I Am an Artisan : Kaffe Fassett fabric challenge

Kaffe Fassett is the undisputed genius of color, with decades of experience in  painting, knitting, patchwork, and fabric design.  Today we are featuring 7 outstanding quilts from a juried show featuring Kaffe's Artisan fabrics. We think the sunny yellows and oranges, enhanced by complementary hues of blue, are the perfect colors for summer.

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Dance with Joy by Silke Cliatt (Georgia)

This original design by fabric artist Silke Cliatt combines machine applique, piecing, and quilting, with hand applique and quilting, and embellished with embroidery.  Silke says,  "The longer I work on a quilt, the more joy I experience, especially when it comes to embellishments.  The endless hours of embroidery take me back to my childhood and cause me to contemplate how far I have come."

The Wheel-Wright's Fantasy by Barb Sorensen (Washington)

Winner of First Place in this special exhibit, Barbara Sorensen's quilt was based on the traditional Carpenter's Wheel block. She says,  "A wheelwright needed to be an exceptional craftsman, an artisan in his day. My wheel moves from the center out, defined by the quilting, and ending with a binding of blue chambray." The wheel is surrounded by circles of small and large feather quilting, shown below.

Dance of the Dragonflies by JoAnn Hoffman (South Dakota)

Dance of the Dragonflies is quilt designer JoAnn Hoffman's best selling pattern.  This design is dedicated to the memory of her neighbor who passed away, who promised to communicate through dragonflies. JoAnn says,  "I think I make art with fabric, so I consider myself an artisan. The word ARTISAN is quilted into the background" (in the lower middle of the quilt, in the above photo).

JoAnn continues,  "Kaffe Fassett's fabric makes me happy.  It's all so different and unusual, but when you put it all together magic happens."

It's Intense by Janette Sheldon (Kansas)

It resembles a French Braid, but this quilt is an original design by Janette Sheldon with an improvisational feel. The rows follow an undulating path rather than a straight line. It features complementary orange and blue hues and dynamic Kaffe Fassett prints, giving rise to the quilt's name:  It's Intense!  Janette Sheldon says, ".. there is nothing conservative or traditional about this piece.  I hope it speaks to you as it does to me."

Chelsea by Lori Allison (Minnesota)

Chelsea was adapted from the Chelsea Quilt pattern in the 2007 book Quilts in the Sun by Kaffe Fassett.  The quilt uses a freehand layout of vases and flowers on a pieced background with large blocks.  Lori Allison says, "The yo-yo technique is one that I learned as a child by tracing dinner plates, salad plates and coffee cups for my yo-yo sizes!"

Maha Surya (Major Sun in Sanskrit) by Robin Long (Washington)

Robin Long says,  "Shortly after I purchased some of the [Kaffe Fassett] fabrics, I found the most amazing fabric from India that was embellished with embroidery and stitched around little silver Mylar discs.  I instantly knew this artisan-made Indian fabric had to be in my quilt, and that it would work perfectly with the beautiful Artisan fabrics by Kaffe Fassett.  I named this quilt Maha Surya, paying homage to its Indian influence."

Blue Plate Special by Cherri Kincaid (Florida)

Winner of the Viewer's Choice award, Cherri Kincaid's stunning Blue Plate special was machine appliqued, pieced, and quilted.  She says, "The blue fabric reminded me of antique hand-painted blue and white china plates, and what better way to tell their story than to create a similar concept with embroidery.  The simple square block with the circle middle was a great way to showcase the china plate embroidery designs."

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.  The I Am an Artisan Challenge was sponsored by Free Spirit Fabrics.

Winner of 'Kaffe Fasset Quilts: Shots and Stripes' !

~The winner of the 2013 book,  Shots and Stripes: 24 New Projects Made with Shot Cottons and Striped Fabrics is Jan Hutchison, who said:  "I'm a long time lover of KF shot cotton - thanks for the chance at winning the book." ~

Our thanks to STC/Melanie Falick Books for generously donating a copy of the book for this giveaway! Here are some images from the book, plus some more Kaffe Fassett quilt inspiration from our archives.

Whereas quilting fabrics are first woven and then printed or dyed with a color and/or pattern, shot cottons are woven using two different colors of hand-dyed cotton thread: one color for the warp, and another color for the weft.  In Shots and Stripes, Kaffe and Liza show how to use these luscious fabrics in 24 different projects that are inspired by ethnic textiles. Here is a beautiful "Swatches" placemat and table runner project:

 The project shown below is a contemporary take on the traditional "Lady of the Lake" pattern.

