Blog Titles

El Dia De Los Muertos

And

Kaffe Fassett Fabrics

Another odd title?  All will be revealed - bear with me!




Many years ago, (1976), Alan Coren, a well known newspaper journalist, wrote a humourous book. He asked his publisher what were the most sought after book titles in bookshops and was told "Anything about the Nazi's, golfing books, and that all time favourite ... any books about cats ... oh!  and people always buy books with red covers!"  He pondered this information for some time and eventually came up with his best selling book title ...

"Golfing For Cats"

The book had a bright red cover with a huge swastika across it!  It sold really well. It is available still on  Amazon.


Looking at my stats I have discovered that The Mexican Day Of The Dead (El Dia Los Mertos) and anything to do with Kaffe Fassett fabrics (Kaffe Fassett) get the most hits of all time. So here to please all those searchers is a new little item ...

El Dia Los Muertos

Mexican Day Of The Dead

This unusual celebration is practised throughout many South American areas on October 31st and continues until November 2nd.  Relatives and friends of the dead go to the churchyard and take flowers and gifts, drinks and picnics and have a party around their dead relatives graves. The children are given sugar skull sweets, gruesome costumes and masks and dance and sing around the gravestones. These unusual customs, dating back to the Aztecs, are said to honour the dead. Some enterprising designers have come up with some wonderful items to celebrate this occasion ...

'Mini Calaveros' fabric by Alexander Henry

Azucar Sugar Sculls fabric by Alexander Henry

'Sugar Skull Candy'
Via tumblr

'Chuchulucos' fabric by Alexander Henry

Art Decoration by Juan Hernandez Catrina
Via tumblr

And these are my very own Day Of The Dead scary pillowslips made with  Alexander Henry  fabrics from  Fancy Moon  for my grandchildren ...

Alexander Henry fabric pillowslips

What a great custom, which has some similarities to our own Halloween celebrations.

Kaffe Fassett Fabrics

The amazing talented Kaffe Fassett
Via Google

Kaffe Fassett is a truly talented designer who has been around for many years. I so remember with shame trying to knit an Intasia jacket designed by him in the 1980s - the design and colours in the pattern were tremendously inventive - my finished product was terrible (badly knit, too chunky and dreadful colour combinations). It was a very expensive waste of wool and time.

'Ready To Wear' by Kaffe Fassett

He originally came to notice as a painter and then a knitting pattern designer and also a glorious needlepoint craft designer, then a crochet pattern designer, and only much later as a fabric designer. In all his innovative rolls his love of colours is very evident. His books are a true feast for the eyes ...

'Welcome Home' by Kaffe Fassett
Via Amazon

'Patchwork' by Kaffee Fassett
Via Amazon

'Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts'
A Kaffe Fassett Workshop Quilt
Made by him and displayed in his workshops

Here is a little montage of some of his more colourful fabrics ...

My favourite pink, purples and blues

'Suzani Purple' by Kaffe Fassett

'Millefiore Tomato' by Kaffe Fassett

Amazing crochet by Kaffe Fassett
 Via The Peruvian Connection

Art Knit Sweater by Kaffe Fassett
Via The Peruvian Connection

This man is a genius!

Kaffe Fassett is also the major design talent at  Ehrman Tapestries  and I was recently given a kit, which I have yet to start called 'Klimt Mandarin'. The kits come complete with canvas, tapestry, wool and full instruction, which should keep me busy for many months.  Thank you A. xx

Lovely tapestry kit

Complete with wools

He is also the leading designer of yarn for  Rowan Yarns  and has for many years also designed their most interesting and colourful knitting patterns. What a simply clever genius in the world of arts and crafts Kaffe Fassett is.

Rowan colourful knits for the home
Via Amazon

'Fans in Green' by Kaffe Fassett
My all time favourite
Wow!