Discover how quilting came to be a favorite pastime for an estimated 3 million quilters in Japan today, as well as a multimillion-dollar business. For 40 years, Japan looked to America and imported quilts for ideas and inspiration. Now, contemporary Japanese quilters, with their own style, seek inspiration, museum shows, and audiences in the West, while modern-day Western quilters admire the distinct aesthetics of their Japanese counterparts. Meet more than a dozen award-winning quilters, including Yoko Saito, Keiko Goke, Noriko Endo, and Yoshiko Jinzenji. Each has a well-defined, individual...

More than 300 colorful photos and behind-the-scenes details reveal the fascinating story of Japan's cotton and indigo, and their enormous contribution to fiber arts worldwide. Learn how Japan and its top fabric designers, quilters, scientists, and artists combinetradition and high tech to weave the thread, fabrics, and stunningdesigns that are so coveted in today's fiber art world. Take a tour of Japan's elite textile printing mills to understand why Japan is considered the world's finest producer of quilting cotton. Learn where all this cotton comes from, and its close connection to another...