There are many more intriguing projects in this book, including this fantastic "African Collage" quilt, below.

This book has garnered a five-star (*****) rating at Amazon.com ! Check out the reader reviews at this link: Kaffe Fassett Quilts: Shots and Stripes.

Say It With Flowers and Stripes by Mary Mashuta in Kaffe Fassett's Quilt Romance

We featured "Say It With Flowers and Stripes" in a 2010 post called Voices in Cloth 2010 Show.

Garden Rainbow Quilt by Roberta Horton in Kaffe Fassett's Country Garden Quilts

We featured Roberta's "Garden Rainbow Quilt" in a 2010 post called Look to the rainbow.

The Gift Quilt by Brandon Mably in Kaffe Fassett's Country Garden Quilts 

We originally featured Brandon's design in a 2011 post called The Gift Quilt.   In 2011, we also featured designer Lori Allison, in a post called Simple Shapes. Over the years, Lori has created some fantastic quilts with Kaffe Fassett fabrics; a few of our favorites are shown below.

Funky Stripes by Lori Allison, pattern at Quilters Warehouse

Blooming Patchwork by Lori Allison, pattern at Quilters Warehouse

Rays of Sunshine by Lori Allison at Design Tyme

Last but not least, here is a fun block-of-the-month quilt made in all Kaffe Collective fabrics. Lori says:  "I really loved making color-graded setting triangles in a huge array of red and yellow prints!" For more information contact Lori Allison at Design Tyme.

Simple shapes in quilting

Last week we featured top designers whose easy-to-piece quilts feature simple shapes: squares, rectangles and/or triangles. The results are simply beautiful ! The original articles are: Simple dimensional shapes:  Joen Wolfrom Designs; Simple modern shapes: Esch House Quilts; Simple shapes, jelly rolls and i Candy; Simple shapes by Diana and Laura; Simple shapes in fabulous fabrics; and Simple shapes: jelly roll quilts and other confections.  Links to the designers' sites are below the photos.

Row 1: Joen Wolfrom, at JWD Publishing.  Row 2: Debbie Grifka, at Esch House Quilts.  Row 3:  Stephanie Sheffield, Amy Walsh and Janine Burke, at Blue Underground Studios. Row 4: Laura Nownes and Diana McClun, at Laura Nownes. Row 5: Pamela Goecke Dinndorf, at Aardvark Quilts.  Row 6: Lori Allison, at Allison Quilt Designs.

Simple shapes: jelly roll quilts and other confections

We have to confess that we aren't always interested in making complex quilts.  Sometimes we yearn for simple shapes - and simple piecing. Of course we want to have our cake and eat it too:  we still want our "quick" quilts to look fabulous. Lori Allison of Minnesota starts with patterns that often use traditional blocks – like the trip around the world block – but she makes it bigger, and applies modern cutting and piecing techniques to make it fast and easy.

Blooming patchwork (queen size), by Lori Allison, at Design Tyme

 

This one is new !  "Blooming patchwork" is a strip pieced, queen-sized quilt.  Thanks to a few fussy-cut blocks, applique is not required !

Funky Stripes, 3 sizes, by Lori Allison, at Design Tyme

This is a great way to show off large prints like these from Kaffe Fassett.  Also check out a mod chartreuse-and-teal version, which was made by Susie Smidt at Dakota County Star Quilters (at their 2010 quilt show page you can also see  "Color my World", pieced by Jackie Grinde.)

Cinnamon and Ginger, 57 x 71" or 71 x 86", by Lori Allison, at Design Tyme

Lori says, "Who knew this would be a top pattern seller? I certainly didn't because after I designed it, I let it sit in my computer for six months. Finally, two weeks before fall market, I didn't have anything so I looked through my files to see if there was anything at all worth resurrecting." (!) The fussy cut centers create an interesting geometric effect. The fully illustrated color instructions and easy assembly are typical of Allison Quilt Designs.

For a few more bestselling patterns designed for precuts - like jelly rolls and layer cakes -  check out Lori's "Jelly Roll World", "Fruit Cake" and "Candy Queen" patterns.

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Lori Allison.