TRR photo by Krista Gromalski Helen Umstead shows off a wallhanging she completed as part of the American-Japanese block exchange. The centerpiece was created by Yuko Kawasaki. (Click for larger image)

East meets West

By KRISTA GROMALSKI

WESTFALL –— A refreshing counterpart to recent diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and Japan was the June 30 Quilt Show of the Milford Valley Quilters Guild, which featured 48 collaborative wall hangings made by Japanese and American quilters.

“We exchange blocks over time,” said guild member Helen Umstead. The long distance relationship was developed through the International Quilting Association.

Quilters in the Milford area created 12-inch blocks, which were sent to Japan to be completed by a quilting group in Kagoshima. In exchange, the eastern quilters provided 12-inch blocks of their own for American completion.

Two years ago, the guild participated in a similar trade with Turkish colleagues. Umstead said there is much to be learned from such collaboration.

In Japan, for instance, “They don’t have the materials that we have.” Many of the wall hangings feature Japanese silk, sewn alongside the cotton used by American quilters.

Also, where material was not available to the Japanese artists, some used stitching to pick up design aspects, such as leaves, in the American blocks. In one of her projects, Umstead said she used shashiko, “a form of Japanese quilting, which holds kimonos together.”

The technique employs stitching to signify aspects of nature, such as waves or wind, Umstead said.

In mid-October, the wall hangings will be sent to Japan for a quilt show. Finally, the blocks finished by the Milford quilters will return home and the Japanese-completed blocks will remain.

For more information about the Milford Valley Quilters Guild, call 570/828-9209 or e-mail mvqg@yahoo.com.