Japanese Apples

Several years ago, a local quilt auction for charity featured an apple core quilt. It was in browns and reds and greens mostly in plaids. It sounds very mundane but since then I have wanted to make an apple core quilt. I don't know what pushed me to make this into Japanese apples, so to speak, but this quilt is for my husband, including his family crest and other kamon designs.

Some of the fabrics are true Japanese cottons, some are inspired by Japanese design, and some are regular American calico.  The side panels are my own take on mostly Japanese inspired ideas, with peonies and butterflies, Japanese eggplant, spider lilies, but the upper panel with the birds was inspired by a Delft embroidery pillow. The small spot on the right hand side is just water that I sprayed on it to press the edge prior to photographing. It was curling from working on the embroidery elements.