Laura Gates

The idea for this quilt started with a Vancouver street banner designed by Canadian artist, Norman Takeuchi.  An assortment of Japanese fabrics frame this striking banner which depicts British Columbia’s Japanese Internment in WWII.

“Tsuru” is named after my grandmother and is dedicated to the courage and determination of all who endured the incredible hardships of the internment.

For the quilting, I chose a bright orange/gold thread and used a combination of straight line ruler work and free motion stitching on the longarm.

Tsuru was juried into the Houston International Quilt Festival and QuiltCon Phoenix in 2022 as well as Quilt Canada Vancouver 2022 where it was awarded 2nd place in the Modern category.