Tokyo International Quilt Festival - 2018
 

Hi ladies,

This year I´lm attending Tokyo Quilt Festival and would like to ask those who have been there what I can´t miss and what I cant leave behind regarding quilt stuff shopping: YLI threads ? taupe fabrics ? things that are sold only in Japan as Clover magnifying spectacles? Thank you !

I attended the Quilt Festival with members of a local guild and we had a famous Japanese teacher speak to us while we ate a box lunch. There will be many booths with a variety of goods. Japanese quilters love to quilt by hand, even though machine quilting is becoming more common. They also love making bags, purses, wallets, coin purses, and other small items-so you will see handles and other parts for these projects. They tend to buy smaller pieces of fabric, so smaller cuts will be offered. I did buy some small printed panels that looked Victorian and a swap partner from England told me she used to trade these prints with friends many years ago. I enjoyed the booth run by Kathy Nakajima otherwise known as "Kathy Mom"; she designs wonderful fabrics that are a Japanese-Hawaiian fusion (she is from Hawaii originally and married to a Japanese actor). Clover does have quite a few items that are sold only in Japan. If you don't see them at the quilt show, you could go to Yuzawaya in many locations (Shinjuku, Kichijoji, Kamata to name a few) Or go to Tokyo "fabric town" and shop at a group of stores called Tomato.

Deborah (Gaijin)

Lucky you!!! Please take photos and share them with us when you get back. Japan has some amazing quilters!

My dream!! How wonderful for you!!! Just a couple of weeks ago, I was reading this blog on 2017 show and she had some great advice for future show attendance. https://okanarts.com/2017-tokyo-quilt-festival-1/

i think the blog article was in 4-parts and her advice appeared on part 4. Looking forward to pictures and stories of your experience.

I am also going with a friend, we are going with a tour group and have tickets for 2 days to the show.

The one thing that I would look for is Japanese embroidery needles. They are the most awesome needles to hand sewing as they have a long narrow eye that is very easy to thread and being very thin needles they go thru the fabric easily. The ones I have that I like the best are by Clover, I believe.

I was there 6 years ago. The quilts are beautiful. Very different than what we make in the US. I remember the show as being VERY crowded, but I was only there a few hours on opening day. Some vendors sold scraps of silk from antique kimonos. I didn't purchase any, as they were very expensive then. The exchange rate is much better now. Plan a trip to Fabric Town and go to Tomato. You won't be disappointed. You may want to take an extra suitcase.

I´m happy I´m going on a tour with a californian company. There are visits scheduled to fabric town and Yoko Saito store. I´ll keep an eye on Yuzawaya if I have free time. Thank you !

I´m going on a tour with japanese company California based. The are visits scheduled to fabric town and Yoko Saito´s fabric store and Tomato. I´m taking notes of of other places in case I have the opportunity in those free time.

BTW: What I did not get yet is the value of money there . I know Japan is expensive and am trying to relate Yen to US$. For instance: I have no idea how much material I can buy - lets say - with $100 :p

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