ABOVE: Detail of The Peony by Koh JaeSook
By Patricia Belyea
YOKOHAMA JP The Quilt Festival in Yokohama, albeit smaller than the Tokyo Quilt Festival, delighted with its full range of textile masterpieces.
TAIWAN
The bevy of accomplished quilts from nearby Taiwan displayed creativity and craftsmanship. I also noticed lots of 3D details!
MINIATURES
The Japanese know how to be precise with the smallest details! Think about how Japanese children learn hiragana and katakana starting in first grade. All those characters with so many specific strokes!
BELOW: Detail of Florence by Yoko Uehara
JAPAN CONTEMPORARY QUILT ASSOCIATION
I am a member of Washington state’s Contemporary QuiltArt Association so I stopped by the booth of the Japan Contemporary Quilt Association and introduced myself. As always when quilters get together, there were lots of smiles!
Member Yoshi Nishimura took me over to see her quilt in the Festival. Yoshi has studied with Nancy Crow four times!
BELOW: Line 4 by Yoshi Nishimura
ANNE KELLY FROM ENGLAND
It took me some time to absorb the genius of Anne Kelly’s textile work. I had to stand in front of Anne’s pieces and quietly meditate on her stitched compositions. At the end of my sojourn in her exhibit, I thought “Now there’s a woman who I would like to meet.”
SHIZUKO KUROHA
A small display was set up to honor Shizuko Kuroha — a renowned quilter, sensei, author, and co-founder of Japan Quilt Society. A beloved leader of quilting in Japan and worldwide, Sensei Shizuko passed on October 21—less than three weeks before the Festival.
BELOW: Window of Dreams by Shizoka Kuroha
This is where I met up with my stitching friend Jane MacDonald of BeBeBold from Australia.
I have split my 2024 Yokohama Quilt Festival report into two.
PART ONEThe first part includes: the Festival winners, exceptional quilts, and QuiltCon quilts. +see here
Here are the details for next year’s Festival:
THU November 13 to SUN November 15, 2025
Pacifico Yokohama, Hall D
Yokohama Japan
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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.
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