Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival

Last weekend I attended the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival.  I had been looking forward to this show for quite some time, but I didn’t end up enjoying it as much as I had hoped.  Why? It was the first weekend of the show and it was crowded!  Like rush hour subway crowded.  The biggest problem?  Most of the people attending the show were obasans – obasan is the Japanese word generally meaning “old women”, but has come to carry a different connotation: pushy old bag.  Let me just say, I have no problem with anyone in this world because of their age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.  I have a problem with people when they are rude or nasty people.  It just so happens that obasans are some of the pushiest, rudest people I have ever encountered.  And the Tokyo Dome was choc-a-block full of them.  You know how peopole say when you ask God for patience you don’t just become more patient, you are put in a situation that requires you to be patient?  Um, yeah.  They were talking about this quilt show.

I prefer, when I want to take a picture of a quilt, to not have any people blocking half of that quilt.  So yeah, since some of them were so large and the area where they were hanging was so high-traffic, I had to wait for up to ten minutes in each spot for that split second where there were no people in the frame.  Yeah, like I said, an exercise in patience.  But I did it all for you guys!  And the experience of working with my father in convention and expo photography has made me the master at getting people-free shots in some unbelievably crowded places. Thanks, Dad!

Here are a couple of my favorites:

Yeah, this whole thing was yo-yos.  I shudder to think of sewing so many yo-yos by hand.  Ouch.

And this one is a fabric recreation of Shibuya crossing, the busiest crossing in the world.  It’s the same crossing they drive through during the chase scene in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and the same crossing where Party Boy danced in a silver thong in Jackass: The Movie.  Yep, classy cinematic references.

This is a very small sampling of the quilts I photographed at the show.  And some of these quilts deserve a post of their own – the detail is stunning.  I will try to post more pictures of these marvelous creations at least once a week for the next few months or so.  And of course I will have a post just for the cool goodies I snagged while shopping at the show.

May life continue to inspire you,

Miss Kaizer

Beanbags

Yes, I do sometimes actually finish projects.  Look!  Finished beanbags!  These bad boys were sitting in a basket next to the couch for a couple of months.  They were stitched up on three sides, turned, stuffed, and pinned on the final side.  All I had to was slip stitch the final side shut.  Yes, it took me way too long.  I assure you I am properly hanging my head in shame.

But check them out!  Six colors, two of each color, and super-light.  You can throw these things around in the house and not damage anything.  You can get hit in the face with one (although I don’t exactly recommend it) and it doesn’t hurt. I created these for friends of ours down in Imabari who teach English to kids in their house.  The last thing they need are beanbags that can really cause some damage.

And although I haven’t tested them yet, I’m pretty sure these things will be machine washable.  Now that is what I like to call a crafting coup d’état.