Kaffe Fassett: A Life in Colour

Posted on June 2, 2013 by The Little Room of Rachell

Natasja of crochetime and I met yesterday at The Fashion and Textile Museum in South London to ogle Kaffe’s designs and use of colour. I used to be a huge fan of his tapestry (aka needlepoint) and have owned a copy of Glorious Needlepoint for a long time. Mum reminded me, over Sunday lunch, that she has several of Kaffe’s knitting books and heard him talk in the early 1990s.

It was great to see my favourite tapestry designs in 3D, especially the vegetable cushions. Radish anyone? Or perhaps you’d prefer a beetroot?

I know that many of you are not near London, or even in the UK (if you are then the exhibition is on till 29th June) and so here is a good selection of what I loved. If you like tapestry you’ll probably be swooning along with me.

Click on any image to view a larger version.

Do you recognise this pair?

So clever

You could giver Kaffe anything and he could turn it into a texture, just name the medium

If only I could draw & paint

The colours complement each other perfectly

Cushions in rings going high up the exhibition space walls

Subtle patchwork

A huge knitted piece around a large post

Such potential to be tangled in balls of colour!

I really wanted to the back as well as the front! (it was part of a texture wall we were encouraged to touch)

The one section of crochet we saw…some caps

Amazing to see items I’d only seen in a book before

A close up of the chair

Oooh the colours

A fruity chair with a veggie cushion? Yes please!

I always loved Kaffe’s veg cushions

“Colour themes that run throughout his textile work include the historical hues from early-medieval and Renaissance decorative arts, traditional pairings of blue and white, and the rich inspiration of China, India and international travel. In 1992 Fassett visited India as part of a charity delegation to explore what handicraft might be produced there to sell in Britain to raise money. The experience was profound and sparked a shift in his use of colour.

‘India proved to me that colour is a vital ingredient in life.'”

Wool House, Somerset House – London

Posted on March 20, 2013 by The Little Room of Rachell

Yesterday I met the lovely Natasja of Crochetime blog for the first time, and we had a great time wandering around the rooms of Wool house, an exhibition in Somerset House, London. This was my first time visiting Somerset House, despite walking past many times. Wool House is situated in just the West Wing, so you can imagine the scale of the building.

So what it is all about? Wool house has been developed by high-profile designers working with The Campaign for Wool which was launched in 2010 by The Prince of Wales. Their aim is to promote real wool as it is a sustainable and natural fibre for use in fashion, interiors and the built environment. The designers were given a brief as to the type of room and a description of the look; such as a country feel or bright and bold. I loved something about all of the rooms, they are wonderful.

Click on photographs to view larger sizes (see the whole crochetdermy bear’s head for instance!) Or let the mouse hover pictures to read my comments, some are admittedly fairly inane.

Baa Baa…orange & green sheep?

Crochetdermy brown bear by Shauna Richardson

Beautiful tapestry

Mammoth chair

Blue sky, we had BLUE sky, hurrah!

Bedroom by Kit Kemp

Classic drawing room by Fox Linton Associates

A solution to your wool storage issues?

I want one please!

Beautiful chain mail inspired carpet

Lovely colors in this runner

The snug by Arabella McNie (curator of wool house)

A mint tea and some meze please!

Nursery by Donna Wilson

Modern room by Anne Kyyro-Quinn

Natural room by Josephine Ryan. My favourite.

I KNOW the focus is wool but there’s something appealing about the onions next to the huge family Bible (?) I know I’m a bit strange.

Tailoring with wool

Look after your ankles girls

The Craft room = bliss

Mood board

Natasja wanted this throw. Very much.

Ah….the possibilities

I wish I’d taken my hook and wool, that chair looks perfect

Au naturel

A table loom in action

A little of Somerset House. Natasja and I imagined that each family member lived in their own wing

Popped out for some fresh air before the talk

Designers L-R: Ashley Hicks (Google him! We were 1 degree of separation from the Royals last night) Kit Kemp, Josephine Ryan and Mary Fox Linton (would tell the most fantastic stories over a glass of wine), Giles Kime, of Homes & Garden magazine leading the conversation

Infinity runner, I adore the pixelated effect

A souvenir of the evening

A wonderful visit. Wool House ends this coming Sunday, so you still have time to visit. It’s free – if that’s an incentive!
I also recommend meeting up with fellow bloggers and turning virtual people into real-life friends. It might not always be successful, you might not click, but who knows? You have every chance of meeting a like-minded friend, but you won’t know until you try. Natasja and I will definitely be meeting again for more crafty events and chatter. :-)

Of course you can’t walk on the carpet!

Posted on May 8, 2012 by The Little Room of Rachell

I’m afraid it’s been undone again…I just can’t seem to decide the colour combination. Nothing seems to fit quite right. I’ve taken out all the squares with red in them and just kept the dark pink pomegranate colour.

On a positive note all the ends are now darned in!

I think the secret might be to carry on crocheting squares (and darning!) but without making any decisions about the final joining together of the squares.
This blanket is not going to be as random and easy as I thought it would
be; but maybe the finished product will be more satisfying because of all the thought that went into it?!

We can only hope!