Kaffe Fassett Extra Wides come to Quiltsandwich
Kaffe Fassett Extra Wide fabrics are to be stocked by QuiltSandwich. Quilt Sandwich, the retailer with, we believe, the largest range of Extra Wide Quilt Backs in the UK is to start to stock the Kaffe Fassett Extra Wide range.
Kaffe Fassett has dedicated the last 50 years of his life to the world of Knitting, Needlepoint and Patchwork, promoting these crafts through his own work and encouraging others to find their own creativity. He has produced over 30 publications from 'how to books' to colour in design, and also tours internationally giving workshops, lectures and museum exhibitions. Kaffe Fassett was born in San Francisco in 1937.
Kaffe started as a fine artist, winning a scholarship to study at The Boston Museum of Fine Arts School when he was nineteen. He left after three months to paint in London, and he still continues to exhibit his paintings. After settling in England in 1964, his passion for colour led him to knitting and designing knitwear for Missoni and Bill Gibb amongst others, and his hand-knitted garments are now in museum collections all over the world. Kaffe Fassett later took up needlepoint and patchwork, creating both his own works and designs for others to make.
Being more concerned with colour and design, Kaffe Fassett then worked extensively in many different textile arts, rather than the fashion world, later in his career.
Kaffe turned his hand to printed fabric design when working with Liza Prior Lucy in USA on new patchwork designs, publishing his book Glorious Patchwork in 1997. Since then, Kaffe Fassett has produced many hardcover books on patchwork, as well as working on over fifteen Patchwork & Quilting books.
A large part of Kaffe's output is now an expanding range of fabric prints for the patchwork market along with the Indian stripes fabric and shot cotton fabric range distributed worldwide.
Kaffe has participated in various exhibitions and solo shows over the years; though it was in 1988, when Kaffe became the first living textile artist to have a one-man show at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The exhibition attracted such crowds that the Museum doubled attendance figures during the run and the exhibition toured to nine countries.
The 'Ancestral Quilts' Exhibition at the Quilt Museum in York in Summer 2015 showcased Kaffe's new stunning quilt designs inspired by the Quilters Guild's historic collection of antique quilts from 1780 to 1949. This successful exhibition promoted the original antique pieces as well as the inspiring new pieces by Kaffe Fassett, as well as a section to inspire creativity and interactivity for visitors.
Kaffe is a Patron of the Quilters' Guild of the British Isles. He is also a Patron of the UK Knitting & Crochet Guild and the Heritage Crafts Association. In 2013, Kaffe Fassett was awarded the Turner Medal. This is awarded by the Colour Group (Great Britain) to a distinguished artist or art historian, honouring Britain's greatest colourists.
