book review: Amish Quilts

I just finished reading a really interesting book. "Amish Quilts" by Janneken Smucker explains how Amish quilts --- which at one time. of course, were just called quilts --- came to be a major American brand.



link to Amazon

She tells a fascinating story of how old, dark-colored quilts made by Amish women came to be sought out by collectors and how only these quilts came to be valued as "Amish" while other quilts of original design were considered less "Amish" by outsiders.

If you've ever had an interest in marketing and the making of a brand, or art history or collecting, you will love this book.

Its a fairly academic approach to the content, in fact the book is published by John Hopkins University Press, but still, its quite readable and covers quite a bit of territory. It was published recently, 2013.

The frenzy of collecting and owning authentic Amish quilts began in the late 1960s and early 1970s when art enthusiasts from New York began comparing these pieced quilts --- the plain ones made with dark fabrics and covered in intricate hand stitching --- to abstract art.

Once that comparison was made, the race was on and a brand was born.

Lot of city folk and antique dealers, some called "pickers" made connections to the Amish community and "picked up" these old quilts for low prices. They visited homes where these quilts were often stored in attics, or trunks. Then they sold them in the cities for much more... and these pickers began the making of a brand of quilts.

The book also covers how eventually, industrious Amish women realized they could make money with quilts themselves... rather than sell low and let their profits go to dealers in the city. They came to see quilting as a way to supplement the family's farm income and many of them went into business making and selling quilts.

The author also covers how non-Amish dealers commissioned these quilts, and explains the genesis of some of the major collections of Amish quilts in the U.S.

It even talks about how major retail chains, such as Land's End, came to offer an exclusive collection of handmade Amish quilts and how Lancaster County tried desperately to own and protect a large collection of quilts in order to promote tourism in Pennsylvania.

As the author explains, 'Amish' - in connection with 'quilt' - originally meant different things to different people. But today, Amish quilts are a brand name that no one protects or controls, but is firmly associated with a particular style of Americana and quilts of a certain color made by one particular community.

Title: Amish Quilts, Crafting an American Icon
Author: Janneken Smucker
Publisher: The John Hopkins University Press
Edition: 2013

sewing studio refresh - before and after

Sometimes you get so busy with life, that the things around you just stay as is.

But after 13 months in our new house, it was time to take another look at my studio and make some improvements... (really that just means cleaning it up and making it more organized). Here's some before and after pics.
BEFORE

AFTER

I get that it might not look all that different in these photos, but there are some big improvements. First, the husband installed a new light on the ceiling above the cutting table, so I was able to remove the OTT light that was hanging over my head... and always in my face it seemed. Huge improvement.

Next, we (really the husband) hung up a second peg board, so I could reorganize all the stuff and spread it out. Now that I've been in the studio for a year, I have more experience regarding what should go where.

Pegboard BEFORE

Pegboard AFTER

But here's the very best part! I have completely redone my thread rack - from chaos to beauty. Take a look. 

Thread rack BEFORE.

Thread rack AFTER.

I was using 2 June Tailor thread racks. The second rack ended up just being filled with odds and ends, junk threads.

So, I removed the second rack and filled one rack with 100% Aurifil! Sweet!! 50wt cotton mostly, couple wools in there too. To me, it looks like candy. I just love it.

You might notice that some of these spools sit a little higher, that's because there is a bobbin underneath with matching thread. This is a rack for quilting and matching bobbin thread is critical.

Each spike on the rack has an ordinary straw inserted over it. I cut the straws about 3 inches long and glued them on so that the spool and the matching bobbin could be kept together. I wrote a blog post about this quite a few months ago (got straws...? http://thirdfloorquilts.blogspot.com/2013/09/got-straws-then-youve-got-ultimate.html ). So, I took the same rack - straws and all - outside and spray painted it black.

It looks awesome now and the beautiful Aurifil colors really pop against the black.

Here's another (after) picture showing a wider view!

The new and improved thread rack is by far the best part! A thing of beauty.

The fact that the rack is filled, the way the colors are organized, the symmetry, the variety. I know that when I look at this everyday it will inspire me to create beautiful quilts with lots of color... so I can use all these threads.

In case you're wondering, that black box below is my "Air Play" wireless speaker - installed by the amazing husband. I can play everything from my iPad - all my music, podcasts (Pat Sloan - you're on my list of podcasts I subscribe to!), even XM radio. So cool - and no wires.

The Singer sewing machine belonged to my grandmother. I feel lucky to have it.

Anyway, back to the thread... It's funny, when I was in my 30's, and working in the corporate world, I used to love to collect designer high-heeled shoes and purses. I lined them all up nicely in my closet, and at the time it made me happy to look at the collection and the color selection. Now, who cares about shoes? Give me a beautiful collection of threads - woohoo! Life is good.

I started this collection of Aurifil some time back. Stocked up on quite a few at the Houston International Quilt Fest. Then, I recently went to the local quilt store to get a few more colors I was missing. Worth every penny.

