ABOVE: Kuu Pua Iris by Etsuko Kobayashi
By Patricia Belyea
YOKOHAMA JP Do you remember that the corporate organizer of the Tokyo Quilt Festival canceled the event forever in the summer of 2021? That was the biggest quilt show in the world — a bucket-list experience!
Today the Japan Quilt Society (JQS), a volunteer organization formed in 2021, hosts two shows a year. JQS’s Yokohama Quilt Festival, a pint-sized version of the forerunner, brings together exciting quilts and enthusiastic quilters in Japan’s second largest city.
WINNER’S CIRCLE
Okan Arts took a tour group of 16 adventurers to the Festival for a short day. Everyone scattered to roam the show at their own pace. I immediately headed over to the winners.
BEST OF SHOW: Atmospheric Sparkle by Keiko Kimura
SECOND PLACE: Surrounded by Flowers by Michie Nii
THIRD PLACE: Bugaku Ranyo-o, Dance at Dawn by Setsuko Itoga
EXCEPTIONAL QUILTS
The Festival includes some show stoppers. Here’s a medley of quilts that caught my eye. (If you know the missing names of three quilts, please contact me!)
BELOW: I Feel Like a London Girl by Yukiko Maruhama
BELOW: Blooming Cheerfully by Yuriko Arioka
BELOW: Victorian Log Cabin by Michiko Sonobe
BELOW: (Name unknown) by Etsuko Ishitobi
BELOW: Garden by Hiromi Yokota
BELOW: Blue Diamond by Lee EunA
BELOW: (Name unknown) by Chizuru Yajima
BELOW: (Name unknown) by Teruko Ono
QUILTCON
I appreciated seeing a selection of quilts from QuiltCon as I was leading a tour in Japan during this year’s gathering.
BELOW: Left Turn by Barbara Danzi
I have split my 2024 Yokohama Quilt Festival report into two.
PART TWO
The second part includes: dimensional quilts from Taiwan, textile collages by English stitcher Anne Kelly, a meet-up with the Japan Contemporary Quilt Association, Miniatures, and a salute to Shizuko Kuroha. +see here
2025 Festival
Here are the details for next year’s Festival:
THU November 13 to SUN November 15, 2025
Pacifico Yokohama, Hall D
Yokohama Japan
ABOUT US: Okan Arts, a petite family business, is co-owned by mother-daughter duo Patricia Belyea and Victoria Stone. Patricia and Victoria sell Japanese textiles online, host creative quilting experiences, and lead quilting & textile tours to Japan.
FOLLOW OKAN ARTS ON INSTAGRAM @okanarts
