Monday, January 23, 2012

Tokyo International Quilt Festival 2012!!


Well we did it!  We made it to the Quilt Festival in Tokyo.
My wonderful husband wins the prize - he came along to help me through the train system and to push Charlotte in a stroller.  He did enjoy some of the quilts, but I know he came along mainly for my benefit, which I greatly appreciate!  This was his favorite quilt:


Really amazing.
When we arrived in Tokyo it was freezing cold and raining, but we managed to slosh our way through cold puddles and climb stone steps to make it to the ticket booth at the Tokyo Dome.



I have never been to any quilt show before, so I don't know if they're all big like this, but I felt this one was huge!  Here's a shot from the second floor when we first walked in.


We started by wandering among the display quilts.  There was so much amazing handwork - tiny perfect little quilting stitches that made some gorgeous quilts.


They had a whole hexagon display - I'm a sucker for these.


 That one was hand-quilted.  
Do you hear me?  
Look at all those teeny tiny stitches!?!

Such inspiring detail.  
After we browsed around, it was time for lunch: Bento boxes :)


and of course the Japanese have invented the tidiest way to eat ice cream - a cone pocket encasing vanilla ice cream.  There was no dripping.


Then I went shopping!
I bought some Liberty of London, Moda Japan, and an adorable little kit to make a teeny tiny coin purse.  There were thousands and thousands of people there.  The Japanese have this way of very politely shoving you to the side if you are in the way - so you know, when in Rome.  And actually my baby bump came in handy - I just used it to push my way through all those tiny Japanese women to see what I wanted to see :)

  
There was one section of the designer's booths.  
Some of them were there to answer questions and give little speeches.  
Here were some of my favorite booths:


 How cute are these little kiwi and orange pillows?
 

It was a really great day - long and tiring for a Mama almost 8 mo. pregnant, but totally worth it.
So I'm working on a project with my Liberty of London to share with you later in the week. 
Hope you all had a great weekend!
xoxo
jessica

9 comments:

  1. I am SO proud of you (and glad for you) for going to this, family in tow!

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  2. so so amazing, wow!! I wish I could've been there with you, but thanks for sharing the pics!

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  3. Very interesting to see a quilt show in another country. Was the language barrier a big problem? Were you able to communicate effectively in asking questions and understanding answers? And what a nice husband you have for him to go with you.

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  4. Oh wow!! What an amazing quilt show!! That looks like so much fun! Those hexegon quilts are amazing.
    I can't wait to see what you make with your new fabric!!

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  5. What a whole lot of wonderful memories this post brought back! After this experience, other quilt show seems to pale in comparison - at least for me!

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  6. I can't imagine going with the family, it was all I could do to get myself through the crowds. The designer rooms were nice and it was even nicer to meet with some of the designers that were in their booth. I grabbed one of the questionaires before I left and suggested that if they use the term "International" in the title, they might want to add a bit of English on signs. Even the books on the show did not have English explanations or even quilter's names.

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  7. Thanks for your photos for those of us who will never attend. Loved your remarks, especially the one about how to make use of a baby bump!

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  8. How lucky are you to get to this show! And, so you know, it is a very big show. Most are not of that size or caliber. Several years ago I went to the big show in Houston. It is my dream one day to get to the Tokyo show. I'm saving up my frequent flyer miles!

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  9. I enjoyed your post and pictures of the Tokyo Quilt Show. I was stationed at Yokota Air Base from 1985-1987. I met my husband and had my son while there. Unfortunately, back then, I didn't quilt and don't remember ever hearing about the quilt show. Thanks so much for the beautiful pictures and the commentary on the culture and the people. Brought back some great memories.

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Thanks so much for commenting! If you have a question, make sure your email is in your profile or leave it in a comment so I can answer you. Otherwise email me at jessica(at)sewhomegrown(dot)com - Have a lovely day!

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