Fujino, Japan: our next stop

From Grand Rapids, MI it's a long way by any means of travel to Japan, let alone Fujino!  Our journey begins all because I tag along with my friends who have one weekend of shopping in Chicago every year.  They've been doing this trip for YEARS!  Last year was my first tag along.  My oldest daughter lives in Chicago, so I just thumb a ride to visit her for the weekend.  I get to shop on the way there and on the way home.  We leave early on a Friday morning and arrive at the predetermined location established by Viola and Jenny.  Emily and I are the backseat followers and sometimes to Jenny's frustration - drivers.  This year we visited Long Grove in Lake County and Skokie.  By 9 pm CT I arrived in Irving Park - a fun long day.  Viola, Emily and Jenny stay with Jenny's friend Candice who lives on Lakeshore Drive off N. Michigan.  Nice digs for sure!  Well, the long and short of it is I had to meet up with them Sunday for the drive home and outlet mall shopping in Michigan City.  Of course, we all shopped at the 10,000 Village bazaar held at the beautiful 4th Presbyterian Church, across from the Hancock Building before heading home.  It was here than Candice learned I quilted, since I was holding  8 gorgeous yards of fabric.



Fabric to help African children stay in school.  I'm a sucker for fabric especially when it helps children in school.  The teal is damask - I should have saved my mother's old tablecloths......

Emily and Jenny looking a bit tired as they wait for Jenny's auto to arrive in the garage.

Viola in the forefront wondering what I'm doing....she really likes her picture taken....

Candice apparently attended a Japanese Indigo Textile workshop in Fujino and had fabric she was making into a quilt.  She sought suggestions on how to lay out the fabric.  However, she has it all under control, just a matter of finding the additional support fabrics to make her California King quilt.

Candice, my new quilting friend who gets to sew overlooking Lake Michigan!

Fabric from Japan for her quilt.  Below is a another fabric that will also be in the long, horizontal stripes of the quilt.

I believe this piece is from an old kimono.

This piece Candice dyed using the shibori resist dyeing method.  The rows of lines are created by sewing across the fabric and gathering it.

Candice cut this stencil with a ordinary stencil cutting knife.  Before flying to Japan each participant had homework.  They traced designs and cut them out.  I believe these stencils were done in the US.

These stencils are treated with a substance to give them endurance.  A material similar to nylon netting is on the reverse side to also stabilize the coated paper.  This stencil is on top of the fabric made with it; same with the stencil shown below.

Over the 10 days they learned the history as well as the how-to with dyeing and even raising silk worms!  Shibori, Japanese tie-dye, has been part of this culture for over 1300 years!  Ironically, the workshop is run by a Canadian émigré!  The field trips and food adventures explained on the website sound so alluring. They even had a lesson in making Udon noodles!  Can you  imagine if we all visited the Japanese Folkcraft Museum in Tokyo, along with the phenomenal Japanese Quilt Show!  Good luck to Candice as she plays and rearranges her fabric for this great quilt to remember this awesome trip.  Check out the website for more information.

 You just never know where you'll meet a new quilt friend - they are so wonderful!

Until next time keep stitching.....smaltzy or what!