JAPANESE QUILTS

I've seen Japanese quilts before, but this show had some very creative ideas and stories to them. Like a series of little kimonos and shirts as wall hangings.


Kimono portrait here is a beauty, with extraordinary quilting patterns. The fabric is Japanese themed in many of the quilts.


A wall hanging of closed and opened fans. One, partially opened fan near the bottom.

On close inspection I realized that part of the quilting pattern inside the fans is chop sticks.


We Americans, who think we invented quilting, certainly a particular style, anyway, talk of our heritage of using every scrap of fabric, not wasting. Used fabrics, parts of clothing that were once a treasured dress or pair of pants carry memories. I loved the Japanese metaphor of cloth traveling through many hands carrying wishes and thoughts.


And, here a quilt that expresses the tradition of Sange.


The Quilt Museum is held in an old Victorian mansion. The third floor held quilts all made by one woman. This quilt is the equivalent of flour sacks quilts in early Americana.


Interesting.


Utilitarian quilts, using homely fabrics. I've done that, made denim quilts, and suit fabrics. Often tied together. Utilitarian fabrics here are quilted in larger stitching but very full, straight fill stitching without any particular pattern.


Not all Japanese quilt artists use Japanese materials.  This applique is a beauty.


A gorgeous silk quilt with tiny beads. Not meant for a bed, obviously.


An origami decoration, one of several.


I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibit. I heard three Japanese women talking about this show and comparing it to another that made them cringe. They were very enthused with this one.


An unusual thing about this show, the docent said we were allowed to handle the quilts by putting on white gloves. I declined because I don't think exhibit quilts should be handled by anyone except those who hang the show. My own quilt guild has that policy and I think it is a good one.

The narrow halls of this old mansion make it difficult to photograph these quilts. So, if you can, go see it, and don't depend on my choices. There were many really beautiful pieces.

THE TEXAS QUILT MUSEUM.

Yesterday was a work day, cleaning, laundry, shopping; I did some hand sewn mending. Our planned move put off another day partly because of high winds. We are still on a picture upload diet until Feb. 4th. Didn’t take one picture yesterday. But, I took a lot of pictures of Quilts at the Civil War Quilt Exhibit. And, I want to tell you about the Texas Quilting Museum.
Quilt exhibits tend to move, they are often shown at a small venue and never seen again. The Texas Quilt Musuem founders wanted a place to showcase quilts for a longer period of time where more people could discover and appreciate quilts as art,both traditional and avant guarde.  La Grange Texas is a small town within driving distance of Houston, Austin and San Antonio, three of the 20 largest cities in the U.S. Here you will find educational opportunities, a library, a peace garden and peace memorial, and the history of quilts and quilt making. La Grange has a cultural center that celebrates its Czech heritage, and wonderful food and views of the Colorado River, according to their brochure. (I hope to visit it on another trip.)

My favorite was the French quilt, in the style of Broderie Perse, popular in the early 19th Century, French for Persian Embroidery.
Individual blocks show the fine work and beauty.

The fan blades are made from reproduction Civil War materials along with fine  print pastels from that time.

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This quilt is true to Civil War materials and is called a cheddar quilt, a common color used then. Made by a woman of color, and inspired by a woman of color who learned to quilt when that skill was not allowed to them. The Civil War quilter was a member of the underground railroad.

In this quilt,the maker wanted to represent Confederate Gray, Union BLue and the red of the battlefield drenched in blood. She was inspired by the horrible number of graves at a preserved battlefield.

The many materials in the pyramids represent grave markers. The churn dash border, a butter churn, was a common pattern of the day.

This quilt center was made by one person,handed off to another who make the next square surround, the another made a border, and another border and so on until the quilt was finished by six different people.

A close up f the center of the quilt. Fine, close quilting, applique and nine square blocks. I guess anyone can tell I love quilts and admire the workmanship I see in them. To me, my own quilts, are made from old family clothing, in part, and represent memories of dances attended, party dresses, the boys overalls, and so on. I call them rescue quilts because I don’t have to throw away or recycle favorite materials .
Before I part for the day, I want to insert a factoid from the Galveston Museum. Santos Cruz, head bartender for the famous Balinese Room, invented the margarita in 1948 for actress/songster (Margaret) Peggy Lee.