Mwendas

Tokyo Quilt Festival 2012: Opening Day

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:03:00 +0000

I woke up greatly anticipating this day. Never mind the freezing weather, at 4 degrees C, by the way something coming from Singapore I'm definitely not used to. I was totally syked, bundled up in 4 layers of everything I had and on my way at 8 am on opening day (20th Jan) to make the long queue that I knew was already forming. I had advance tickets so I didn't think my queue would be that long, surely. Well.... nothing quite prepared me for this. Not even Jan's post from previous year's show.

Notice, how I'm not standing on line. That's because the queue down there was for the opening ceremony starting at 9 am which I didn't know about. The main show was starting at 11 am and I was at the front of THAT queue. You could not buy opening ceremony tickets online and in advance so there was no getting round this but wait it out until 11 am.

This was a far cry from the peaceful scene a day before when I did a recee of the Tokyo Dome.

That's the same front view and spy the staircase on the right which I was now dutifully fronting a queue. I was ready to wait it out when a kind Japanese lady plucked me out of the queue and led me to the opening ceremony queue. Apparently she had an extra ticket, saw me freezing on the line and asked if I'd like to come in.

Just like that.

Doesn't that just make your heart melt? I was so touched by her generosity. She explained, in broken English, that she was a housewife who loved quilting and had an extra ticket from her friends who were vendors at the show. I have always said the Japanese were the kindest people on earth and I was beginning to experience that already. I never saw her again once we got inside....sigh.

So here I was at the opening ceremony. The overriding theme this year, was "Meeting Hearts By Quilts: Praying for Recovery and Renaissance from the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake"

You can't see it but I was giddy with delight, and happy to be in from the biting cold. The opening ceremony was graced by Princess Keiko(I hope I got her name right), that's her sitting on the back right there with members of the organising committee and representatives of some of the show sponsors to her front right and left. There was a speech too from a nice American lady whose name I didn't quite catch and presentation of awards for the Quilt Grand Prix Winner. See the winning quilts on my next post.

The crowds as you can see were incredible even this early in the morning but this was nothing compared to the crowds that would be walking in later at 11 am. I could see from here the goodness of the quilts on display and couldn't wait to get myself down there.

My big plan, something I learned from Jan, was to head for the vendors' booths first as the good stuff always ran out early, do a spot of fabric shopping then browse the quilts later in the afternoon...after the crowds had somewhat thinned out....hopefully.

First stop! My ultimate favorite La Clochette, Suzuko Koseki's booth

La Clochette

I love this woman! Immeasurably! Her fabric, which I admit, have stashes off are were always the bestsellers at my Etsy store. I needed to be the first one there.

Mad scramble

uh...I think everyone else had that very same thought. Her booth was 3 people deep when I got there. BUT.. I had a leg up on everyone. The day before when I was doing my recee of the Dome, I bumped into her staff preparing for the show today. I introduced myself and gushed all about my love for SK. So when I got to her booth they instantly remembered me and brought me forward to meet her. Swoon!

In spite of the madness at her booth, I managed though to get plenty of pictures of her new line, texts being one of her main forte, and wares on display.

Paris themed print

A signed copy of her new book ( I have not 1 but 8 signed copies of her books...yeah!)

New polka prints

More pictures including my SK fabric haul on my Suzuko Koseki exclusive post later this week.

After spending quite a bit of time.... and money at Suzuko's booth I was absolutely famished. At this rate I was not going to make it through all the hundreds of booths. I needed to regroup and plan my way through the rest of the day.

I sat down to my lovely bento lunch (mixed rice, rolls, karaage (fried chicken), pork balls

looking out into the lunch crowd and wondering how I was going to pull this off.

Lunch time crowd

When I spotted someone who I thought looked very familiar at Keiko Goke's booth - Quilt Wonderland.

Jan from Be*mused - one of my favorite bloggers in the flesh. That's her on the right digging in for goodies at her favorite designers booth. I was hoping against hope to meet her here. Her posts about previous shows were my main motivation for planning this trip.

I quickly ran up to introduce myself and she was gracious enough to introduce me to Keiko herself. My first camera battery decided to ran out at exactly this point but thankfully Jan took that photo which Im hoping to get a hold of soon. I was tempted to leave another big wad of cash at Keiko's booth but I had to restrain myself this time. Which I realised was virtually impossible, and you can see my dilemma....(I pulled up my spare camera battery, which I knew I would absolutely need)

Keiko Goke's new stripe and color block prints

Quilted bags and goodies

A lovely shot from Keiko's blog post

Jan being gifted a spool of thread by Keiko

Keiko graciously gifted me a copy of her new book, which she informed me was only available currently in French and Japanese. An English version will be coming out later this year at her site.