Next part of the studio refresh was to clean up and reorganize the under-cabinet storage.

under-cabinet storage BEFORE

under-cabinet storage AFTER 

I was searching for just the right size box, or some sort of container, and then I was going to cover them in fabric. But when I was walking through Lowe's, I found these. So cute, and they match, and I'm done. No glue needed.

Now, I just need to keep it organized.

I am linking up with Freshly Pieced this week. Be sure to check out all the work there --- AND Lee's recent post that she has bee asked by Pottery Barn to do events, show her quilts and sign her books. Go Lee! Well done Pottery Barn!


http://www.freshlypieced.com/2014/02/wip-wednesday-back-to-snowy-north.html

fabric stash update - treasures from Japan

Tokyo is having the worst snow storm they've seen in 45 years! Wow... I left there just in time. And... I managed to come home with lots of goodies stashed in my very heavy suitcase.

Years ago, I bought one very small strip of fabric from an antique kimono. It is a beautiful silk, pinkish in color, but is pretty small. It's been sitting all alone in my stash for quite some time. No more!

If you've read my blog recently, you'll already know I spent several weeks in Japan for a special project... and to attend the Tokyo Great International Quilt Festival. I was so inspired (partially overwhelmed in fact!) by the work of so many great quilters. And I saw a lot of quilters making use of vintage kimono fabric (and other typical Japanese fabrics)... so I decided it was time to add to the one lone piece in my stash and start a collection of vintage kimono fabrics.  Here's what I ended up with... I tended to gravitate toward the reds.

Thrilled with these pieces. Can't wait to work them into future art quilts!

wordless wednesday

thoughts from Tokyo and the very Great International Quilt Festival

And the winner is....

The quilt pictured above is the Grand Prix winner for the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival for 2014. The winners were announced at the opening ceremony for the show. Thousands of quilters waited patiently during the hour-long ceremony to hear the results. (I might add that for those of us who are language challenged and alone in this great city, this is a very long hour!)

This show - which is fondly called the Tokyo Dome show - is housed in the baseball stadium and all of us were sitting near third base to hear the ceremony... at least I think that's right. My mind kept imagineing the stadium filled with cheering baseball fans.

Seems appropriate to share a venue with baseball since both baseball and quilting are American imports to Japan.

After the speeches and ribbon cutting... the gates were opened!

The quilt below is the second place winner and it is called "Mysterious Letters." The colors on this one are wonderful! The base is earth tone with red, white and black accents. The design is bold and modern and it has a lot of movement and energy. As with the Grand Prix, the quilting of course, is amazing.

Here's a detail... you can see the tightly quilted lines. Also, the "letters" that the quilt references are very subtly shown with Japanese characters in gold thread... and there are several of these letters written on the quilt.

Back to the Grand Prix... below is a close up photo. It's really hard to convey the tiny, meticulous details of these quilts in photos on the web. This one is all hand quilted... and it is quite large... so the amount of time, talent and effort is extraordinary! The quilting lines are close, close, close and just incredible. Also, the embroidery, applique, are all excellent.

But, it is not the most original entry here at the Tokyo Dome show. Anyone who knows and studies the international quilt world will recognize this quilt as one that is made in the style of the amazing and talented Yoko Saito. I am proud to show one of my own quilts (also shown on my quilt gallery page), in the picture below, that is adapted from a pattern by Yoko Saito. I finished this quilt about two years ago.  You'll recognize the border on mine is similar to the winning Tokyo Dome quilt. Mine is also all hand applique and hand quilted... and has hand embroidery.

So, one can aspire to someday have the technical mastery to quilt like this Grand Prix winner has done! Mine is hanging on a wall in my house. I've attached it to a canvas to hang... maybe I should take it down and add more lines of quilting! Or maybe I'll just leave it and move on.

The exhibition of quilts here is huge. There are about a dozen categories of competition... including a section of junior quilts created by young kids, some are team efforts with a whole classroom. These are really cute and so cool to see this encouragement. There is another category featuring the work of 60 master quilt teachers... and also a category for original design quilts. Both the teacher quilts and the original design quilts are the most interesting parts of the whole show!

And then there is shopping, of course! Several hundred vendors are set up all around the outskirts of the exhibit selling mostly fabric, but also notions, machines and everything quilt related. Quilted bags and purse patterns are very big here.

Among the fabric offerings, there are several vendors selling indigos, also vintage kimonos and other traditional fabrics. There's also lots of modern Japanese fabrics. Quilt Party - Yoko Saito's store - is hugely popular, as is Quilt Wonderland, Keiko Goke's store. Keiko's fabrics are bright, funky and modern, but with a Japanese vibe.

The other big attraction here is American quilt fabrics and especially, vintage cottons, lace and antique quilts. There are several booths selling whole antique quilts and also baskets filled with scraps and remnants... and these are very popular among the Japanese quilters.

