okadaya, tokyo

Japanese Narrow Goods

Yesterday I made it to Okadaya, a five-storey fabric store across from the East exit of the Shinjuku train station. I had a 35-minute window of time before I needed to regroup with my family and head back to our apartment in Nakano.

I walked up the stairs to check out the merchandise on each floor. If I had known in advance that all the quilting (pronounced "kilting" in Japan) fabrics were on the first floor, I could have saved ten precious minutes. There were elaborate Liberty of London cottons, Michael Miller and other American designer fabrics, and cutesy Japanese novelty prints galore.

My big find was a collection of narrow cottons (approximately 15 inches wide) that are hand-printed in only one or two colors. They took my fancy because their simple motifs looked genuinely Japanese. I bought 8 meters for 8,000 Yen each (approx. $9 US), plus a couple of remnants at a good discount. The cutter was very generous as he added about 3 inches to each meter, something that is never done at my local Seattle stores.

FYI: Be advised that there are two Okadaya stores within a half block of one another. The one for quilters has bins of fabric outside it.

quilting in japan

Details of a Japanese quilt in “Path to Edo” at La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum, Summer 2008

I am off to Tokyo for seven days to noodle around the big city and look for signs of Japanese quilts and their makers. I found another blog (goatinacoat@blogspot.com) that talked about different stores in the city to buy fabric, so that will help me out.

The Japanese, with their built-in meticulousness, are fabulous quilters. Although quilting may be considered an original American art form, the art/craft form translates well to the sensibilities and fabrics of the Japanese.

With my eyes open to all things quilted, this should be an exciting trip. Sayonara.

quilting weather

Backyard, The Longest Night, 2008.

With two major snowstorms in four days and a third storm just beginning, Seattle is homebound. This is a great time to start a quilting project. Especially since I want a lap quilt to stitch during my upcoming one-week vacation.

I have pulled out some fabric to begin a runner for an East Coast friend, Grace Lynch. A key part of the piecing will be Martha Negley’s Vegetable Leaves fabric. I bought three yards of two color lines (with turquoise and cranberry backgrounds) to make 20 dinner napkins for Grace. Now with the scraps, I want to make an additional gift.

Grace has a remarkable collection of Majolican cabbage leaf china. She has upteen plates and bowls, and at least five big fat teapots with little rabbits peeking out from under the green leaves. The napkins and quilted table runner will hopefully be used when she hosts her big family gatherings.

an expectant great grandmother

Cats for Liz’s Firstborn, 32 x 40 inches; Fish for Vik’s Firstborn, 33 x 41 inches

This past weekend I visited my mother and father in Victoria, BC. It was a fun weekend, made memorable by a blizzard that dropped five inches of snow in a city devoid of plows.

My mother, Jane, is a happy quilter. Her joy is making baby quilts with bright colors and novelty fabrics. Only one of her grandchildren has produced offspring, but that doesn’t stop Jane from believing there are many more to come.

She sent me home with a wonderful quilt for each of my daughters’ firstborns, even though my girls are just single college students right now.

the loaner

Before Maurine Noble migrated to the sunny climes of California for the winter, she lent me her second Bernina. It’s a 20-year old baby that her guests from afar use when they visit her home. What a thoughtful hostess!

The afternoon of the hand-off, Maurine took time to show me all the features that make a Bernina the perfect machine for quilters. With the two-task foot pedal, knee bar and stitch memory, I had a brain-opening lesson.

This weekend I have used it for the first time to piece a baby quilt for a special newborn boy. The machine just purred as it stitched together the woven plaids and checks.

After story: At the end of the winter I bought the machine from Maurine. I couldn’t live without it.

lap quilt series: no. 3

A Blanket for Babar, 2008, 44" x 59"
PURCHASED BY ANNA RHODES FOR HER GRAND NIECE

“An elephant in the room” is a problem that everyone knows well but no one talks about because it is taboo or embarrassing. That is the theme of this month’s Art Chix challenge.

What does a quilter do with such a project directive? My idea was to make a cover-up for the elephant so the difficult subject could be ignored a little longer.

This quilt is made with Indian batiks that I bought at Winmill Fabrics in Boston last spring. I scissor-cut the fabric without measuring so the design lines are softly irregular.

The center square of fabric is hand stitched around the flower pattern while the surrounding bands of fabric are machine stitched in-the-ditch. The binding is made up of leftover bits of fabric from the quilt top.