"IRORI" Wedding Quilt #6

"IRORI", Japanese for the recessed hearth in traditional homes. These open fire pits are surrounded by tatami mats, arranged in auspicious pattern. This modified Log Cabin pattern came from one of my favorite books EAST QUILTS WEST, by Kumiko Sudo. I was able to use the last of my vintage and modern fabrics from Japan mixed with US fabrics that resemble Japanese style prints.

This wedding quilt is for my grandnephew, Adam, age 10. 

I am working on quilts for my sister's 7 and my 3 grandchildren. I've been making them now while my health is good and my hands still work. They are stored in breathable bags and marked with each child's name. Each one is meant to be an heirloom therefore I have chosen traditional designs. I know they will be appreciated because each of these children have received multiple quilts from me and they are used, loved and new ones requested as they have grown into their next stage of childhood.

Like the others, this quilt is King size, machine pieced and hand quilted. The border is quilted with pearl cotton in Sashiko style and designs.

Reliving the Adventure: "JOURNEY TO JAPAN"

The Journey to Japan began a year ago.

I'm more than pleased with my quilt but I'm sorry to be finished. I loved the inventive, creative process of choosing which patterns to use and the tactile feel of hand quilting. Many of the fabrics brought back memories of my trip to Japan, the hospitality of our hosts and being with my sister. The making of this quilt was a memorable journey in its self.

Fun, Fun, Fun

I'm having so much fun hand quilting my "Journey to Japan", letting the fabric design "talk" to me. Sometimes I used cotton perle thread to stitch traditional Sashiko,


other times using hand quilting thread to echo the lines in the drawing or design.



I've chosen to use white for most of the quilting but an accent of red seemed to be a good choice too.


I'm trying to take my time because I don't want this experience to end too soon.

"Journey to Japan"

On my trip to Japan with my sister last September, I collected fabrics to make a quilt. You may remember that one of our hosts offered me cuttings from "old clothes" (her aunt's old kimonos). I also bought old indigo cottons in antique shops plus some new contemporary prints. On a previous trip I had also bought some remnants that are probably rayon. I decided that I would go ahead and mix the cottons with the possible silks and rayons since this quilt would seldom need cleaning.

The fun part of designing a quilt is using what you have on hand to its best advantage and putting together all the various sizes, like solving a puzzle. The finished size turned out to be 58"x80".

It's now ready for hand quilting in traditional patterns and sashiko. The 60" denim blue Chambray was the perfect color and width for the backing.

"GEISHA"

When I found this Geisha fabric, I knew I had to design something original to feature these ladies. Finding my inspiration in Quilting with Japanese Fabrics by Kitty Pippen,
I mapped out my plan on graph paper. Of course not all the angles and pieces fit perfectly, so I added strips and triangles to fill in the gaps.

From The Classic Quilting of Sashiko, by Ondori, I chose traditional patterns to quilt in the medallions with DMC cotton perle. In the background I used quilting thread to repeat more Japanese patterns and shadowed around the figures and garment details.








Designed & Hand Quilted by Aunt Janet for Abby in 2006