Thursday, July 12, 2012

Inari

This is the quilt I made for the "Mythology" challenge of Twelve by Twelve.
I wanted to make another quilt inspired by my travels to Kyoto. I first focused on Shinto, which is the old religion of Japan and is very rich in legends and myths.
Inari is an important kami. She's the goddess of rice, agriculture, business and probably other things too. Fushimi Inari is one of the main shrines where she's worshipped. It is located south of Kyoto.
The torii, the famous red gates of Shinto shrines, were one on the symbols I wanted to use in my quilt. I printed them with a homemade stencil.
The foxes, kitsune in Japanese, are Inari's messengers. I used a thermal screen and a homemade stencil to print them on my fabrics.
The multicoloured lines were inspired by the origami cranes that are found in shrines and temples everywhere in Japan.
Of course, I had to dye indigo fabric for the background.
Here are some close-ups of the quilt...

A mosaic of inspirational pictures, from my last three trips to Japan...
And the first three quilts of my 20x12 series...

And now, I'm off to our Twelve by Twelve blog to see the quilts made by the other members of the group.

10 comments:

dutchcomfort said...

Françoise, it’s soooo beautiful, love all the details, the raw edges, the quilting and all the symbolism! It shows that you love to work with the colour blue!!

Anonymous said...

I really like this quilt, Francoise. I too love the symbolism and your use of the colours adds a lot of visual interest. Well done!!

ViDerTextil said...

j'aime beaucoup !!!

sharon young said...

Beautiful, Françoise, the colours and design are perfect.

jenclair said...

I love them all, but this is my favorite! The red gates are so emblematic, and I love the misty blue background that gives a sense of mythic mystery. And the various colors in the long thin rectangles, almost like rain, add a cheerful contrast!

Micki said...

I really like this quilt. The quilting you did really sets the designs off. Great job!

Anonymous said...

You have captured the serene essence of ancient Kyoto, yet the design is so modern and vibrant. Brilliant! Cheryl

The Idaho Beauty said...

Aces! I so love your work.

Linda’s Textiles said...

Really beautiful quilt Francoise.

Judy said...

What a wonderful quilt that captures Japan so well. It brought back great memories of time spent in Japan....