I don't normally show photos of me on my blog posts, but I thought this selfie was too unusual not to share.  Can you spot me?  There are soooo many people here... and the isles are soooo narrow... it is literally a sea of humanity with no room to spare. Patience is required to make it down one of these isles. So I snapped this quick selfie to try to show the crowds and how one lady from Texas kinda stands out. 

These are the thoughts so far from Tokyo. Funny... one of the things that concerned me in coming here was the cold. But while the weather here has been quite manageable, we're having an ice storm in Houston of all places! Crazy world.

Tokyo's textile district... open and bustling

Score! Made it to Nippori Textile Town... aka fabric town. And it was open and hopping!

The area is actually Nippori Sen-I Gai, which translates as textile town or fabric street.  There's been lots written about this area. Here is a link to one of the sites I found most useful:
http://www.tokyocraftguide.com/nippori-fabric-town/

It has a map of the streets with the stores listed in English and also photos to help with directions for the short walk from Nippori Station.

Note to self though: while the map has the stores listed in English, most of the stores do not have signs in English. So if you are wanting a specific store, you should have two maps to find the name in Japanese.  The police station right outside Nippori Station also has maps of the street that they willingly share if you just stop and ask.

Tomato is one of the bigger shops here and it is easy to spot. But there are 3 or 4 Tomato locations/stores on the street, and only one has a lot of quilt fabric. Once you get inside, the signs are all Japanese - and this store is large, 4 or 5 stories. The staff are very helpful though, but bring your Google translator app on your smart phone to help you translate. There are lots of other options in the other smaller stores for quilters and anyone who loves fabric --- everything from fashion to home decorating.

For some reason, there's even this guy...  he's sitting out in front of one of the stores. To take your shopping to infinity and beyond... I guess!

Anyway, some of these stores cater to quilters and you'll find thousands of small pieces of material (not fat quarters, but similar in size) --- all affordable. There are so many choices it can be overwhelming. The stores have beautiful reproduction kimono fabric, stunning indigos and tons of cotton, lace, notions, etc. Even leather. And there are some stores with vintage kimonos. But the majority of these stores only sell one meter cuts, so its better to keep searching those stores that have smaller cuts so you can go home with more variety.

Here's one Tokyo travel story that may interest only me.

Even the most careful planning can be lost in translation! I've been reading about the struggle in the Nippori area to preserve the very last unobstructed view of Mt. Fuji from Tokyo.

Today, I rushed to this ordinary street - Fujimizaka - just before sunset to get in position to capture the perfect photos... but alas, I'm about one year too late! At least I think that's what the nice people that helped me said. Their sad faces were enough to confirm - they did not need a translation to know what I was searching for. In the end, the residents lost, real estate developers won. No more views of Mt. Fuji from inside the city. At least not from Nippori. There might still be others that I am not aware of, if you know of one, please send me a comment!

Tokyo Great International Quilt Festival starts today. I am off to the mega Tokyo Dome complex - this is the domed stadium where they play baseball. Somehow appropriate they share this facility, since baseball and quilting are both American imports!

More to come from quilt fest later.

Tokyo textile town... not the best day to visit

Arrived in Japan a few days ago and all is well so far. My plan for the day was to stroll through the famous Nippori Textile Town. Why? To buy fabric of course.

But it's Sunday and the shops were closed... not to mention it is cold, cold cold and windy today. So not the fun filled fabric shopping trip I was hoping for. But the good news is... now I know how to get there, and I have time to go back.

Here' Five Tokyo Travel Stories that may interest only me.
1. The Japanese actually form nice, well organized lines to get on the subway or trains! So polite. Can you imagine telling a bunch of New Yorkers to stand in a neatly formed line to enter the subway.
2. Note to self: there are no paper towels or hand dryers is the women's restrooms. Women here carry their own little towels around in their purse. Kinda odd. Need to get one of those!
3. The Otemachi stop on the Tozai subway line is essentially the same stop as the Tokyo station... so the 90 minutes I spent yesterday morning connecting through 3 subways stations and one train platform was pretty ridiculous when all I had to do was go 2 more stops and walk 5 minutes. Hmmm....
4. The taxi doors open and close by themselves. So cool. Pretty much the same for most doors here.
5. I was given a very special fortune yesterday (in English!).
It says: LAWSUITS: you will win. (do they know about us Americans?)
THE PERSON YOU AWAIT: He will come. (Not sure if this means the person I aspire to be, or if I'm waiting on someone!)
TRAVEL:  Favorable.  That's my favorite part... partly because it sounds like a weather forecast... and partly because I hope it stays true.

















I'll be heading back to Nippori Textile Town soon, hopefully it will be alive with activity and not so cold! I'll also be attending the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2014 which starts this week. Everyone here just calls it the Tokyo Dome Show. So, me and 300,000 other quilters are all awaiting the Tokyo Dome Show! Should be fun.

Stay tuned.