Tokyo Quilt Festival

It is hard to digest all the work there. It is impressive to see how much thought and work go into making the quilts. An old line from a high school text book popped into my head. It was from Kennith Clarke in his "Civilization" TV series on the BBC. "It is hard to define what civilization is but not so difficult to see what it is not."

I prefer the quilts that would actually be used on a bed to keep warm. Most are made to hang on the wall. This is fine but still... A little wear and tear would make them look more beautiful. And hundreds of quilts hanging up under fluorescent lighting in a huge sports/rock concert arena. I would be nicer to see them in a venue more respecting the the millions of hours spent on the stitching and designing.

So many things impressed me. Here are some pictures.




Small scraps of silk Oshima tsumugi. It was good to see this precious silk used on something that will be kept for many years. Often these old kimono are taken apart and made into western clothing.



This was a clever usage of the old linen/cotton bags that were used to filter miso and make soy sauce.






Here the overall design is Japanese and the colors are very Japanese. The small shape motifs are so clever as well.




Of course their were plenty of blossom theme Japanese quilts.








This one was just crazy creative and cool.


A lot of indigo in the quilts,