Sunday, November 13, 2022

Just playing and a history lesson.............

 

While I was looking for something else I found a bag with 9" Ohio Star blocks in it.  The LeMoyne Star blocks were on top of a pile and they are also 9".  I figured I had to put them up on the design wall and see if they could possibly work together in a quilt.  Then I went to my Kaffe orphan block box and found one Crossed Canoe block and one bordered square (which doesn't work!) and added them.  I would need to make 3 more LeMoyne Star blocks to finish the layout so I have time to think about this.


Now, a little history about Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  I did find the plaid fabrics that I have, all except the one I used on the stripe quilt.  It is a pink and orange plaid and I haven't found it in any of his books up to 2006.


These are the first 5 soft cover books about Kaffe and his designing, starting in 1999.  I found the plaids (he calls them checks) in the one dated 2000.




Fast forward to a 2005 book, I found out when these ikat stripes were made.  I had the red and this purple.  I used the last of the red quite a few years ago.  He calls this pattern Single Ikat Feather. 



In the same book I found info about the Lille Collection.  I first started buying it when online stores had it on sale.  He says in the book that the first 5 designs are used in quilts in this book and they planned on many more prints in the line but there weren't any more produced.  


He said they purchased a book at a textile fair in New York with 19th century French designs.  Kaffe did all of the coloration of the fabric prints.  His name isn't on the selvage.  It just says Lille Collection from Rowan and Westminster.



In that same book he talks about a batik called Confetti that he designed.  It came in 5 colors.  I know I have yardage of the slate and a small piece of the blue in addition to yardage of this one called Tomato.

I need to start using the Lille fabrics and the Confetti batiks.  He chose some good oldies to reproduce for his 85th birthday collection which is supposed to be available in December.


This quilt appeared in a 2001 book and he says that this is one of the few made with just his fabrics.  At that time he was mostly using his own fabrics with other designers' fabrics when he need the color or value.

In 2006 he mentions Philip Jacobs joining his group and also that he was using a lot of fabrics from Carla Miller and Martha Negley and a few from David Wolverson who were also designing for Rowan/Westminster.  I wish I had seen some of Carla Miller's early fabrics because I would have purchased them for my stash.  I have a lot of Martha Negley fabrics and a couple David Wolverson prints.  

After looking through 8 books it looks like he designed a few prints somewhere around 1998-99 and added a few more before 2002 and then he did a lot more designing starting in 2003.  Again, I'm going by which fabrics I see in the quilts in each book as what was available at the publishing date of the books.

And....that's the end of the history lesson.

14 comments:

DianeN said...

Thank you so much for all the info regarding Kaffe Fassett fabrics. I have several of his books and many fabrics but none of the earlier pieces that you have. If they ever need an historian they should call you, Wanda!

Julierose said...

KF history is fascinating; I have two of his books and do enjoy leafing through them...
Your LeMoyne Stars are just so vibrant and pretty...
Raining this morning and the temp is dropping -- winds WSW-erly.
i think that cold front is moving on in here...
hugs, Julierose

JJM said...

What an intriguing stash of patterned blocks. There’s ‘history’ right there on your design wall, too.

JJM

Quiltdivajulie said...

What an interesting post! Thank you for sharing what you found in the books. I have such a bad habit of looking at the photos and savoring the colors without fully reading the text. Maybe that needs to change .. .

Anonymous said...

Enjoy reading all this. Couldn’t help but look for Lille collection on eBay. Two 1-yard pieces listed, $125 and $200. Wow. —Roxanne

Linda Swanekamp said...

I read Alex Fortunoff's blog in the past couple days (owner of Jaftex and the Free Spirit line). He was at Quilt Market and had a birthday celebration for Kaffe's 85th. Then I read the Quilted Twins blog where Becky met Kaffe and Brandon at the Quilt Market. Glad he can travel and promote his work. Thanks for the history lesson, fascinating.

Mystic Quilter said...

Thank you for such an interesting post on history of Kaffe fabric design. I have number 4 and 5 books, the first time I heard of Kaffe Fassett. I have 2 yards of the ikat stripe you show, I really must get on with using it. Lille is a beautiful design, I have a small piece tucked away and love it. Citrus Baskets from 2001 is marked in my book along with the Fonthill quilt which I've wanted to make for ages. Your post has gotten my creative juices flowing again - thankyou.

sue s said...

I have 2 of his books and have checked others out from the library. Quilter on Fire did interviews with Kaffe, Philip, Brandon, and Liza and they were so fun to listen to! Thank you for the history lesson Wanda.

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

Thank you! That was a very interesting history lesson. I do love to know things. :)

SueR said...

The new blocks are so colorful, but those LeMoynes really pop. Like others, I have a couple of Kaffe's books. He is such a versatile and talented man, can hardly believe he is 85.
Your 16-patch quilt is fabulous too!

Sally Langston Warren said...

So enjoyed the history lesson, Wanda! I can’t believe Kaffe is 85 this year. I look forward to seeing what he chooses for his commemorative collection. I have several books by him. There is one called Welcome Home that was published in 1999 that is more about his own home than quilts (although there are several in there). I loved the glimpses of some green wallpaper with blue/white china printed on the green (in his kitchen). I remember writing to find out if that wallpaper was still available. Brandon wrote back to tell me they no longer carried it but it was a favorite of his. Also in the book, they were talking about storage of textiles and one photo showed two stacks of fabrics they said were designed by Kaffe. Since the book was published in 1999, I would think these are some of his earliest designs.

Lesley Gilbert said...

Thank you for these interesting Kaffe memories. My first recollection of seeing Kaffe was on a tv knitting programme. I'm guessing he was in a tv studio surrounded by wool and knitted items. It may have been a BBC programme, maybe the 90's :)

patty a. said...

You could whip out three more LeMoyne Star blocks in no time! The history lesson was interesting; thanks for taking the time to write that post.

Cathy said...

Thanks for the interesting Kaffe lesson. I was surprised to learn, in a video made at the recent Quilt Market, that he used others’ fabrics in his early quilts. But it makes sense.