More inspiration from Alyce

Today we have a special guest post by Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts...

I'm thrilled that the Le Challenge ladies thought of me for this month's theme, Rising Sun. After all, living in Japan, I live and breath (and sell) Japanese fabric! We are Aussie ex-pats living in Chiba (right next to Tokyo on the Bay) for 4 years for my husband's work and we're almost halfway through that time.

 

Recently, I was was able to attend my second Tokyo Great International Quilt Festival. It is a massive quilt show held at Tokyo Dome - an indoor baseball stadium! Aisles and aisles of quilts and shopping are laid out on the field and it is a sight to behold when up in the stands, the hordes of people swarming around.

 

Despite being a "Great International" quilt show, it's very Japanese. The signs next to each quilt are mostly in Japanese, with only a few naming the quilt or quilter in English. All the Special Exhibits are in Japanese, leaving you to guess what's so special about the featured quilter, other than their amazing creativity and technical skills of course! And of course, most of the quilts have a "Japanese look" to them, which I've been pondering and trying to identify just what it is that makes them look so Japanese.

  The Fabric

 

 This the most obvious one, of course. The use of indigo fabrics and Hawaiian solids (ombre effects) are widespread, using various shades to create a fascinating visual effect.

   

 Then there is the use of popular Japanese fabrics like First Of Infinity. Granted, this particular quilt is by Kumiko Fujita herself... 

  The Style

 

 Other than using solids to create unique visual effects, and bold graphic designs like Fujita-san, Japanese quilters are also big fans of the scrappy quilt. When they do branch outside solids and use a variety of print fabrics, it's always with a scrappy effect. And usually with incredibly tiny, hand-pieced designs!

   

 Art quilts are also highly popular, in particular the highly-lifelike variety. This quilter used tiny pieces of fabrics and sparkly thread to create this incredible cherry blossom quilt, accurately recreating the light and shadows, the colours, and, the light and airy feel of the blossoms.

You can see all my photos from the Quilt Festival in my Tokyo Great International Quilt Festival Flickr set, as well as the 2012 Yokohama Quilt Festival, the 2013 Tokyo Quilt Festival and the 2013 Yokohama Quilt Festival for more Japanese inspiration! And if you are ever in my neck of the woods, I'm always happy to help out with recommendations for fabric shopping in Tokyo.

Thank you so much for the fabulous inspiration Alyce!

Remember to come back and link up your Rising Sun projects on 15th February for your chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop.

The Rising Sun {fabric inspiration}

Are you excited about this month's theme? Any ideas what you're making yet? Here's a fabric pull that might help inspire you...

Inspired by the colours and design of the Japanese flag you could use some Red Dots

You could use Japanese products like this pretty bundle from Japanese fabric company Lecian 

Or be inspired by nature and these Asian Peonies

I am planning on trying some Japanese Sashiko quilting at some point and this was traditionally done on Indigo fabric

You could focus on a Summery sun and chose something bright like Boho Sunshine

Or create a Sunrise Clutch by Sew Sweetness

Perhaps you could use Moon and Sun opposites

or brighten the new year with a cute Japanese character like Hello Kitty or another Kawaii creature!

Remember to come back and link up your projects on February 15th for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop. New to le challenge? You can find out all about how it works here.

If you blog please grab our new button and help spread the word about le challenge.

Next up...

Happy New Year everyone! Are you all ready for a new year of le challenge?  So here it goes..

And the first theme is  .... 'the Rising Sun' - think new year/new you or Japanese or sunny fabrics! Many interpretations are possible. Projects can be as small or as big as you choose them to be!

Your homework is due on February 15 - back here of course. Remember you have to have a finished entry to have a chance to win the $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop. If you are new to le challenge, you may found interesting information here.

To go with the theme, the blog had a bit of a revamp, and a new button was made. We hope you like it!

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See you all on the 15th! We cannot wait to see your version of the theme.