ali

I've started making blocks from Susan Briscoe's excellent book (in terms of scope and clarity), Japanese Quilt Blocks. Are there other Japanese quilters--traditional or contemporary--here?

BETTY62

Beautiful. I love that fabric.

ali

Thanks, Betty. I'm in China, and I don't have access to Japanese fabric, so I used some fat quarters I had on hand.

TonnieLoree

I just took a screen shot of your blocks. I save things that interest me in a word doc. While I'm not too fond of the lower right one, the upper left intrigues me. Thank you for sharing!

M.I.Late

I think it's going to look neat Ali. You actually may find some quilters from Japan on here. Good luck to you! Looks good so far.

ali

Thanks for your comment! I agree that the lower right doesn't do much on its own--in fact, it looks a bit like a swastika, which is an ancient and sacred symbol seen on temples in India, but of course reminds us of the Holocaust since the symbol was corrupted in WWII. As one of many blocks, however, it starts to look quite different--almost like a woven pattern.

ali

I hope so! Thanks.

Painiacs

I'm 1/2 Japanese does that count? Lol. I am finishing my 3rd kimono quilt!!

e4

I'm not Japanese, but I love to work with Asian prints and have several books on Japanese quilts. Interestingly, many of the "Japanese" blocks are actually just simple blocks that take on a different look when used with certain color combinations or prints. Every one of the blocks in your example is a variation on a rail fence block with either 3 or 5 rails. Several members of my family made quilts from my FIL's shirts after he died and we all used a Japanese pattern (he lived in Japan for 3 years) that is nothing more than a very simple version of a log cabin. Simple and beautiful.

ali

I love the idea of using men's shirts for quilts, and your FIL's made them really special. I'd love to see pictures if you have any! "Simple and beautiful" says it all, I think! Thanks. Of course, the Japanese were quilting hundreds of years before we were here in the West, so maybe log cabin blocks are variations of old, traditional Japanese blocks. Here's another block I made from Briscoe's book: It's block 45, called "Kurume kasuri fukumoli" which means "good luck character." The symbol is very similar to the good luck character in Mandarin as well. The blocks are about 9" square, and the tiny squares in the bottom right piece of the block came out to 1/2 inch square--a challenge for me, especially with solid colors!