Yokohama International Quilt Week - Meeting People

Starting with the important question from the red carpet: Who wore it better? Amy or Kumiko Fujita? I have to give this battle to her because she did a proper catwalk turn that made everyone laugh and smile.

When my birthday rolled around this year, I was a given a choice of gifts. I could get a new indoor lens for my camera, go skydiving or go to Japan. When I look at these photos and those from the recent Melbourne show, it's obvious a new 'convention hall' lens is in order, but I wouldn't trade my Yokohama experience for anything. I got to meet and talk with the quilters and textile designers who continually inspire me.

I'm not one to get tongue-tied but I found myself at a loss for words when I saw Suzuko Koseki walking through the show. I had so much that I wanted to say to her - how inspiring her work has been to me and many of us, how we love the colors she uses, how her books are admired globally or how we all would love to see the house plans fabric reprinted. I said none of these things though. I just stared like a goofy schoolgirl. She probably thought I was crazy, but was polite enough to pose for a photo with me anyway.

Things went so much better when I met Kumiko Fujita as I'd written to her shop in advance to let them know that I'd be at the show and to find out if they'd have a Kumiko Fujita stall there. I've been friends on Flickr with a colleague of hers, and she wrote back to say that I could find her at the Lecien booth. Stopping by was such a treat.

I felt fortunate as she set time aside for me and talked about my blog, digital quilt designs and projects I have made. She was so welcoming and I felt inspired talking to her. I must make a present to send to her!

The Yokohama show had a small area set aside for wholesale and trade fabric sales. I believe there were five or six vendors, but the most prominent display belonged to Lecien and the First of Infinity 3 collection. When the show closed for the day, I was invited back to the booth where Kumiko Fujita gave a talk about her new collection to visiting patchworkers on a tour. I watched as she showed ways the new prints could be used in bags, quilts and clothing.

The collection comes in a few colorways including a Japanese autumn combination. (You can see more of the collection and better photos at the Quilters Studio blog. You'll also see that Weeks Ringle wore the First of Infinity jacket best!) I'm partial to the yellow large scale stripe and text print which cuts up and re-pieces perfectly. My favorite print is the light turquoise print with the alphabet in multiple scales and a longer version of the alphabet running parallel to the selvedge. Along with quilting cotton, there are also laminates.

One thing I noticed around Japan on this trip and in this collection is what I'm calling overprints for lack of a better word. Although they probably aren't created by this method, but they give the appearance of typography bring printed on top of traditional quilting fabrics like large scale roses, ginghams or checks. I didn't think I would be someone who would like muted rose prints, but the stark typography married with the softness make them somewhat endearing. They've really grown on me. Kumiko Fujita has carefully chosen levels of blacks and greys to work with each print, customizing the color level of the type to balance the subtle nuances of the more traditional fabric. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of this type of fabric in the future. I think it's a trend to watch out for.

I mentioned in my last post that Kaffe Fassett had an exhibition at the show. Although he's been to Australia a few times, it was great to see his gallery talk. Sadly, I missed Weeks Ringle's talk but I did get to spend a fair bit of time chatting with her about both quilting and the nuances of bidet toilets.

I did make it to the gallery talk by the past judges about their quilts although there was a huge language barrier for me. Although I studied Japanese when I was in Sydney, it's been two years and for whatever reason I could only think of French words when I was trying to speak and listen in Japanese.

I believe the past judges were all challenged to either work with reclaimed materials or to work outside their normal style. I'm not entirely sure, but the laughter was universal. I saw about nine or ten elite Japanese quilters. Their work was amazing.

Oh and I met these guys too...

The Yokohama quilt show was fabulous! I've still got a few more reports from Tokyo too - books I bought (or wish I'd bought) and shops that I visited. Also, if you read part 1, I've added more links to blogs with photos and designers. I'll keep adding these links. Traveling to the Yokohama quilt show was a pretty special experience. Not one that I'll soon forget.