AFQSinc

It looks like this is the setting for the finished quilt. I am not a fan. I would have to figure out a different way to set the blocks.

I've been looking at some of the other blogs that have discussed their work on the quilt. The are mostly foreign language blogs. I've been using the Bing translator to get an understanding. It seems like it is definitely on the difficult side. One of the bloggers said that blocks 5 and 6, I believe, took her 4 weeks working 5 hours a day. I did say that I was thinking of this as a long term project but I'm just beginning to wonder if this really is out of my depth at this point in time.

AFQSinc

For some reason I forgot to add the link.

http://media-cache-ec3.pinterest.com...6_R4aEsPlk.jpg

I will try to link another blog that shows this as well. It is in Spanish but using Bing Translator I could read some of the comments.

Donna 66

I just had breakfast with my DD's MIL this morning and she's making this quilt. She also did not care for the final layout and will be doing it differently. She was in France and bought a couple of the block kits there, I think. The fabric is great. I believe she is going to fuse on all those little leaves

AFQSinc

Yes, the leaves! There seem to a million of them. I wish more people were writing about this quilt. I think it would be wonderful to have been able to pick up the block kits in an actual shop. A very lucky lady!

SueLevin

Did manage to buy several Daiwabo wovens today in lights and darks. They are so similar to a lot of homespuns I already had in my stash so hopefully I can combine everything. The Daiwabo wovens are a bit pricey with some costing $18 a yard. Our local shop had a 35% off everything in the store sale so it helped. The worst thing was not knowing how much to buy so I ended up buying 1/4 yards of all the building/scenery fabrics and 1/2 yards of 4 different backgrounds. All told, I spent $74. I hope I have enough but if not, it's back to the store and by then, I'm sure the sale will be over. I definitely think this quilt can be done with other fabrics as well. Landscape/building fabrics would work well as would batiks. Now I have to wait for the pattern which I ordered on Monday.

SueLevin

Thanks for posting the finished quilt. The quilting is phenomenal. I hope it's not too difficult. The videos make it seem less daunting. Yoko does a lot if needle turn applique; however she uses a glue stick and turns under the seam allowance with a seam ripper. I may use a very lightweight fusible interfacing with the wovens so they won't stretch out of shape. Some of the wovens are loosely woven.

SueLevin

I would definitely do the reverse appliqué on the windows before the whole house is appliqued down. I think it would be too difficult to handle otherwise.

Peckish

I absolutely ADORE Yoko Saito. I wish the American quilting magazines - and American quilting industry in general - would expand their horizons and feature more Japanese quilters such as Yoko Saito. There is a huge "genre" of similar quilters in Japan who create this type of exquisite work.

The majority of the books Yoko has written are only available in Japanese or French, but the illustrations are of such excellent quality, it's not difficult to figure out how to make her quilts and other projects.

AFQSinc

Peckish - I agree with everything that you have said. I think that is you have touched on one of the major problems with the magazine industry in general. Every issue is basically the same. People don't want to keep paying for the same things month after month, so ad revenue goes down and the next thing is the print publication has folded. I was a faithful subscriber of Martha Stewart Living for over 10 years. I have saved EVERY SINGLE ISSUE. I stopped subscribing though, when the magazine became a slightly updated, recycled version of what is had been in the glory days. So now, I don't subscribe anymore and it looks like it won't be too much longer until MSL goes totally digital. If it even stays in existence.

I believe that our American quilting magazines should take notice. If you look at the Japanese magazines and the Australian magazines. WOW! Now these aren't all my style but I love to look at them and read about the different techniques and ideas. I think many of us would like to see some articles on these international designers.

Yoko Saito is an amazing designer. I hope that one day I'll be able to take a class or a lecture with her.

AFQSinc

Did you order from Quilt Mania? I will be curious to hear about the pattern when you receive it.

In my heart, I kind of feel like I should use my Daiwabo and wool stash and just purchase the pattern. I did find a shop that has the complete block kits. I have to see how the cost will stack up.

I definitely think using the glue stick will help alot.