Tokyo Quilt Cats

Here's another great quilt from the 2007 Tokyo show. This one in honor of the cats of my sister Jayne and of Tanya, a new blogger friend, http://tttl1998.blogspot.com/ Both of them love cats and their cats look alike! While I like cats, my allergies keep me away from them! Speaking of allergies they are going nuts today...nothing like having grass allergies and living in the grass seed growing capital of the states! Be sure to click on the photo to see the incredible details of the yo-yo chains that connect the blocks and create the bottom details. The title of the quilt is "Love and Dream", unfortunately I can't read Japanese to tell you the name of the wonderful artist.

Summer Tokyo Quilts

The heat is here in Oregon! Finally a few warm days in the 80's. A quick weekend trip to Seattle ended with a stop at Holly Hill Quilt shop in West Linn, Oregon. This is one of my favorite Portland area shops due to the great selection and wonderful displays. If you are ever in the Portland area, don't miss this shop, just off of I-205. Be sure to ask about the sale room and the batiks upstairs. I just discovered these two rooms, that are normally open only on Saturdays.

Here is a quilt from the Tokyo 2007 show, that brings on the sunshine and smiles every time I see it. It is called "Get Aware",by Ryoko Fujimoto

More Tokyo Basket Quilts

Four more wonderful basket quilts from the Jan 2007 Tokyo show. Along with the basket challenge quilts (see previous post) there was a special show of American basket quilts along with Japanese basket quilts.

This first quilt brings back deep memories from my childhood in Indiana, where Marie Webster patterns began. I don't know exactly where the connection is to my past, perhaps it was at one of our neighbors, Vernice McLary, where I really learned to sew (as compared to Home Ec class where I learned to hate ripping out stitches), or on the bed of a childhood friend, whose mother was quite the seamstress and quilter. Oh but it is one of those wonderful warm fuzzy memories that fills me with joy! Marie's home in Marion, Indiana is now the location of the Quilters Hall of Fame http://www.quiltershalloffame.net/

The third quilt is "Baskets and Bloom" by Linda Bradley. The other two are not identified in the books from the show. Remember to double click on the photos for a better look at the wonderful details!

Tokyo Basket Quilts

Time for May Baskets! Jan's recent posting (Bemused) http://bemused.typepad.com/bemused/ ) reminded me of the 80 basket quilts made of challenge blocks at 2007 Tokyo Show. You purchased raffle tickets and dropped them in the box beside the quilt you wanted to win. Oh, how I wanted to win one! There were all kinds of basket blocks, traditional, pieced flowers, 3-D flowers, embroidery, animals, hexagons and all kinds of great creative interpretations. This is just a sample and I'll post more soon.

Yesterday, in a moment of insanity, I decided to finally redo the front planting beds at my house (8 ft x 18ft). The contractor had placed rhodies in full sun, where they were baked all summer long. So, 4 yards of potting soil and lots of new plants, the transformation has begun. The rhodies are relocated to a shady spot in the back and the front bed is being prepared for all the new plants. It is wonderful to have strong teenage boys hang out at our house. I knew there was a reason I've been feeding them! They are great dirt movers!! All of this to say...no quilting this weekend at our house. However, I am having significant withdrawls and know I need to return quickly to my sewing room!

Tokyo Quilt Show--Mother's Day Butterfly quilt

Today, I celebrate mother's day remembering my mom's love of butterflies. She passed away in 1998, but whenever my sister, niece and I are together, butterflies seem to appear. This quilt is from the 2007 Tokyo Quilt show, titled "Fairy of Spring" by Keiko Takahaski. I loved the colors and the quilting. The border is very unique...Look carefully at the very wide metallic shimmering border.

Tokyo Quilts

This quilt "About a Hollyhock". by Masako Tsuada is 196x224 cm, is another of the prize winners at Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival in Jan. 2007. Today it is 80 here and soon the hollyhocks will bloom in Oregon! Don't you just love these huge flowers! Click on the image to see some of the incredible details of the quilting, which includes many bugs, butterflies and birds!

Tokyo Prize Winning Quilt

This quilt entitled "SHE" by Tomoko Matsuura was one of my favorites and a prize winner. The incredible detail of the Lilly of the Valley flowers was overwhelming.. The dragon fly is on the back of the quilt. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

It's been a busy week or so, not much time sewing. The tulips are still on the design wall...the red batik is perfect! Spent last Saturday, at an all day Scrapbooking workshop. I managed to complete 14 pages of my Okinawa trip last August. Then I worked on border designs last night and again this morning.

I've realized that scrapbooking is similar to quilting...cutting shapes, rearranging them and putting it all back together. Once again, I love the color choices and design aspects.

I've been learning to use the Memory Manager software by Creative Memories to edit pictures for this blog. Check out Joanna's website for more details on this great tool! www.mycmsite.com/joannahaugen