Sachiko Chiba was a double quilt winner during Road@Home. Both quilts were entered in the category, “Could Be Grandma’s Quilt.”

First Place – RONDO

Honorable Mention- Flower News

Meet Sachiko Chiba

Japanese double quilt winner, Sachiko Chiba, will be the first to tell you that “I’m not good at English.” But that doesn’t matter when it comes to her award-winning quilting.

A quilter for over 29 years, Sachiko first got interested in quilting when she moved to the country. She saw a small quilt exhibition featuring “very beautiful” quilts. Sachiko recalls, “I was so impressed that I got goosebumps and I was fascinated” by the beautiful quilts on display. She knew right then and there that she wanted to make a beautiful quilt by herself. At the time, she thought she was too old to start; she was “already 32 years old.”

Sachiko is a veteran of several quilt contests. She has entered her work in the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival in Japan, Road to California, AQS Quiltweek, and IQA in Houston.

Making Flower News

Flower News is Sachiko’s original design. Sachiko carefully chose the fabric to accurately represent the actual color of the many kinds of flowers. The flowers are appliqued onto the quilt while the leaves and other flowers are embroidered.

RONDO

For this first-place winner, Sachiko wanted “to express the competition of flowers in a quilt, just as flowers dance in a circle. And I wanted to use orchids to create an acanthus pattern.” It took Sachiko one and a half years to make this second quilt that was a double quilt winner.

The techniques in both quilts used hand applique, hand quilting, hand embroidery, machine piecing, beading, and Trapunto.

Road@Home Quilt Contest

Sachiko was aware that quilters from all over the world have entered Road to California quilt contests. She had previously entered in the 2018, 2019, and 2020 contests. Each time, she found the experience to be “very inspiring for me” and she gained “valuable experience.”

As a double quilt winner, Sachiko wanted to thank the judges and sponsors and was looking forward to receiving her prize winnings.

What’s up next for Sachiko? “I will finish the applique of my new flower quilt” and she is going to look forward to entering in the next in-person Road to California Quilt Contest.

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