Fractured Fabric

As mentioned a while back, I've been wanting to make my son a Japanese-inspired quilt since he has been interested in all things Japanese since high school.  Last week I finally gathered the courage to cut into several small pieces of yukata and indigo fabrics I'd gathered, as well as a treasured piece of tenegui from Tokyo (thanks Cynthia!), and have a go at this project.

I was lucky enough to find a used copy of the late Kitty Pippen's book Quilting with Japanese Fabrics and fell in love with her style and the many gorgeous quilts she created over her lifetime, most all made after her retirement until she passed away last year just short of her 99th birthday.  I wish I had been one of the fortunate ones to have taken classes from her.

One style element she often used she called "fracturing" - cutting a series of 60 degree triangles of patterned yukata fabric and resewing them with diagonal bands of solid fabrics between, in an asymmetrical arrangement to create movement.  In other quilts she worked with rectangular pieces, which of course would have been a better choice for a rank amateur with spatial dyslexia and no geometry background.  Guess which one I attempted.

Following are a few photos of my daily progress over the past week or so.

The original fabric pull, half of which were set aside when construction began

Day 1, not much progress here

Day 2

Days 3-4

Day 5, starting to look better but still missing "something"

Day 6, Top border added and also the missing "something" - can you spot it?

Day 7, Bottom border added, top completed, 24x34 inches.

I made a first attempt at sashiko embroidery stitching on the top and bottom borders.  I'd expected it to be easier than it was, considering I've hand quilted for years.  Definitely a new skill to be learned, but fun!

The backing fabric will be this Ameritex Japanese style print that has been sitting in my stash for at least ten years, and I suspect sat in someone else's stash for years prior to that.  My guess based on internet research is that it dates from the 1970s or 80s.  I love it, and happily there are still a couple yards left.

The seams have all been ditch quilted by machine and hand quilting was started this morning.  Hoping to have this completed by Christmas for early gifting to my son.  It's meant for his January birthday, but Christmas is when he can open it while we're together.  Hope he likes it!

Meanwhile there are a few more pieces of Japanese fabric in my stash and I'm smitten. This one was a huge challenge, but gotta say, so far I've loved every minute of making this one.

Hope you're having some fun in your sewing room this week.  And don't forget to visit all the blogs in Lori's Humble Quilts Holiday Favorites Blog Hop going on this week!  Lots of inspiration to be found there.