Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Summer in Japan

This is the quilt I made for the Twelve by Twelve Lorikeet colour scheme...
It was not an easy colour scheme for me. It's not that I don't like bright colours, but so many of them at the same time in such a small quilt... And I must admit that this lorikeet green didn't really excite me. But I was confident some ideas would emerge during my trip in Japan this summer.
Actually, I found that Japan in August has many different shades of green. The one I liked the best was the bright green of the small rice fields. When I came back home, I decided my quilt would be a simple imaginary landscape based on the beautiful sceneries I had seen during my stay.
I also wanted my quilt to make reference to my mother as her weak health was a constant worry for me while I was away. I printed her silhouette several times on a piece of red fabric and placed it at the left of my landscape. I liked that quilt a lot but, in the end, I just didn't feel like showing it. So I replaced my mom's silhouette by a single leaf shape, a ginkgo leaf, as there are so many ginkgo trees in Japan and they are seen as a symbol of resilience. Here are some detail shots of the quilt...

Don't forget to visit the Twelve by Twelve blog to see the quilts made by the other members of the group.

8 comments:

Gerrie said...

Love this, Francoise. A wonderful and vibrant summer landscape.

jenclair said...

Beautifully done! I love the lorikeet colors, the rice fields, the mountain, and the ginkgo leaf. Graphic and colorful!

ViDerTextil said...

c'est vrai que ce ne sont pas tes couleurs habituelles. Peut-être une nouvelle voie à découvrir ?

dutchcomfort said...

When I first saw the colours for this challenge I was so curious to see what your inspiration would be.

I applaud you Françoise! Such a beautiful quilt.Love the detail with the ginkgo leaf! And a wonderful remembrance of your trip to Japan!

Doreen G said...

This is a lovely quilt Francoise and the colours are perfect.

artfilstitch said...

Your 12X12" is very lovely. The colours and stitching blend together beautifully. Great Job!
Liz

Linda’s Textiles said...

Beautiful quilt! Clever of you to use inspiration from your Japan trip with these colours.

natsumi said...

What a beautiful quilt! I love the colors!! So stunning..