More pictures of my haul from Keiko's booth at a post later this week. Im still sorting the 1000+ photos I took from the show.

Suffice it to say, my well laid plans were slowly falling to bits. Luckily thanks to my mysterious angel earlier in the day, I still had an extra day's ticket so I knew my quilt gazing, at least the majority of it, would have to wait until another day. The crowds had still not thinned out by this time anyway (around 2 pm now) so getting a close up of the quilts would be virtually impossible. Next up was Yoko Saito's booth and I still had to visit the Yuwa booth at some point later that day.

If your still with me this far....I hope you have a nice strong beverage at hand and a few hours to spare in the coming weeks. I have those 1000 photos to get through with another 11 posts to cover it all. I'll break it down into managable bits so that its easy to get through. A post each for the 6 categories of the quilt show, one each for Keiko Goke and Suzuko Koseki, one for the winning quilts, one for the rest of the booths that I managed to visit and a wonderful "Alice In Wonderland" themed section. Though some of the sections had photo restrictions, I managed to take loads and loads of photos and will cover the rest that I did not catch with pictures from the show catalogues.

I will also be putting up a flickr page too with all the pictures from the show in due time.

Next up the winning quilts.........

Mwendas.com is live!

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:25:00 +0000

I’m delighted to finally launch Mwendas.com. A culmination of a long awaited dream to share my love of Japanese fabric and crafting supplies with my wonderful customers. I can’t say enough good things about the team at Aeolidia, who took on my project and quite simply surpassed all my expectations.

I made my start on Etsy 5 years ago selling, would you believe it, jewellery! That quickly changed as I sought a platform that would be less time consuming as I was juggling a full time job. On one of my many visits to our local downtown shops looking for jewelry supplies, I happened to chance upon a shop selling the most beautiful fabric I had even seen…and the rest, as they say, is history.

I must confess. I don’t quilt …..or sew…..but I love oogling (more like drooling) at the wonderful creations made from Japanese fabric especially my favourite fabric designer – Suzuko Koseki. You can’t have enough of Suzuko Koseki. I’m thinking of asking my mother to once and for all teach me a spot of sewing so that I can make use of the large (and I mean large) fabric stash I’ve accumulated over the years. Hands up if you feel me! Sigh!

I’m fortunate to be able to obtain wonderful prints and be in a position to sell them. I usually stock limited quantity of each fabric so if you see something you like, do not ‘stutter’! Snap it up as fast as you can or you might not see it again.

The grand online unveiling is on 1st Feb 2012. Join us on Facebook and sign up for our newsletter and be the first to catch the starting bell.

I’m the meantime follow me on my fabric adventures as I land in Tokyo this week for the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival.

To say I’m super excited is simply an understatement!

New Fabric: Vintage Stamps Japanese Collection

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 12:51:00 +0000

wonderful collection of vintage stamps. Great kawaii fabric for your fun projects

Find it here for only US$ 8.5 for half a yard

Japanese Felt Fruits and Vegetables Pattern Craft Book

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 06:36:00 +0000

Another wonderful felt pattern book.

72 adorable felt patterns for apples, carrots, lemons, kiwi, corn on the cob, grapes, turnips, radishes, sweet potatoes, lady fingers, mushrooms, garlic, cabbage, eggplant, brocolli, tomatoe, raspberry, strawberry, bananas, etc

Get it online here

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Kawaii Fabric - Adorable Snow Bunnies Dobby Weave

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 06:33:00 +0000

Just added a couple of adorable bunny dobby weave fabric online. Great for button making.

http://www.mwendas.etsy.com

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Japanese Fabric - Caramel Town Fabric is back

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 07:26:00 +0000

...but limited quantity. Design in blue and green

Purchase it directly here for only US$ 7.5 per half yard

http://www.etsy.com/listing/22897407/caramel-town-bundle-of-cuteness-on-blue

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Adorable Poodles on Yellow Kawaii - Japanese Fabric Half Yard (Last Piece)

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:21:00 +0000

Last piece of this adorable fabric

Get it here for only US$ 7.5

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Clover Hand Embroidery Pattern - Animal Design

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:30:00 +0000

Clover Hand Embroidery Patterns - Animal Design. Japanese Craft.

