Frappuccino in three flavors

Thank you so much for all of you who have decided
to submit a block for the Tokyo Quilt Festival to
be held in January next year. Also, thank you for
those of you who helped me spread the word about it.
It looks like I will be looking for over 50 blocks
at the festival so far! How Fun!!! If you are still
debating whether you should do it or not, I hope
you'll decide to join! We've got over 2 months to
make just one block if that sounds more doable :)
I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

This is a block for the Ringo Pie Bee I just finished
today. Marit wanted her blocks to have a summer theme.
"Lemonade" was the first thing that came across my mind
and then later a "Lobster", but when I saw a super enticing
ad of frappuccino at Starbucks the other day,
I immediately knew that I was going to make a frappuccino
block instead. (Sure, I love food too much!) I asked Marit
what her favorite flavor is among 1) coffee, 2) strawberry, and
3) green tea and she picked strawberry.




Mine is most definitely green tea! My friends often make
fun of me for liking green tea frappuccino/green tea latte
at Starbucks too much. I know Starbucks' green tea frappuccino
doesn't come with green tea syrup on top of cream like this,
but it would be really cool if it did.

I don't know if it's just me, but this block makes
me feel nostalgic for some reasons. I feel like
watching a movie from the 50's or something tonight but oh no I have to start packing really bad!

We finally bought tickets to leave for Japan on June 27th.
I have such a mixed feeling about this move. It's going to
be really awesome to move to a place I have friends and family
waiting for us. And I have pretty good knowledge of the city in
Tokyo we are moving to, which makes me feel good. But I think
I'll miss my friends and my family in law here so, so, SO MUCH!
I'll miss this apartment we lived for three years.
I'll miss this wonderful weather, the beautiful, clear sky in
California. I'll miss American fabrics (Luckily there seems to
be a quite big fan base of Japanese fabric, so hopefully I'll
sweet talk some folks into fabric swaps, hehe.)
And luckily, all my close friends have promised me to
come to visit me in Tokyo soon, including one of them
who I'll see in just one week and Tamiko who I'll see in
January!) so that's making me feel better to think like that.

Ok time for me to start packing some more!


Thank you for stopping by :)
Have a lovely weekend!

Partnership Quilts for 2012 Tokyo Quilt Festival

Some of you may recall that earlier this year I blogged about the Tokyo Quilt Festival I attended this year. I blogged about it here and here. It was amazing to be able to go there and to share with you my experience there. Well, I am definitely going back there in January next year. Since I will be living MUCH closer to the Tokyo Dome, where the festival takes place every year, I might, in fact, I WILL probably be able to visit there a few times next year so that I won't miss anything, hopefully, hehe.

Each year the Tokyo Quilt Festival exhibits lots of Partnership Quilts, which are made by quilt blocks submitted by everyone. A theme for partnership quilts is set by a popular Japanese quilter/textile designer annually, and she will put all blocks submitted into groups. Folks there will piece all blocks and make them into quilts accordingly.

2011's theme was "Flower" and there were 10,344 blocks submitted total from all over the world. Under supervision of Yoko Saito, an author of many Japanese sewing books, those blocks turned into 86 quilts to be exhibited at the festival. They did a great job on putting similar blocks together and I so enjoyed seeing many flower themed quilts there.

I'd like to invite ALL of you to participate in this for next year. I am especially excited about next year's partnership quilts, because my super quilting hero Suzuko Koseki, an author of these awesome sewing books, will be a supervisor.

What is the theme?

Triangles and squares. This doesn't mean your block needs to consist of perfect triangles and squares. Half triangles, rectangles, etc are all good.

What's the block size requirement?

22-23cm x 22-23cm ; 8 3/4" - 9" x 8 3/4" x 9" including 1-1.5cm or approximately 1/2" seam allowances.

What should I include?

1) Your name written by a permanent pen at the right bottom corner on the seam of your block.
2) A piece of paper with your info - Your message, your name, address, and phone number.

How many blocks can I submit?

One per person. If you are sending blocks as a group or a family, limit 5 blocks. And remember to include a piece of paper with personal info for EACH block. Also, even if you send several blocks together, these blocks may not be in the same quilt.

What's the technique we can use?

Any :) Machine or hand-sewing, paper-piecing, applique, embroidery. Just keep in mind that your block will be quilted so I would avoid attaching a giant metal piece or anything like that.

Does my block need to be original?

Not at all! Go ahead and pick your favorite quit pattern from your book. And of course you have free reign to come up with your own blocks design.

Is there any requirements on colors or types of fabrics?

Not at all! Use fabric you want and pick the colors you want.

