Blog List."