Wabi sabi quilting

Here's my mini quilt for October - a little indigo wall hanging with sashiko, using indigo from Nogawa that I got in March when I visited Japan (this was before we had any idea we'd be moving back here!). I don't know why it's hard to photograph indigo (I know there's a scientific reason but I don't know what it is) but, the above photo shows the indigo color best. These classic patterns are in Kazuko Yoshiura's book: The Dark indigo stained my fingers blue as I worked - I didn't mind;). I…

I've been wanting to make a wabi sabi style quilt for a while, and just finished my first one today. Now I can't wait to make another. This is raw-edge machine applique. The frayed edges will add a nice touch. I'll show you how it looks after machine washing and drying.

And the pattern is finished too! This is a raw-edge machine applique quilt. The final task is trimming off all the loose threads after machine washing and drying. But then it has a nice soft texture. Wabi sabi is a Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty in simplicity, authenticity, imperfection, and the natural cycle of growth and decay. It also involves asymmetry which goes against my natural default settings. That's part of the fun of making a quilt like this. Wabi Sabi quilt by Karen…

This is Noelle and Keenan's wedding quilt. They were married last March, and so they got their quilt for Christmas. It is one of my favorite quilts to date. A lot of piecing, but I really like this soothing color palette. Noelle wanted cool blues and grays. I bought most of the fabric at Quilted Threads and Cobblestone Quilts, and I supplemented with some Japanese fabrics I already had. The block is Rolling Stone - such a good old fashioned graphic block. I tend to add a little sashiko…

wabi sabi meditation scrolls by Emma Freeman, hand stitched wabi sabi fabric scrolls, stitching as meditation, stitching as spiritual practice, intuitive stitching, slow stitching, stitching as therapy, intuitive embroidery, spiritual artist, art as therapy, art as spiritual practice, vintage Japanese textiles, Buddhist artist, queer, HSP, sober artist and poet, Wisconsin artist, poet Emma Freeman

I have jumped into Quiltmania magazine's 2023 mystery quilt! It is called Mathilde and designed by Susan Smith (I love her quilts). There will be six installments over this year. Part one - in the 2023 Jan/Feb issue - a bunch of 4-inch sawtooth stars, and four of these cute appliqué blocks. I'm about halfway done. I am using a piece of Japanese fabric for the stars and hopefully for other elements of the quilt too. Have you made Mystery Quilts? It takes a leap of faith. We went over to…

Today was the last day of the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival. detail, Keiko Goke, 2017 I went on four separate days. The good thing is that I got my route (walk, train, walk to transfer, train, walk) down to a science, and got to see some of my favorite quilts more than once. The other good thing is that I got to see and experience the show with various friends on two of the days, which was such a pleasure! Crowds got thinner as the days went on but wowsa, the first day was packed…

David has an extended family "cousin" Christmas exchange, and this year, he drew his California cousin who just had a baby girl. I already had the blocks pieced and squared up using Sujata Shah's free form method from her excellent book Cultural Fusion Quilts. So it was quick work to piece the top. However.... I don't have pretty detail photos to show at this point - I have deleted them - because - in all my cleverness I appliqued the wrong name onto the front of the quilt - doh! Baby's name…