More Tokyo Dome quilts ... part 3

As I have mentioned before. other than prize winners, the only quilts that have the quilter's name posted in roman lettering are those made by 60 or so "well known" quilters and teachers.

This quilt, using a lot of "Japanese Taupe" was made by Osami Gonohe

It is called  "Snow Dome" and besides the number of scenic domes, there are lots of cute snow people lined up around the borders.

The title of this is "Japanese Patterns".

It was made by Kumiko Fujita and if you look closely there is a lot of variety among those red and white blocks ... A sumo wrestler, lanterns, demons, daruma, kimono, fish, flags, cat, teapot, and many more items.

How about these soccer playing bunnies?

Usually the rabbit in the moon is busily pounding mochi but his attention seems to be diverted by the game in progress.


The title is "Tokyo 2020 Kickoff"

Made by Miwako Mogami

"Fujin - Raijin Wind God and Thunder God"

By Toko Sekita


A lot of work must have gone into this one...

"The Universe"

by Fumiko Nakayama


Lots and lots of detailed reverse applique in this one.

"Design with Lilies"

by Sachiko Yoshida.

I see a lot of leaves but the lilies are well hidden among all those colorful scraps.

"Let's sing together"

by Asako Maeda



With all those frogs, I wonder what the song would sound like? It might remind me of my house with a pond so long ago...

"Tokyo Winter" by Yoshiko Kurihara

"Eternity" by Keiko Morita

And a few of the winners ... this one "Kawaii" by Rumiko Oiwa.

I don't know how this one was picked as I saw many more that caught my eye.

The title was in Japanese ... "Winter flowers" by Hiroko Tamai

Yes, a lot of fine detail but it seems the judges liked rather mild quilts.

More color in this second place quilt by Takako Oikawa called "Great Romantic"

And the grand prize went to this one by Sumiko Nagami ... Title in kanji had something about rain.

And, walking through the displays, I met this owl.

(actually there were a number of owls perched on shelves here and there)

And, of course, being the "year of the rat" there were a number of these little critters as well.

Had it not been for the tails, I could have mistaken them for rabbits with those long ears.

And now, with the lunar New Year having passed, it is time for me to roll up this little hanging ...

one of the first quilted items I made after getting married and coming to Tokyo.

I think I found a "kit" in the local department store. 

Not much like that fancy red and white one, but just as typically Japanese.

Tokyo Dome Quilts 2020 part 2

There were so many quilts at the show that I wished to take pictures of, but ....

after standing and waiting for viewers to move on, and waiting ... and waiting ... as some moved on, others moved into their place...

This looked like something I would have liked a good look at but this is the closest I could get.
It looks like a mola with the 12 animals of the zodiac.









There were several quilts I put on my "later" list, hoping to get a better view.

This is one that gathered crowds of viewers, and when I got close enough to see it I think I know why.

Kakurembo is a game of hide and seek played by children.

I think this was more of an "I-Spy" quilt and the viewers were playing along. I returned a number of times and finally could get a picture to share.

Each section block has a number of the same items.

The thing to find was the one that was "different".

Not hard to find the onigiri with the plum in the center or the flower leaning the other way,
But ... how about those doughnuts?

Looks like someone took a bite out of that apple....



and one of those leaves looks more like a mushroom...

I guess you might see why the viewers were gathered so closely for so much of the day. The use of "Japanese Taupe" worked well in this quilt ...

And ...

Look at the charming detail in the borders...

Lots of embroidery and embellishments....


Judging from the fact that the quilter's name was on the post, this was probably made by one of the "well known" quilters.

I have begun enquiring of ways to find those in charge of the show in order to convince them that a proclaimed "international" show needs to have the names of the quilters in roman lettering. It wouldn't be that hard to add one more blank to the application and every person ... even my pre-school artists ... know how to write their names that way.

Wouldn't it be nice if I could show all my pictures while giving those marvelous artists credit for what must have taken years to do?

2020 Tokyo Dome quilt show (1)

Back again for another year ... A great place to meet old friends and make new ones, get in lots of walking, and even more inspiration...

First, we were off to the partnership quilts.

This year, both mine and Queenie's blocks were in the earlier sections.

My owl and his two cardinal buddies are in the center of the bottom row.

I thought this arrangement a rather strange mixture of owls and rabbits. A few of the rabbits have hopped down among the owls, but other than that, there doesn't seem to be much organization between style or color.

Each year the project of assembling the blocks is taken on by a group connected to a well known teacher. A few years ago, the size of the blocks was made smaller, possibly to lower the total number of quilts to be made.

I would think having more blocks to work with would provide more options for arrangement...

Queenie's cat is resting on a sofa. If I was trying to find her block by looking for her flag, I would have had to look at each quilt much more closely.

The theme being a favorite animal meant lots of pets, either dogs or cats seemed to take over many of the quilts.

Tanya's block found its way into a quilt of mostly cats and dogs.

Not a very good picture but it seems this quilt tried to feature lighter blocks in the center with a bit darker border.

Though there are lots of repeat design blocks, the arrangement gives the feeling of much more variety.

Cynthia's block is toward the center of the top row.

This quilt, too seems to have at least begun with a plan to put blue backgrounds in the center surrounded by orange tints and then moving out to white, pink and brown.

Mostly dogs and cats in this one.

This quilt has a lot of pandas and seems to have featured green backgrounds,

I think the path of footprint blocks gives the quilt more interest.

On the other hand, these rows of owls seem to get lost in the monotony of the repetition.


All in all, though the theme seemed to offer many possibilities, there were quite a few looking like this one.

I also noticed that, unlike in the past, there were blocks with three-dimensional features. Some were stuffed to stick up or had moving ears or hanging tails. Quite a few embroideries included beads or bowties.





Part of the exhibit included special displays. There were some British museum quilts and those had detailed information in both English and Japanese.

I was looking for a quilt by Yoko Saito to post for my blogging friend, Isa, when I came across an exhibit of "Mary Poppins" quilts.

Only the main work on display was by Saito-sensei.

The rest were the work of her students.

Of course there was plenty of Japanese "taupe" but the fancy detail I enjoyed a few years ago in a Peter Rabbit theme, was missing.

This is a little village at the foot of the hanging.

                                                      Student's work...

I may have to go back and read Mary Poppins again to see how all these picture quilts fit the story...

I hope to post more later once I get my pictures sorted.