Still a bit dazed by all the visual stimulation of the Codex Book Fair, I went to the Tribal and Textile Arts Fair, another blockbuster international exhibit. I was particularly struck, as I've been before, by the beauty of the Japanese folk tradition of pieced cotton textiles, and the very strong similarity to some of the Gee's Bend quilts. Both use white thread in a running stitch, often with the knots at the ends of the thread providing a sort of punctuation mark, and both stem from the strong necessity of making use of every valuable scrap of available material. I found an excellent article on Japanese patchwork online at www.kimonoboy.com/short_history.html.
