FAMOUS QUILT EXHIBITION PART I: SHIMA MICHIKO

Surely only in Asia, could a quilt show be called Famous Quilt Exhibition! 

Shima Michiko was one of the two Japanese quilters, whose work was on display at the Janome offices in Bangkok.  Her quilts are typically Japanese, with the use of kimono and obi fabric as the main fabrics.

Michiko-san's quilts are not to my taste, but it was certainly interesting to see what she had made.  I know that working with silk kimono fabric isn't easy, so I think it is testament to the skill of the artist who can produce beautiful quilts with it. 

The quilt below was one of the ones that I liked best.

Close up you can see that each piece is outlined with silver lame.  I think this must be her signiture, because all the quilts were outlined in silver, black or gold.  

This is the other quilt that I liked. It reminds me of Munch's The Scream, for some reason.

I liked these two because they are not traditional in style and the colours are fun.

The quilts were mostly hand quilted, with the outlines sewn on by hand, or in the case of the black, by machine.  I was amazed that they didn't fray.

The following two quilts do not look like her style at all.

Now this is what I call a labour of love.  Look closely at the light cream areas, how do you think they were constructed?

Believe it or not, the are hundreds (thousands?) of French knots!  Everything that is cream, is made up of clusters of French knots.  You have to really love them to do that.

We read that Michiko-san has been quilting since 1975, so maybe she has been working on this quilt since then!