A collection of iron on pattern transfers for fabrics. Tranfer the patterns to fabric then embroider. Instructions in English inside.

These patterns are made using Clover Embroidery Stitching tool, 3- ply and single ply needles and embroidery thread. This listing is for the patterns only.

Get it here for only US$ 6.90

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Japanese Fabric - Favourite Things Patchwork Blue Half Yard Kawaii

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:05:00 +0000

Get it here for only US$ 6

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Adorable Felt Mascots and Zakka - Japanese Craft Book Petite Boutique Series

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:10:00 +0000

Adorable Felt Mascots and Zakka - Japanese Craft Book Petite Boutique Series

Language: Japanese
Pages: 57
Condition: New
Dimensions: 19 X 18 cm
Patterns: 61 colorful patterns for beautiful animal and household zakka. Cats, reindeer,santa, centipede, frogs, dogs, bunnies, bear, felt sweets, etc

Beautiful crystal clear pictures and easy to follow full scale patterns at the back of the book.

Get it here for only US$ 9.8

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Touou Yellow Patches Linen Collection - Japanese Fabric

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:04:00 +0000

Get it here for only 9.90 per half yard

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Japanese Fabric - Alice in Wonderland on Purple

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 11:04:00 +0000

Get it here for US$ 7.50 per half yard

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Sweet Felt Creations - Japanese Craft Pattern Book

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 10:50:00 +0000

Sweet Felt Creations - Japanese Craft Book

Language: Japanese
Pages: 88
Condition: New
Patterns: 87 colorful patterns for delicious felt creations: parfaits, small cakes, doughnuts, etc

Beautiful crystal clear pictures and easy to follow patterns.

Get it here for only US$ 16.90

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ON SALE Adorable Crochet Mascots and Motifs- Japanese Craft Book

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 05:28:00 +0000

Get it book here for only USD 15.21

http://www.etsy.com/listing/28990019/on-sale-adorable-crochet-mascots-and

Adorable Crochet Mascots and Motifs- Japanese Craft Book

Language: Japanese
Pages: 77
Condition: New
Patterns: Numerous patterns colorful patterns for adorable crotchet motifs and animal mascots.

matryoshka, fish, crab, peanuts, mushrooms, octopus, teapot, bunny, pirate, strawberry, bambi, tokyo tower, etc

Beautiful crystal clear picture and easy to follow patterns.

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Chihuhua Chef and Friends Adorable Japanese Kawaii Fabric

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 05:19:00 +0000

Only 7.20 per half yard

http://www.etsy.com/listing/31182434/on-sale-yummy-delights-with-chihuahua

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Pretty Matryoshka on Natural - New Japanese Fabric

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 06:17:00 +0000

Get it her for USD 10 per half yard

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A4 File Folder - Japanese San-X Character Rilakkuma Cafe Kawaii

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 08:16:00 +0000

Get it here - USD 3.50

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Adorable Japanese Stickers - San X Rilakkuma and Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 08:11:00 +0000

Get them here: USD 6

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Kerori San X Frog Character Anime Memo pad

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 08:08:00 +0000

Kerori San X Frog Character Anime Memo pad USD 6

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They are back! Hamanaka Raku Raku Double Ended Crochet Needles

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:39:00 +0000

Re-stocked - Get them here for only USD 51.90

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Playing Kimono Girls in Yellow - Japanese Fabric(Sold and Relisted)

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:06:00 +0000

Get it here

USD 7 per half yard

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More Japanese fabric covered buttons to drool over

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:30:00 +0000

Adorable Matryoshka on Natural

Adorable Bambi on Natural

Little Black Sheep On Cream

Adorable Hedgehog on Natural

Playing Girls on Yellow

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Japanese Wappen Iron On Patch Toco-Co Cookie Bunnies by Hamanaka

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:20:00 +0000

Get it here

Quality Iron on Patches by Hamanaka

Dimensions: 6.5 X 6 cm

USD 9

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Cute Japanese Mini Rubber Wooden Stamps - Set of 4 Kawaii Characters

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:19:00 +0000

Cute little Rubber stamps with a bell, bird, clover and pear character.

Perfect for scrapbooking or any other craft projects.

USD 12

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New Fabric at Mwendas

noreply@blogger.com (Mwendas) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:04:00 +0000

Just listed yesterday, the extreme kawaii happy forest is back and now in Green. Get it while its still available

Only USD 9 per half yard. Get it here

Sevenberry's lovely animals in Blue..I'll be listing other colors in this design soon.

Oly USD 6 per half yard. Get it here

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