The Outdoor Wedding Quilt

The ivory colored material for this quilt was purchased decades ago when I lived in Tokyo. An American friend told me that a wedding shop was selling used, rental, wedding kimonos--just that day. We headed to the shop with such excitement of seeing a wedding kimono and not really planning on purchasing one. Well, I purchased two kimonos for $50, one for my daughter (then age 4) and one for a future child (my son wasn't born then).  I thought one day it would be a wedding gift, a reflection of their bi-racial heritage. 

This is the wedding kimono that my son will receive in the future. These kimonos are very heavy. I remember dragging both home on the trains. I lived in Shimokitazawa at that time. Over an hour home with a long walk from station to house. My arms were so tired.

Both kimonos have sat in the bottom of this large Japanese tea box since 1994. I covered the tea box as a project while living in Japan.

The tea box holds my tablecloths and runners. A tea box is the best place in protecting materials for decades. 

My daughter wasn't interested in having her kimono; it takes up space and not her style. But I still feel the way I did the day I purchased those kimonos. I want my daughter to have something that represents her heritage during her wedding, and afterwards a memory of that day. My side of the family is European descent. Since my 91 year old mother can't make it to the wedding, I pulled my mother's fabrics from my stash to be in the quilt. Those fabrics will represent my mother.

I thought what pattern can be used without loosing the crane motif in the ivory fabric that was used for the kimono and also represent the European side of the family. Yup, an Irish Chain came to mind. 

Next, it needed to work for the quilt-as-you-go block...

... and can be used for the outdoor wedding in the Tetons.

The back is jean material. Yes, I still have more jean material! The quilt needed to come together quickly since I had little time with turning the kimono into a useable quilt. 

The motif of the wedding kimono's material is cranes. The Teton region is home to the Sandhill Cranes. In Japan, cranes are a national treasure that symbolize happiness, good fortune and longevity. When I approached this project, I wasn't thinking of the cranes in the Tetons. How appropriate this quilt has become. My future son-in-law is Korean. In Korea, the crane symbolizes harmony, long marriage (cranes mate for life), and respect for ancestors. It brings me even greater joy knowing that it will be used during their outdoor wedding. It speaks greatly of heritage, happiness, harmony, and longevity.