Oirgami Quilt

This is from the book Origami Quilts by Tomoko Fuse. Sadly the book is no longer in print. I borrowed a copy from someone in my origami group to play with. Fuse's books are great. I find the diagrams in many origami books to be a little difficult to understand. These however are extremely easy. She also has a number of books on origami boxes and unit origami which are still available -- and absolutely wonderful!
I did a couple of these "quilts" with my Mom when visiting her last week. She is a quilter, so I thought this is a paper project that would appeal to her. The one pictured here is made from 13 pieces of 6 inch origami paper. The finished piece is about 18 or so inches square.
We also did one using 12 inch sheets of scrapbooking paper (which is great for some origami projects) This ended up to be about a yard or so square. Unfortuneately, I ran out of space on memory card for my camera, and didn't get a picture of that one.

Origami in bloom

On Saturday Paper Circle is hosting a birthday party for its founder, Sara Gilfert. I've been working hard all week to create some lovely centerpieces for the tables. Of course they had to be paper... (That goes without saying) Paper Circle currently has a fabulous show featuring origami from Ohio Origami, a consortium of folders from central and southeast Ohio. (click here to see images of the show) Because the party will be held in the gallery, I felt origami was a natural choice for the tables.



Pictured here are the bud vases I created for the smaller tables. Each vase was purchased from the second hand store and covered in unryu tissue. This is one of my favorite papers to work with. It is so beautiful in the light. Then I folded 80 lilies (traditional fold) from 3" pieces of origami paper.

I love how these turned out. So simple. So lovely.











For the two larger tables, I wanted to do something a little different. I used some patterns from Tomoko Fuse's book Origami Rings and Wreaths. Again I used 3" squares of origami paper. They made some really pretty rings that were about 5" in diameter. I then attached a paper clip to floral wire to hold the rings. To finish, I just placed them in pots with foam and moss. I think these turned out to be quite whimsical!



I love the idea of origami bouquets for the tables. They would make great parting gifts for the guests -- a reminder of a lovely spring afternoon. Best of all, these flowers won't fade.