For the Love of All Things Kaffe

Our Kaffe Fassett section at Cottonseed Glory is a definite bright spot in the shop!

One might say that Kaffe Fassett's career started on a train traveling to London when a fellow passenger taught him how to knit.  He had fallen in love with wool yarn and had just bought 20 colors of Shetland wool. His knitting style became almost instantly famous! His mastery of color and knitting led to him branching out to needlepoint and then eventually sewing and quilting.  His career has led him around the world and has enabled him to take part in too many projects to mention...like designing the sets and costumes for both the Northern Ballet Theatre and The Royal Shakespeare Company and publishing 20 books.  He frequently comes back to him home country (USA) and when he does, quilters scramble to sign up for one of his classes.

Kaffe Fassett's somewhat outrageous and bright fabrics are what draws many quilters to take the plunge and make a "kaffe quilt."  His fabric collections aren't what most quilters would consider collections at all; they are more individually designed fabrics that miraculously work together (as opposed to many collections that have several fabrics that where specifically designed to work together).  But once a quilter takes this leap of faith, the results are something to behold!  

There are several groups and fan pages out there on many social media outlets that can provide anyone with the inspiration needed to start a stash or build on one and to complete dozens of projects using Kaffe fabrics and some of the fabrics that are known to blend nicely with Kaffe (like Brandon Mably, Amy Butler and Martha Negley and Phillip Jacobs).

Here is some inspiration for you from around the Annapolis area and the web....

This incredible hand-appliqued quilt was made as a going-away gift for a special quilter.  The talented group of "sewists" used many Kaffe Fassett fabrics to achieve this bright and colorful look.

This amazing quilt was made by Alice Tignor, Miki Burgnon, Jo Ann Martin, Barbara Dicken, Diana Dunaway and Kelley Cunningham.  Quilted by Kelley Cunningham.

This block was sewn by Kelley Cunningham of Sun Porch Quilts.

This quilt shows the diversity of fabrics that can be used with Kaffe Fassett. Made by Julie Antinucci.

Kaffe Fassett fabrics make perfect zipper bags, like this one made by Francoise B using the pattern by S.O.T.A.K. Handmade.

Kelley Cunningham started this quilt during a class that she took with Kaffe Fassett.  She finished it some time later.  Lovely!!

Here are just a few of Kaffe Fassett's fabrics!  Come in to the shop to see what we have to offer!

So, what's your favorite Kaffe Fassett Fabric?  Mine is paperweight in just about any color! Leave a comment and let us know! Or leave your favorite link to some Kaffe "link-spiration"!

Shaping Up for Spring: Hexagons

A modern hexagon quilt top in progress by Julie Antinucci

Quilters have a special appreciation for shapes. We can walk into an airport, a doctors office, a zoo or the grocery store and see a combination of shapes that have an endless amount of possibilities. The hexagon has a special place in the hearts of many quilters. Whether it's admiring the grandmother's garden quilts (example below) from decades ago or appreciating the new modern hexagons that are being made today, we love our "hexies"!

Bertrand, Margaret Hahn. Grandmother. 1930-1949. From Arizona Quilt Documentation Project, . Published in The Quilt Index, http://www.quiltindex.org/fulldisplay.php?kid=67-EC-49. Accessed: 03/23/2015

The technique of putting together hexagons is just as unique and varied as the quilts they make up. English paper piecing (sewn by hand) seems to be the "queen" of techniques, but there are also plenty of other options including large-scale hexagons pieced on your sewing machine. 

A new book by Katja Marek called The New Hexagon, published in October 2014, has been picking up steam and is taking the hexagon to an exciting new place! Participants of a fun new quilt-along started in January 2015 called the Millefiore Quilt Along use Facebook to share their progress on these intricate blocks. Here website also has more information on the quilt along. The results are amazing! Some examples are below!

Millefiore Participant Andrea Rudeman's Rosette #1 "Peacock" is complete!

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_15/178-5550595-0961335?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+new+hexagon&sprefix=the+new+hexagon%2Caps%2C235

Millefiore Participant Anna Koelewyn's rosette in all solids is a stunner!

A colorful hexagon rosette by the Author of The New Hexagon, Katja Marek

The quilt along follows the steps provided in the book to bring all of the blocks together over time.  These non-traditionally shaped blocks fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.  Katja has provided an image that gives insight into how each block is completed each month:

The hexagon grid in process of being filled in with actual blocks.

Many times, the hexagon is broken apart and made out of several other shapes.  There is much time, thought and effort put into the color, design, fabric choices and layout of each part of the design, but the results are worth it.  Here are some of the hexagons Katja has created throughout her design process.

Shapes within shapes. 

The hexagon has always inspired quilters! There are so many exciting and new options out there to break down the hexagon and rebuild.  And there are always exciting new quilts being creating using the traditional hexagon paper-pieced method.  As quilters, we love them all!!!