Handmade Quilts from Japan (2)

Quilts that are entirely handmade are rare these days. We marvel at the technical excellence, precision, and patience it must have taken to create these works of art! All were made in Japan by groups of friends, turning hard work into companionship and fun.

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for great bargains on designer jewelry and collectibles!
For continuous free quilt patterns, please follow us on X (Twitter)!    

Quilt Village by Kimi Sakamaki with five friends (Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan).  

Quilts are hanging everywhere in this tiny village! Made entirely by hand piecing, hand applique, and hand quilting, it was designed by Kathy Nakajima. Teensy quilts even hang on the clothsline, shown below:

 Regarding the quilt's name, the makers say: "If there is a village where people who love quilts live, we would name it Quilt Village. What kind of scenery would that village have? We created this work while talking about these thoughts."

 

Olive Groves in Italy by Sachiko Miyagawa with 12 friends (Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan)

Made entirely with hand piecing, hand applique, and hand quilting, this quilt too was designed by Kathy Nakajima. The pieced pattern is known as Burgoyne Surrounded, which has a long tradition in American history dating back centuries, uses tiny squares to create a pixelated effects. 

The extensive applique work softens the geometric pattern. Olive Groves in Italy was made by friends who have been growing together for a long time, with olives that bring happiness.

Spring Milky Way by Mutsuko Shindo with 6 friends (Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan) 

The Winding Ways quilt pattern is beautifully overlaid with applique. The star of the show is the appliqued mimosa which sways in the gentle breeze of a spring day.  For the base, we used pieced work with beautifully coordinated colors.  The quilting was carefully hand-stitched to express the softness of the entire piece. We enjoyed the hand quilting (and fun fabrics) which you can see in this closeup photo:

 Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Houston International Quilt Festival.

 

The 50th Annual Utah Quilt Show! (3)

Welcome to the 50th Annual Utah Quilt Show! This show features some of Utah's finest quilters. Each quilt displays a convergence of artistry and creative decision-making, along with the meticulous technical work required at every step of the quilting process.  We hope you enjoy our photos!

p.s. Check out our E-Bay shop for quilt materials & patterns, jewelry, and collectibles! We also invite you to follow us on Twitter ! 

Purple Elephant (2021), made and quilted by Emily Weinheimer.

A 60%-scaled version of Violet Craft's original foundation paper pieced Elephant Abstractions quilt pattern.

Sonoran Preserve Saguaro & Cactus Wren (2024) by Carol Librizzi, quilted by Leisha Farnsworth. 

Carol Librizzi says, "I made this quilt based on a photo I took of a saguaro cactus in the Sonoran Preserve in Arizona.  I was inspired by the collage cactus in Emily Taylor's book, Collage Quilter.  I added colors other than just greens in the cactus to add interest and a bit of whimsy.  The ombre background was suggested by my daughter after I could not find the "right" blue.  It captures the Arizona desert sky."

Carol says, "I love all the textures and movement Leisha Farnsworth did in the quilting. Every year, I try to learn something new, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning this."

Colorful (2022), made and quilted by Marilyn Snow.

Marilyn Snow says, "When I first saw the pattern, I knew I needed to make it. The hardest part was keeping everything organized so that the pencil points lined up with the correct pencil. It was a fun pattern and I really love how it turned out.  I love to play with fabric and any of my great quilting machines. I have sewn for many years and quilted for about 20 years.  I'm inspired by the many patterns and fabric lines that creative people come up with."

Burgoyne Surrounded (2024), made and quilted by Shirley Olsen.

We love this quilt pattern, which is hardly ever seen these days, so this was a special treat. Winner of a Blue Ribbon (Award of Excellence), Shirley Olsen says: "This quilt is a combination of the traditional "Burgoyne surrounded" block and an adaptation of a border designed by Trudie Hughes. Although begun in 2003, this quilt was put aside while I worked on other projects. I finally worked on it again in 2022 and 2024. I hand-guided the quilting on my Bernina 820 stationary machine." Beautiful!

Shirley explains that her quilt was inspired by a red and cream version shown many years ago at a Utah Valley Quilt Guild meeting. "Blue is my favorite color, so I chose blue and cream for my quilt. I am so happy to have finally finished."

Kaleidoscope Stars (2023) by Kathy M. Asay, quilted by Common Threads.  

Here is another gorgeous re-creation of a traditional design! This quilt is based on a Civil War quilt.  Each star has a twin star with the facets reversed.  This design really sparkles.

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Springville (Utah) Museum of Art.

Highlights from the 2014 Tucson, Arizona Quilt Fiesta (continued)

We headed south through the sunny Arizona desert last weekend to the  2014 Tucson, Arizona "Quilt Fiesta" .  Here are some more of our favorites.  We hope you have fun viewing these selections!

