I recently formed another group on flickr…….it is a mix of the other craft groups and the Decorating with Textiles group but is really all things Kaffe. By Kaffe I mean Kaffe Fassett who is an iconic artisan and well known for his knitting, quilt design, needlepoint, mosaic work and rag rugs. He has been around for a long time and regularly conducts workshops around the world on colour and the use of colour. He has many inspirational books published of which I have almost all of them…my favourite parts of his books is the way that the photography compliments the creations…just stunning.
I also am partial to his design themed rooms which are my idea of heaven…although not really achievable in a small flat…or with lots of men in the home for that matter. His use of colour is legendary and I started knitting from his designs in the early nineties. …some of the throws and jackets I knitted had as many as eighty different yarn variations in them…as usual I gave them away but am in the middle of knitting a throw with many subtle shades ...just heaven. ironically I see that Kaffe now has a wool collection which blends the stripes all in one ball…fun but cheating for me!!!
My flickr pal Sally …actually my first real friend there and now a close and treasured friend used to be a fabric rep for Rowan the company which distributes Kaffe’s fabric range and she has the most divine collection of quilts that she has made mostly from fabric samples…no small task as it requires quite a lot of talent and skill to use so very many strong colours. I shall regularly be bringing you many delightful photos of Sally’s and other artisan’s interpretations of Kaffe’s work and hope you enjoy it and are inspired to try your hand at something outside of your comfort zone. Please let me know if you do start something…I would be so thrilled to know and to encourage you would be such a treat!
Thank you so much Sally for letting me use the photos of your glorious masterpieces…I wish Kaffe could see them and am sure if he did he would say….really well done and you are very talented as a photographer and stylist.
14 Comments
I would love to go sit on that porch with a cup of tea and just gawk at that quilt. It’s gorgeous!
It is and isn’t that the most wonderful setting? You know there are hours of enjoyable feasting ahead with Sally’s quilts….she is amazing and creates such an ambiance in her home and surrounds. And she is coming to Australia this year because her daughter has just moved to New Zealand…yeah!!! Quilting and antiquing talk will be happening!!!
I love the colors and designs of these quilts. I came from the country. I mean the kingdom of rednecks in eastern NC. I remember so well growing up my Aunt Lottie was the only member of the family who had a formal dining room. It was at least when there wasn’t a quilting frame and several ladies over to a quilting marathon. They would make several for the families and I never slept cold in spite of nothing more than a pot belly stove in the living room to warm the house in the cold winters.
The decorative nature of these is outstanding, but I also love the functionality of them as well.
Thanks for visiting my site so I could come over and see that you have here.
Beautiful pics! I too would love to sit and drink afternoon tea in the photo.
I too am kaffe fan from way back, not that I do any knitting or sewing now, but I am interested to see what others do.
Those quilts are absolutely gorgeous!
Hi Jim Author and Tess
We may not be able to have coffee there near those quilts but we can certainly enjoy the sheer beauty that Sally has created. Thanks Jim for that info about your aunt..my Irish grandmother was the same…she had a frame which was attached to the ceiling and could be lowered when the neighbours came to help with the quilting. My father was most distressed after she died as he would have loved for me to have some of her quilts…but by the time he got back to Eire….as she was dying…his family had taken all the valuables out of the house. A nice greeting for him after he had come half way around the world...
Well thank you Kathleen and other commenter’s for the kind words. I have been a die hard Kaffe fan since the very beginning of his fabric lines with what was then called Westminster Fibers.
I was the first Rep (taking orders for the fabric line from quilt shop owners in Washington and Oregon.) The line was brought to my attention by Jean Wells the owner of the legendary “Stitching Post” in Sisters, Oregon. She told me to take a look at the line, said she really liked it and they were looking for a rep for the line for the Northwest. The moment I saw the line I was in love. There were a limited number of prints and a lot of plaids and stripes from the India but it was so unique and the colors were wonderful.
To be totally honest in the beginning it was a very hard sell as people were suspicious of the stripes and plaids as many quilters had trouble incorporating them into quilts and shop owners were leery of whether the line would sell. Being someone who always loved the quirky feel that stripes and plaids add I just kept plugging along. Little by little it started to gain momentum and then a few years back it just exploded into the major player it is. The big bonus as a sales rep was I got to keep my fabric swatches that I used to sell the line for my own personal use after a fabric was discontinued.
When I retired as a fabric rep I was lucky to have my two son-in-laws take an interest in the business (both were Engineers so it was a leap of faith for them to go into something so different.) One son-in-law took over the Washington accounts and another the Oregon accounts. Both of them are excellent representative’s for Westminster and still provide me with their fabric swatch samples when they are done with them. In turn I make quilts that they can use as samples of the line for trade shows (and these quilts then become mine or my daughters (all three of whom share my love for this wonderful fabric line.)
