Yokohama Quilt Show: One Block Wonder

A gargantuan quilt suspended from the ceiling

Today was opening day of this year's Yokohama Quilt Festival and we got to Minatomirai just after the doors opened. No way were we going to miss seeing Big Bird receive her prize for her "One Block Wonder". She was the only American quilter to get an award and one of the few non-Japanese prize winners, the others hailing from Taiwan.

Note that her sweater complements the quilt's colors.

A closer view of the quilt (above) might help explain its title. Big Bird pieced this quilt from a single length of fabric rather than using lots of different fabrics. She has a lot more self-restraint than someone else we all know, the person who can't walk out of a fabric store without at least a quarter meter of every fabric on offer.

Here she is twiddling her thumbs in the winner's circle a few minutes before the prizes were awarded. Note the pink sweater is the only item of clothing in the winner's circle that isn't black, dark blue, or grey. As if we wouldn't be able to spot her by her hair . . .

Our Japanese quilting friends helped celebrate the occasion

We are all so proud of Big Bird. Next week she's teaching interested Navy medicine spouses how to make a tote bag from four fat quarters of fabric. Not me, though. I am still working on the quilted purse Shinagawa-san taught us how to make last year.