Do I have to be an experienced quilter to join this?

Not at all! The youngest participant this year was a 2 year old!

Can I see the quilt my block is in?

Absolutely! If you can join this flickr group and post a picture of your block, I will do my best to look for your block at the festival and take pictures of the quilt to share with you all on my blog and in the flickr pool.

When will the 2012 quilt festival be held?

Sometime in January next year. The specific dates are undecided,but I am assuming it will be about 10 days in late January.

What happens to the quilts after the festival is over.

They will be sold for charity purposes at the end of the last day to help the victims of the earthquake.

When's the deadline?

August 31, 2011. Your blocks must arrive by this date. If you are going to use the USPS first class international mail to send your block from the U.S., I would suggest that you send it by August 10th.

Where should I send my block to?

NHK Suteki ni HandMade
"Partnership Quilt"
2-2-1 Jinnan, Shibuya-ku,
Tokyo 150-8001 Japan

I hope you'll jump in the fun! Have a great Monday!!

The Farmer's Wife Quilt Along WIP

I'm so glad Amanda and Angela started such a fun quilt-along.
Basically if you want to join this QAL, buy this awesome book,
'The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt" that has 111 block patterns,
and make two blocks a week on your pace. Even if you are not into
traditional quilts making, I promise you'll find this book
very inspirational. All 111 blocks are pretty simple with an
exception of a few. Not bad. I am already loving this QAL
partly because I enjoy making a different block at a time
rater than making the same blocks repeatedly so that I am
learning each time I make a block. So fun!




I decided to make blocks in order, so here is my take
on No.1 block pattern in the book. Considering how
simple this block is, I struggled a quite bit. I thought
I can calculate measurements in the head so I didn't
care to use templates on the CD enclosed in the book,
but after two attempts that resulted in failures, I
gave up and printed out the templates and finally
got it work. phew. See? I am learning!




Here is No.2. This was a lot simpler than the
first one, but I have to admit I still messed up
the first time. I really want to get better at
making traditional blocks.




I skipped No.3 block because it is a basket pattern
that has a curvy handle. You know how hard I try to
stay away from curvy seams. I'll come back to No.3
after getting better at making blocks. No.4 (above)
was the easiest of all.

So far all my blocks have been a combination of
the red solid + Heather Ross print + Suzuko Koseki
Print + other, not that I had planned it this way.
I'll go with this color range until I get tired of it.


Thanks for letting me share these blocks with you :)
Hope you are having a lovely Monday!

Blocks for me in the Ringo Pie bee

This is one of the songs I will be listening while
piecing together blocks everyone has made
for my month in the Ringo Pie Bee. (Remember the themewas anything to do with delivering letters and packages?)
In this bee, we are allowed to use our own stashes and
come up with whatever blocks that fit monthly themes.



It is quite challenging because we design original block patterns
monthly (not required, but most of us like to do), and we all
feel a quit bit of pressure since everyone in this bee is super
talented. But I consider myself a super lucky girl to be in this
bee. I love how accomplished I feel every time I finish my
block, how inspired I am by everyone's awesome blocks, and how
kind, encouraging, and friendly everyone is in this bee.

And now that I have seen these blocks folks have made
for me, which are all super amazing,
I am loving this bee even more!!

Ok, let me share with you those completed blocks
by everyone so far. The Beatle's "Please, Mister Postman"
(above) would be a great song to listen to while you ogle these blocks!



A stack of packages by Corey of Little Miss Shabby.




Liberty letterbox by Lynne of Lily's Quilt.




Colored pencils by Kerry of verykerryberry.




Vintage envelop etc by Lucinda of Septemberbird.




Washi tape and wonky pencils by Amber of One Shabby Chick.



Airmail by Amber of One Shabby Chick.



Carrier Pigeon by Marit of Quilt it.



Mailbox by Anna of Noodlehead



Airmail and plane by Amy of Badskirt.


And three more to come!(Can't wait to see them!!)


I know I know I know I know!!!!

These blocks are crazily amazing, right?!My quilt is going to seriously ROCK!!In fact, maybe I will enter this quilt atTokyo Quilt Festival if I do a great job atmaking them into a quilt. hehe, a girl can dream, right?

Thank you for letting me share my excitementover these blocks with you, and thank you so much forall of you who made a block for me or are going to make me one.I love them all and I do know I will love those that are coming.
Hope you all are having a fabulous weekend :)

P.S. my fabulous friend Kerry is having a 'My Secret Obsession' party where we allshare our secret obsessions on our blogs!Go ahead and join the fun! My thinking capis on. I'll come back with my obsessions, hehe.