A Japanese Moon Quilt

In January of 2020 (can it really be six years ago already?) I was blessed to be able to lead a group of quilters on a tour of Japan. The highlight was spending three days at the Great International Quilt Show in Tokyo. We also toured amazing sites and took classes with Japanese teachers. I now know it was a once in a lifetime trip for me, as it was the last Great International Quilt Show ever held there. The show was permanently cancelled the following year because of the pandemic. I’m so grateful for all of it and the wonderful memories we have. If you’d like to read my first post about the show click here. I did a number of posts about the fiber art we saw and classes we took. To read them please click here, and here, and here , and one more here.

So why am I telling you all this in 2026? Well, in the end of November I received an email from Sharon. She’d come across my Japan post from 2020 and liked one of the quilts in that post (I don’t blame her – it is amazing!)

She contacted me to ask if I’d taken a photo of the label because she reads Japanese! Sadly, I hadn’t. She then wrote to say that she was making her own version from the photo and wanted to give credit to the maker. And… she sent me this photograph!

Wow!!! I wrote her back and asked if I could share her quilt in progress. I was hoping someone might have information on this quilt to share with Sharon. If you know anything about it please comment below.

When I wrote her I also asked if she’d share a bit of her story. Sharon did not disappoint, and in December she sent photos of her finished quilt along with this information:

“I came from a family that sewed, canned, and farmed so making things has always been part of my life. 

I first went to Japan as a young teenager to study the Japanese language.   That first trip strongly influenced my sense of color, shape, and asymmetry. I had a long career in natural resource management and regulation.  While I did small sewing projects and needlepoint during those years, quilts just seemed too demanding. But when I retired quilts became the dominant art form for me.  I prefer to design my own quilts and typically use Japanese fabrics, often old hand dyed pieces.

When I saw your photos of the 2020 Japanese quilt show, the moon quilt called my name.  It took me a few months but here it is!”

Isn’t it exquisite? Sharon, you did a beautiful job. Congratulations and thanks for sharing it with us!

And one last link. I did an additional post about the food in Japan and thought some of you might find it interesting too. Click here to read it!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!