Together We Dance by Patsy Heacox

1st place winner in the  Pictorial Art category, Patsy writes, "Five times World Champion Hoop Dancer, Tony Duncan, inspired me to include his family in a new way. [My techniques include] inked portraits, raw edge appliqued, thread-painted, embellished. Background quilting of childrens’ images, sacred symbols. 

Close up, Together We Dance by Patsy Heacox

We were very impressed by this artistic quilt and the creative background quilting, which includes the Native American flute player, which you can see in the upper left. You can also see part of the quotes, which Peggy says are inked and then free motion outlined.

Extravagant Nature by Laura Steiniger

Extravagant Nature was adapted from Kim McLean’s Roseville Album pattern. "My love of nature inspired me to adapt a Kim McLean pattern. I added rabbits to personalize the design and had fun creating the birds and animals out of Kaffe Fassett and other fabrics. I’ve never had this much fun playing with fabric."

Close up, Extravagant Nature by Laura Steiniger

In this close-up, you can see the fabulous colors that Laura chose to depict the animals, including the very cute rabbit on the lower right-hand side.

Close-up, Extravagant Nature by Laura Steiniger

Laura has done wonderful work in creating a tree-of-life motif, where these lively, happy creatures exist in a vibrant fantasy world of different hues.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? by Janet Pugh and Barbara Barr, quilted by
Barbara Barr (non-judged)

This highly imaginative quilt is a view of a dinner table, as seen looking down from above on the table. Janet writes, "Barbara and I envisioned hosting a dinner party with 8 of America’s best-known contemporary quilt artists as guests. We designed 8 dinner plates in their respective styles. Ours are the two end plates on the tables. Can you guess who’s coming to dinner?" (The answer is in the footnote* at the end of the post).

Close-up, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? by Janet Pugh and Barbara Barr

Each plate is a mini-quilt that is finished and then appliqued to the surface of the quilt.  This Mariner’s Compass design is from Judy Mathieson.

Close-up, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner by Janet Pugh and Barbara Barr

The plate shown above was designed in the style of Caryl Bryer Fallert.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner by Janet Pugh and Barbara Barr

The plate shown above was designed in the style of Yvonne Porcella.

Silver Winter by Jacquelyn Morris-Smith

This quilt was based on the Golden Tapestry Special Edition pattern by Anita Goodesign, which was originally done in gold thread on a blue background. Jacquelyn says: "When I saw this design I immediately wanted to do it in black and silver. This reminds me of a beautiful winter scene, with over 2 million machine embroidery stitches."

Close up, Silver Winter by Jacquelyn Morris-Smith

In our opinion, this pastoral garden scene brings to mind a tapestry pattern from centuries past. We really enjoyed this superb example of machine embroidery.

Circus Stars by Sally Dickinson, quilted by Mary Vaneecke

First place winner in the medium size quilt made by two persons,  Sally Dickinson notes, "Circus Stars started as a collection of clown embroidery patterns from older Aunt Martha’s Hot Iron Transfers. Instead of working these in Red Work, I chose ‘Rust Work’ to give the quilt an antique feeling." The light colored stars with various sized-points placed in between the blocks really add sparkle to this quilt. Pattern source: Embroidery from old Aunt Martha's Patterns.

Close up, Circus Stars by Sally Dickinson, quilted by Mary Vaneecke

Sally's expert workmanship is shown here in her precise rendering of the tiny blocks and the little clown spinning the balls and the hoops.

Square Peg in a Round Hole by Barb Smart, quilted by Barbara Angerhofer

Barb Smart used a Burgoyne Surrounded pattern by Mary Fons, which was published in the Winter 2012 edition of Quilty Magazine (as of this writing, there is a digital pattern).  We've always loved this pattern, which originated in the 19th century (see the history below). Barb Smart has created a wonderful graphic version with a single blue block which adds a contemporary focal point to this quilt.

close up, Square Peg in a Round Hole by Barb Smart, quilted by Barbara Angerhofer

Barb Smart says: "This quilt is machine pieced and made with 100% cotton. My inspiration was to practice squaring up 9-patch blocks. I like the simplicity of the pattern, yet it shows drama!"  Barbara Angerhofer's quilting, which was done in concentric and overlapping circles, adds interest and a sense of movement to the quilt.

"Burgoyne Surrounded" is an abstract depiction of the battle of Saratoga, a turning point in the American Revolution. The chains of small squares represent regiments of Redcoats and British armies of Burgoyne, marching from Canada, and General Howe, marching from New York. The circle represents militiamen from New England, surrounding Burgoyne at Saratoga. This pattern and a related one, "Burgoyne's Surrender," have been popular since the 19th century.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration.
*Answer to "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner": Top row, L-R: Michael James, Jane Sassaman, Ruth McDowell, Ricky Tims; Bottom row, L-R: Judy Mathieson, Yvonne Porcella, Libby Lehman, Carol Bryer Fallert.