This was my favorite display in the merchant mall. Keiko Geko is a popular contemporary quilt designer in Japan. And she designed all the fabric in the quilts in her display. You can check out her fabric on her Quilt Wonderland website: http://www.keikogoke.com/. The site is in Japanese but you can enjoy the fabrics without knowing the language.
These lovely ladies greeted more than 50,000 visitors to the November 26-28 show at the Pacifico Yokohama Exhibition Hall. They were named Minato and Minai for the neighborhood where the hall is located. Don't you just want to get the fireplace going and stitch up one of these warm, cuddly outfits?
And I got to see Keiko Zeze receive her award from QN Contributing Editor Dana Jones. I was happy to meet Ms. Zeze and to see how happy she was to receive the award.
The best part of every quilt show is meeting all the quilters who come. I don't speak much Japanese and these ladies didn't know much English, but we all spoke Quilt-ese so we had a great time together. They wanted a pattern so they could make a Quincie doll but I told them I'm an original--no copies, please. They loved my hair!
Check out the tiger in the background and the penguin below. Too cute. And they have a message, too. Designer Masayuki Kinuta is the center of the KiNUU venture, which brings children and their parents together to make pieced and stuffed animals from recycled materials. The animals remind us that their future--and ours--depend on us taking care of our planet. Mr. Kinuta's animals are more complicated than those the families make in half-day workshops but all the animals share a new approach to patchwork: the stitches are on the surface for all to see.
Kinuta Masayuki's whimsical animals are a fun and worthwhile 3-D take on quilting. His project's name--KiNUU--comes from putting two Japanese words together. Kinu means fabric and nuu means sewing. I really wanted to put this little guy into my bag for the flight home but settled for getting a kit to make my own porcupine. Her quills will be pins since she can double as a pin cushion.
Now here's an amazing quilt! Can't believe I got to see Sixty Years Old by Keiko Zeze up close and personal. This is the quilt all of us at Quilters Newsletter picked for the QN Award at the Yokohama show.
And I got to see Keiko Zeze receive her award from QN Contributing Editor Dana Jones. I was happy to meet Ms. Zeze and to see how happy she was to receive the award. 
The best part of every quilt show is meeting all the quilters who come. I don't speak much Japanese and these ladies didn't know much English, but we all spoke Quilt-ese so we had a great time together. They wanted a pattern so they could make a Quincie doll but I told them I'm an original--no copies, please. They loved my hair!
Check out the tiger in the background and the penguin below. Too cute. And they have a message, too. Designer Masayuki Kinuta is the center of the KiNUU venture, which brings children and their parents together to make pieced and stuffed animals from recycled materials. The animals remind us that their future--and ours--depend on us taking care of our planet. Mr. Kinuta's animals are more complicated than those the families make in half-day workshops but all the animals share a new approach to patchwork: the stitches are on the surface for all to see.
Kinuta Masayuki's whimsical animals are a fun and worthwhile 3-D take on quilting. His project's name--KiNUU--comes from putting two Japanese words together. Kinu means fabric and nuu means sewing. I really wanted to put this little guy into my bag for the flight home but settled for getting a kit to make my own porcupine. Her quills will be pins since she can double as a pin cushion.
What an amazing trip you're having Quincie! We can't wait until you get back to the office so you can tell us more. Do you think you'll find a kimono in your size? Safe travels!
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