Friday, March 7, 2008

Dear Jane - Chapter I


Well, after auditioning just about every interesting print with contrast I could find (I even cut some up and arranged into blocks) -- I've decided on doing my Dear Jane with this cool Kaffe Fassett print as the tiny sliver of unifying "focus" fabric that I am going to put in every block, with white dimples as the primary fabric and perhaps, and this dotted Mary Engelbreit print and/or this variety of "dimples" in all the colors that complement the Kaffe Fassett print as little punches of color in the blocks. This should make a nice clean yet visually interesting piece.

Here is a link to my favorite fabric designer, Kaffe Fassett. His is a really interesting story -- and his artwork (fabric) is just glorious in every way. He has a way of bombarding colors together that creates a mood of power and passion and in many ways reminds me of Taos and the West - as they are so NOT afraid to combine unlikely colors and elements. Andrea, you may find his story particularly interesting, and Tammy, you may find his fabrics interesting because they are a great springboard for crazy quilting. I have known people who utilize fabrics with patterns such as these (the bold Kaffe Fassett print above) for crazy quilting and for art quilt pieces because the color elements in the fabric lends itself to some fantastic beading - simply by following the design in the fabric. FYI!!

Have a great weekend guys. I think it's going to be a fun weekend because as of now - it looks like the "men" are all going to be out and just the girls at home - which always makes for some partying in the studio!!

I'd love it if you guys would give me a shout as to what you think about alternative fabric selections. Let me hear from all of you because even though you may not work in fiber, and express yourself as a "beader" or a "painter" or "collage artist," your eye for color and texture speaks volumes and I so respect your opinions. I'm not sold on any of these fabrics yet as I plan on playing with this just a bit more before doing any "hard core" cutting. The only thing I'm certain on - is the KF print which will be the focal. Everything else is still up in the air. Let me hear from you - okay??

5 comments:

Teresa said...

You are off to a good start. I have never worked with a fabric quite that bold so it will be fun to live through you for awhile. If I read your post correctly you are auditioning all the fabrics in the post. There is so much blue in the print I would love to see the orange/red pulled out more and shades of that for some subtle variety might be neat.
I don't have any digital photos of my quilts but have done quite a few blocks under 6". My favorites were log cabin but I have done Kaleidoscope, stars, etc.
I prefer to hand or foundation piece. I don't care to cut out templates though it can't be helped with some designs.
I will be checking in often to follow your progress.
If I wasn't starting my first lace KAL, Mystic Light, I might be tempted to join you.

Nellie's Needles said...

If I were making this quilt those bright fabrics would find places within it. Looking at the pattern, it seems making choices as to what fabric will work where is best decided when a number of blocks are on your design wall. Then you'll most likely see what is required to obtain unity and visual balance.

CrypticFragments said...

thanks for the inspiration...and for the link to Kaffe Fassett's amazing site!

Jenny said...

I love that focus fabric! I saw some of the finished blocks first, so I'm glad you told us who the designer is. I'll be checking back in on your progress!-Jenny at www.CraftTestDummies.com

Mieke said...

Kaffe is my favorite to!!!!

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