I recently received a copy of Kaffe Fassett's Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts from STC Craft/Melanie Falick Books. Kaffe and his co-author, Liza Prior Lucy, have put together 23 quilt patterns that all come from simple shapes just like the title suggests. Squares, circles, triangles, rectangles, diamonds and quarter circles are used with color to come up with fresh variations on traditional quilt squares and patterns.
We are in love with traditional
quilts. We
both admire and collect them. The repetition of shape in block form is
so
appealing. Most of the time we use a traditional quilt pattern to start
with.
We browse books of antique quilts and examine antique tops and quilts in
vendor
booths at quilt festivals.
Sometimes we find an antique
textile form
that is not a quilt but we think would be easily adaptable to piecing or
applique. For example, in the new book, Simple Shapes Spectacular
Quilts, there
is a quilt called Haze Kilim. This pattern was derived from a Kilim
Carpet. You
can find a very similar form in American Native woven textiles.
Our interest is mainly in playing with color to see how we can take those traditional patterns and bring them into the modern world. We tend to choose patterns that are not terribly tricky or complicated. Large scale printed fabrics are what we use most and that kind of fabric doesn't usually lend itself to tiny piecing.
........
There are so many gorgeous quilts in this book! I'm particularly smitten with Stripescape. At first glance this quilt looks quite complicated, but once I took a closer look, I was amazed at how simple these rectangles of striped fabrics really are.
Another favorite of mine is the Not-So-Lone Star. I love seeing a traditional quilt re-done in a fresh, modern palette.
To learn more about Kaffe Fassett's Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts, check out the Quilt-Along that STC Craft is hosting. There is a free pdf download of the Yellow Potpourri quilt pattern as well. Other stops on the blog tour are as follows:
May 3: Quilt-A-Long Begins! http://www.melaniefalickbooks.com
May 6: Review http://to-be-charmed.com
May 7: Kaffe and Liza’s Top Ten Quilting Blogs http://quilting.craftgossip.com
May 10: Review and “Liza Lucy Stories!” http://goknitinyourhat.blogspot.com
May 11: Podcast Interview with Kaffe and Liza http://www.PatSloan.com
May 13: How the "Kaffe Fassett Collective" designs together http://whipup.net
May 14: Choosing Colors www.knitgrrl.com
May 17: Art vs. Craft http://www.thisisloveforever.com
May 18: The Question of Dabbling http://www.yarnstorm.blogs.com
May 19: Choosing Patterns http://www.houseonhillroad.com
May 20: Interview http://sewmamasew.com
May 21: Review http://www.ohbara.com
May 25: Review http://usineurope.typepad.com
May 26: Review http://www.alabamachanin.com/journal
May 27: Why a Design Wall and Reducing Glass http://thelastpiece.typepad.com
May 28: Interview: Tradition Today http://www.materialobsession.typepad.com
May 31: Interview http://thelongthread.com
June 1: Kaffe and Liza's Quilt-A-Long http://www.melaniefalickbooks.com
June 2: Review http://quiltersbuzz.com
June 3: Quilt-A-Long Sharing http://blog.fatquarterly.com
June 4: Review http://www.trueup.net
June 7: Review http://bemused.typepad.com
........
I have one copy of the book available to giveaway. You know how it goes....leave a comment on this post before Friday, May 21 at 12 noon EST for your chance to win.