This is one reason why my quilts always have such a scrappy look, (the other is that I’ve always loved scrappy quilts) is that I’m primarily dealing with pieces of fabric that are smaller than a fat quarter. Generally I have to go to the local quilt shop to get some larger pieces of Westminster for borders and backing……but doesn’t everyone like to have an excuse to buy more of that wonderful fabric. I have more quilts posted on my Flickr site under the name Quiltsalad.
Jim…I concur with you that quilts should be functional as well as decorative. I love using quilts for table cloths and my grand daughters think they make the best “tents” ever. My grandson’s like to sit and do Lego’s on them because when they’re done we just pull the quilt together and then dump all the Lego’s back in the big basket from the quilt……no picking little pieces off the rug. To me a more a quilt is used and washed the more wonderful they become.
I love your blog Kathleen and I am looking forward to that “tea & talk” time in the near future.
Wow, what a visual delight !!!
Sally
how wonderful to have you here on the blog. Have you considered having one at all? It is a great way to stay in touch with family and old work friends once retired and is quite simple to do….especially for an old hand like you who is a Facebook user.
I am so looking forward to hearing your stories over many cups of coffee although you write so well I feel as if you were here already. What fun to be in at the start of something like that…and i wondered if you lived near the Stitching Post..I have commented a few times on Valorie’s blog and she gave me permission to use her fabric line commercially which was very good of her. You are lucky to be near such a great quilting shop…is that where your quilts are long arm quilted as well?
Reading your comment has cemented an idea in my mind about interviews with well known and published quilters etc …there are quite a few on flickr and in the groups…will let you know when the interviews come out. Thanks again Sally…..am thinking your work deserves a book of its own….did you know Ruth Eglinton is just putting the finishing touches to Kaffe’s latest book? She popped up in the group yesterday to have a bit of a break and found some of the quilts which she drew the diagrams for for the previous books…handkerchief corners was one of them!!!
Widdle
they are so vibrant and sunny…..and can well imagine what it must feel like after months of snow in Oregon to see the spring blooms and to get these beautiful coloured quilts out to compliment the natural beauty…and there are so many uses for them as Sally says!
I can’t imagine doing a book, what a lot of work making all the quilts for it as well as proofing all the patterns etc. Not my cup of tea but thank heavens other people are in to doing that.
I live about 2 1/2 hours from the Stitching Post. It is in Eastern Oregon and I’m in Western part of the state. In the winter you have to go over sometimes very treacherous passes to get there……not into driving in the snow. I do feel lucky to be that close to Sisters in the summer and have attended the wonderful Sister’s Outdoor Quilt Show that is held every July several times.
I have my quilts done at Sister’s Fabric Quilt Shop in Chehalis, WA (no relation to the Stitching Post in Sisters, Or. but it sounds confusing I know.) Chehalis is about 3 hours north of us but is on the way to my daughters house in Olympia which is 3 1/2 hours north, so I try to drop in and do some damage every time we go up to visit my grandsons. My good friend Bobbi Fenn owns Sister’s Fabric and has a wonderful collection of over 10,000 bolts of quilting fabric (she loves the Kaffe fabrics too.) They do all my long arm work. I am very lucky to have a shop called “Quiltwork Patches” in Corvallis, OR which is the closest large town to us and only 17 miles away. Jesse the owner has been a Kaffe fan from the very git go too and I feel fortunate to have a source that close.
I probably won’t get around to blogging because then I’d never be off the computer……already it seems to eat up so many hours of the day but I’m not complaining. Just don’t find enough time to quilt if I did any more.
I’ll just have to look forward to following your blog and putting in my two cents now and then.
It’s great to have your blog to follow.
You know Sally I read a fantasy book about going through a pass into Oregon and there was a kind of portal there for all sorts of fey creatures…made me think of that when I read your comment.
I agree that too much computer time equals less actual sewing time so have decided to not go on the computer myself until the very late evening when I have trouble sleeping…cannot machine sew then anyway.
You are so lucky to have so many good stores within a good distance of you…and it is fun to go to stay as well for you…a short time with the girls is good for the soul
So pleased you are enjoying the blog…it does help one to keep up to date with others work and lives etc
my friend, you have been busy and i’m sooo behind. these pieces are simply gorgeous. i’ve gotten my first pieces of kaffe’s fabrics…you’re right…they are a challenge to work with. thanks for highlighting such beautiful work! hope all is well,
j
jacquie..
well talk about busy…you have been organising up a storm ….great work and might be just your forte…never know who is watching on flickr also jacquie…some people have had book deals due to their photostreams
she is amazingly talented…and a great stylist too Cera
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[...] she also has the most wonderfully creative way of showcasing her completed quilt tops and quilts. This is just a tiny glimpse into the wonders of her photostream. She is also a lover of Kaffe Fassett’s work and in my opinion is one of the best interpreters of his work…part from Sally that is [...]