A new art quilt, sketching, and Kanazawa

Here are a few pictures of beautiful Kanazawa, almost a year ago...

I finally decided to try and make a new art quilt. Here are two photos I took during the quilting process. The other pictures in the mosaic are from my sketchbooks, and also from a few days at the seaside.

And here's my new quilt almost quilted. Next, I must finish the edges, and also add some embellishments.

I dyed some of the fabric myself. For the largest piece of indigo fabric, I used an old sheet I found at my parents' house. There are even a few holes in it, and I'm very tempted to leave them like that. Or maybe, I could add some stitching to emphasize them.
I also used a few pieces of indigo fabric I bought in Kanazawa last year, at Ai Life Studio, and then a piece of antique Japanese fabric bought a long time ago in Kyoto, at Gallery Kei.

Sketching and Japan

Here are a few more pictures taken in Japan last autumn...

I'm spending most of my free time sketching these days. I took a class at Sketchbook Skool recently. It was all about drawing people and it was a lot of fun.

I still sew from time to time. Last month, I made a fabric book for my little grandson, but it looks like I forgot to take a picture of it completed...

My quilting mojo isn't back yet, but I've pinned this on the design wall...

Who knows? Maybe I'll start making art quilts in a while.
In the meantime, I'll be sketching, and also sorting my stuff and my pictures.
Next task is to choose some photos of beautiful Kanazawa.

Housekeeping, drawing, quilts, and Japan

I've been doing some much needed housekeeping in the studio, and also in my photo files.
So, here's a mosaic of a few pictures...

Some of my textile UFOs,
my latest baby quilt, in situ,
a few pictures taken in Kyoto last year,
and a sketch I did of a ridiculously crowded street in Arashiyama.
More pictures soon...

It's winter!

We had at last a little snow, yesterday and today.

No sunshine unfortunately, and as it is already melting, I quickly went out for a walk and took a few pictures.

Btw, autumn in Japan was really beautiful!
It was the only season I had not seen there yet, and it could well be my favorite.
Here's a little mosaic...

And in other news, I am binding the piece I finished quilting in May...
Better late than never!

September

Better late than never... here's my little mosaic for September...

I spent a lot a time drawing, trying to finish the sketchbook I started during my travel in Japan. It's almost done now.
Then, I began working on two new quilts for my small quilt group. The new theme is "Empreinte", which means print, mark, imprint, etc...
I decided to work with my own footprints. One of the tops is now almost ready to be quilted. For the second one, I definitely need to print more fabric.
I'm getting too many ideas while working on this theme... This could be the beginning of a new series.

More pictures

More pictures of my trip to Japan.

Did you know that the Twelves are blogging again, celebrating their 9th anniversary?
Here's the link to my post.

Day 8

I spent most of the day cleaning, doing the laundry and other mundane things I don't want to blog about.
So instead, here are some pictures of my latest trip to Japan (in May) that I think I have not posted yet.

These pictures were taken in the area of Daikakuji temple.

It's situated North-West of Kyoto.

A beautiful area...

very quiet...

Japan - 6 -

A few pictures of Saiho-ji garden...

Pictures were forbidden inside the temple. Saiho-ji can only be visited with an advance reservation. After copying a sutra (with brush and ink) and reading it (or rather trying to read it), we were allowed to take a walk in the amazing moss garden.
It must be so cool over there now! Here, it's been hot and muggy. Record temperatures for this time of year... Next week should be a bit cooler, hopefully.
The pieces of my first "Desert" quilt are ready. But it's really too hot in my studio... If it's not better tomorrow, maybe I'll bring my machine downstairs. I'm also sewing myself a new linen shirt.

Kabuki quilts

Here are my two Kabuki quilts...

They are both 60cm high. The theme of the challenge was "Opera". When I started working on this theme, I was actively prepared my trip to Japan. So naturally, I wanted to make quilts related to it, and I started researching on Kabuki.
After reading some books, I decided to focus on scenery and found out that stylized pine trees are often used in the background.
I remembered I had taken some great pictures of pine trees three years ago in Kyoto and I used some of them to design new thermal screens and print my Kabuki fabrics.
Here are two detail shots of the quilts...

The next theme will be "Desert".
I have started selecting the fabrics and researching my photographs folders.

I couldn't find anything really great in my digital pictures, so I went back to my good old paper photo albums and I found something...  Pictures taken about 35 years ago in the Sahara!

Japan - 5 -

On our way to Saiho-ji Temple, West of Kyoto.

Japan - 4 -

Beautiful Uji, famous for its green tea, for the gorgeous Byodo-in Temple, and also for being the setting for the last ten chapters of the Tale of Genji.

Japan - 3 -

Arashiyama - Mifune Matsuri (Festival of the three boats)

Kyoto - JR Station

Kyoto - Garden of Chion-in Temple

Japan - 2 -

Some views of Osaka: Umeda, Sakuranomiya, the castle, and again Umeda...

大阪   -   梅田  -  桜ノ宮  -  大阪城