Friday, December 27, 2013

Flowers in the Night Sky

In just a few days, we'll be celebrating New Year's Eve, December 31, in California and Arizona, U.S.A. Thank you to all who read Quilt Inspiration this past year !

Where are you celebrating New Year's Eve this year?  We know we have readers from many different countries.  In the Comments section below, please let us know from what country you are writing, and send your fellow readers a greeting. Happy New Year to quilt lovers around the world !

Hani - Bi (Flowers in the Night Sky) by Yoshiko Kobayashi, Osaka, Japan


In this pretty quilt, Yoshiko has portrayed the Hana-bi ( fireworks) that often light up the night sky during midsummer festivals in Japan. However, we like to imagine that this fireworks show is celebrating the arrival of the New Year, along with new beginnings for each of us.  

Close -up, Hani - Bi (Flowers in the Night Sky) by Yoshiko Kobayashi


Yoshiko's vibrant, creative work is machine pieced, quilted, appliqued, and embroidered. She writes: "When I was thinking about ideas for my quilt, I was impressed with a scene in an old American movie. The scene was that of two old men speaking while seeing distant hana-bi fireworks. I  thought I might be able to express the fire trail of hana-bi with a Sawtooth pattern. Hana-bi are common to the Japanese since olden times."

Close-up, Hana - Bi (Flowers in the Night Sky) by Yoshiko Kobayashi


In this close-up, you an see some of the lightweight gauze-like fabric Yoshiko used to portray the fireworks as perhaps seen through mist or fog. You can also see a variety of quilting patterns on the dark background, which reminds us of the trails of moving light that fireworks leave as they dissipate.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2013 Houston IQF.

12 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your photos all year. I have enjoyed your blog. From the very exotic central CA, U.S.A.
    Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy New Year from Perth, Western Australia! xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you, and Happy New Year to Terri in California and to Red Quilty Girl in Western Australia !!
    We're waiting to hear where the rest of you are ! Please drop us a very brief comment and tell us from what part of the world you're reading Quilt Inspiration. xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy New Year from the (unofficial) Quilt Capital of Canada, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Thanks for posting all these inspirational quilts all year long.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I enjoy each year in quilts on your posts. Yes, Hana-bi (flower-fire) are a summer event in Japan, and they are amazing in variety. Kobayashi-san did an amazing rendition, and very modern from the usual hand-done quilts we see here. The expression of new years greetings in Japan is given upon the first meeting after the year begins. So have a "yoi otoshi" from sunny Tokyo.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thoroughly enjoy all your postings and look forward to each new one. Happy New Year, hope everyone has great celebration, stay safe and keep good health. From Anglesea, Australia (just south of Melbourne on The Great Ocean Rd where today it is 39C or 102F).

    ReplyDelete
  7. Я читаю ваш блог в России, Санкт-Петербург. Спасибо вам за такие интересные сообщения! С Новым годом!

    ReplyDelete
  8. OMG! That quilt is amazing! Thanks for sharing the pics. I'm a follower from a small village west of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, called New Dundee. I blog at www.pinprickedfingers.com

    ritaferber_5@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love the Flowers in the night sky...Happy New Year from Ballarat - Australia

    ReplyDelete
  10. To Everyone : Thank you so much for your lovely comments ! How nice of you ! By the way, Elena above is writing "Happy New Year" from St. Petersburg, Russia.

    We are very grateful to have such an excellentt group of readers from all around the world. We really appreciate all of your support and participation at Quilt Inspiration. We wish everyone a wonderful 2014 and beyond. :-) xx

    ReplyDelete

We love reading each and every comment... thanks for visiting our blog!

Related Posts with Thumbnails