Quilts from Japan

It is our great pleasure to display our seventh quilt show at the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum. We have chosen the theme of “blooming” for this show. How much have we been impressed and moved by the beat and breath of nature! How many times have artists, craftsmen, and designers picked blossoms, flowers, plants and other nature for their motifs and created their art work! We quilt makers have been, and continue to be, fond of adopting them as the motifs for our quilt works as well.

About four decades ago, we, in Japan, discovered the amazing and heart-warming American quilt world. We were deeply impressed and inspired, and began to make our own. It is the similar sensation we experience as we look at all the nature around us, including human beings, “springing up.”

Now, it is our wish to show you our expression of “blooming” on our quilts with images of plants and flowers as well as abstract forms and colors. I hope you will enjoy all the quilts we have brought, including the variety of fabrics used to create them.

Miwako Kimura, Curator

Quilt:  “Flowers Playing Cards” by Masako Masuda.

Here is just one of the woven pieces on display. The kimono, seen at left, was made for a baby girl for her dedication to a Shinto Shrine. It is made of ramie fabric with very fine Kasuri ikat patterns. The ornamental sash on the back and red lining on the collar are amulets. Yoshimi Kato Collection.

Although the history of the silk industry is longer than that of cotton in Japan, it is difficult to find silk products that are more than 100 years old, as they are all worn out. However, the craftsmanship of all textile technology in Japan has been with us for nearly two thousand years, and the passion to create new materials and original techniques is still alive today. Cotton was introduced to Japan, and its cultivation began, over 400 years ago. Since then, it has been widely used not only for clothing, but also for comforters, cleaning cloths, interior ornaments and banners, and even for decorating farm animals.

On the right is an Umano Haragake, a horse decoration. Made of cotton, the design is created using a free-hand paste resist method with Indigo and red dyes. This horse ornament is used on festive occasions, such as the cattle fair or Shinto Shrine festivals. The carp motif climbing up the waterfall is often used as a symbol of strength and braveness. Yoshimi Kato Collection.

Fundamentally, the texture of fabric is appreciated by handling and touching. However, since many of the pieces cannot be touched, I have prepared various display fabrics so that visitors may touch and feel the textures. The fabrics you see here are mostly made with natural fibers but there are many synthetic fabrics and threads used by quilters in Japan. Also on display will be books I have selected to introduce you to synthetic fabrics. The books show only a small part of the world of synthetic fabrics in Japan.

Miwako Kimura, Curator

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This Lion and Peonies applique quilt graces the top of the Grand Staircase at the Gaches Mansion. Just one of the many hand-worked quilts in the All That Blooms exhibit this quarter at the La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum.

This beautiful quilt was made by Kesayo Harada.

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First Floor Resource Room

We have a special quilt on display on the first floor this quarter. Check our resource room for our Centennial Quilt. A red, white, and blue beauty made with patterns cut from the newspaper in the early 1930’s. The patterns, called Old Glory were designed by Mary Erckenbrack and appeared in the Seattle Star. It features white  stars appliquéd onto red circles, which are appliquéd to a blue square. The alternate blocks have an embroidered motif for each state.  This quilt, and the original newspaper patterns, will be on display on our first floor through September 2010. 

Also on the first floor we will have on display “P” Street and Beyond, a 2009 Streets of Anancortes Challenge by the Fidalgo Island Quilters, inspired by a previous Japanese Exhibit, Path to Edo street scene. Also, come and enjoy the quilts and coverlets from the Arnold/Lauer family. These pieces range in age from 1835 to the 1930′s and include photos of the family and their farm.

Servant’s Staircase

Our Servant’s Staircase will hold quilts that have been generously donated by our supporters, including “Tulip Challenge” quilts from the Camano Island Quilters.  The sale of these quilts will go directly to our Capital Campaign Fund.

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