Sachiko Yoshida, a master Japanese quilt-maker, and several of her students
from Japan were at the LaConner Quilt Museum this week!
I was fortunate to spend an afternoon in a class taught by Sachiko.
The class was on Japanese family crests.
This is Sachiko's class example.
Each of us were given a packet of vintage kimono silk from Sachiko's collection.
We were instructed to lay out the pieces exactly like the class example.
Then we were instructed to hand-piece part of the background.
We used templates to draw stitching lines on the back of the fabric pieces.
Her students helped us a great deal.
They could hand-piece as fast as a sewing machine!
It took a lot of concentration. Looks like one participant had to take a break!
This is how the background is supposed to look when we're done.
The seams are basted to the side with thick white thread before they're ironed.
This helps to stabilize the delicate silk.
The Japanese student who was helping our table used this sewing kit.
I definitely need one of these!
There's a fantastic show of quilts by Sachiko Yoshida and her students
plus many other Japanese quilt makers,
at the LaConner Quilt Museum through October 5.
Wish I could show you photos, but they didn't allow them.
You can purchase a show catalog from the museum.
Happy 4th of July weekend!
