One of my true heroes in the quilting world is Kaffe Fassett. I won't repeat his biography here; you can read it at the link. He himself doesn't sew quilts, but he designs them. He also designs out-of-this-world fabric which his able associates use to make his quilts. This year in Houston there was a special exhibit of his quilts from one of his latest books called "Simple Shapes, Spectacular Quilts." This was one of the first exhibits that we saw, and we returned to it several times. I have many Fassett fabrics; enough, in fact, for two quilts. I also own many of his books and am eager to get his latest. Someday I will make these quilts for which I have the fabric--soon, I hope! Below are some of the pictures of Fassett's spectacular quilts from Houston's Festival. For some reason, I didn't always take a picture of the whole quilt. I regret that! I suppose I chiefly took close-ups as a reminder of how simply many of them are constructed. Fassett's designs are an outstanding example of letting the fabrics themselves be the stars of the quilt:
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This diamond quilt demonstrates the "simple shapes" principle. The spectacular nature of the quilt comes, of course, from the spectacular fabrics. |
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| Here's a close-up which better shows his fabrics, as well as the way this quilt is constructed. No doubt, after "framing" the diamond-shapes, you sew this quilt together in diagonal rows. But this is a guess on my part! |
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| Again, simple shapes--framed squares, with an interesting and intricate sashing and cornerstones. |
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| This shows the myriad of fabrics Fassett uses in a quilt, and the variety of those fabrics. I love the pinwheel cornerstones! |
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| I love the "Indian Blanket" look to this quilt. |
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| Circles, a simple shape, perhaps, but not so simple to construct! I'm sorry I took only close-ups of this, so you can't get the full effect of this one, which I believe is called Bicycle Wheels! |
What a smorgasboard of colorful shapes. Thank you thank you for sharing. I suppose we can find more online but these are super choices. I love KF's fabrics...every one. He attended the Museum School in Boston but probably now lives in London? I have some of his books, have given others away. And I love what his work does to a home.
ReplyDeleteThese are gorgeous patterns and colors. I love seeing them. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that quilts could have such fantastic colors, shapes and patterns. I think I like the bicycle wheels best, too. The spokes are made with stitching, right? The satin stitch?
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ReplyDeleteMy original comment had too many typos. A certain friend will object, but I took it down and will now replicate it here. I take it that Joyce is actually Nancy, right? To answer your question: Yes, those spoke are done with stitches, but I can't recall if it was satin stitching or some other machine embroidery stitch--or even if they were hand-done! Kaffe Fassett is such a genius of a fabric and a quilt designer! He is, truly, one of my heroes!
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