I've been in love with Kaffe's magnificent colors & patterns since late 70s or early 80s. I had his first knitting book. Think it was called GLORIOUS KNITS. I just went mad with adoration. Then the quilts began. I've always had an obsession for fine patterning & color. I'm so thrilled this beautiful elegant gifted lover of beauty is still sharing. I just love him. A treasure beyond measure.
I love this gentleman. I always wondered how much we owe the Beatles for the Kaffe we see today? In 1964 everyone wanted to go to England. I love that he can articulate what makes him tick. I love the crock with all his needles in it.
I also just love England. I must have lived there during the Victorian ear in a former life. I’m deep into the needlework crafts of that era... knitting, tatting, etc. Love this man’s creativity!
pattern and colour and texture are my passions. I have explored these in knitting, sewing, fabric surface design, embroidery....... and more recently in mixed media work. Can't get enough of it.
To me knitting is a beautiful art and to top it off you can knit things are useful. Whoever thought that with two sticks and a ball of string you can create such beautiful and complex designs! Wow!
And it has gone on. The festivals got bigger after 2012, now they are waning a bit. Yet, there are more small knitting retreats than there were before. I do see more people getting into home sewing, which seems a natural transition. What I think is, knitting has been around for thousands of years, it's not going to end. It will just evolve. There will be waxing and waning in popularity, but it's not going to disappear. Thank you Kaffe Fassett. You were the first knitwear designer that got me excited about knitting.
Kaffe and Brandon are such dolls, talented lovely people that have inspired and helped me a lot, to see my knitting as such a blessing, privilege and celebration. I love to knit, I don't care if its one color or lots of colors, it all pleases me. And I love these men for showing me how to hone my skills and am grateful for how they both point out how lucky we are to be able to participate in this wonderful craft. Thank you so much. I do have one problem and that is working with stockinette, my scarfs roll up and curl, they do not stay flat to be able to enjoy the artwork. What am I doing wrong?
I just watched an introductory video on intarsia knitting, and the woman said to knit the first row, then when you get to the end and turn your work to purl the next row, KNIT THE FIRST STITCH as it will keep the swatch from curling up, and finish off the row of purling with a knit stitch as the last stitch in the row. Hope this works for you.
Always loved his work, wonderful colors and textures. Now, watching him makes me like him all the more. We think similarly on knitting, antiques, and arts. Very talented man seems very personable.
Love Kaffe! I could never get my head round knitting (no patience, and I was always a "crochet" person), but I have always found him so wonderful to listen to and enthusiastic about what he does...I could listen to him talk all day about art and colour!
This man was my hero, I had all of his books and loved it so thank you for sharing this interview with us , then day of sadness I got robbed , what did they take , all of his books , so I just hope who ever took them , enjoyed them as much as me xx best wishes
Sheila Mesick this was something that I did for my uni degree so it hasn't been broadcasted anywhere. Wish it was aired on the BBC though... that would have been amazing!
The most spectacular piece of knitting that grabbed me 40 yrs ago, was of a part time medical orderly who used every spare minute to create sweaters for clients. A couple of years later he qualified as a doctor. Heaps of knitters are incredibly intelligent. It’s only from tradition that women could fit it into their never ending home duties, males were occupied in long time blocks. Knitting is creative and requires a creative brain. Males don’t seem to discover their creative sides unless they got into them very young and continued. The feminine requirement involved in knitting is patience. Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can. Seldom in a woman, never in a man.
The BBC are clearly out of touch with what is going on with knitting and the huge uptake of yarn related crafts at the moment. I'd watch him for hours and hours Shelia xx
Up cycling is wonderful. Awesome his family upcycled sweaters for yarn. Same for me, I cannot will not do one color anything. It would be so boring and would NEVER get done. Perfect is not a word describing a human. The point is to continue and never stop learning. I knit so many Cowichan sweater coats until the yarn became unavailable. Black, grey, beige. But I loved the yarn.
I'd love to see an interview of this quality with Louisa Harding...who knows how to design enduring garments FOR women, that don't go out of fashion. No knock on Kaffe the artist, he is truly a great, fine artist. Louisa Harding's knitting designs for women are the quintessential knitwear designs for women.
RawForYou Hi I made this for my university journalism degree... filmed, interviewed and edited down. It hasn't been published anywhere other than RU-vid at the moment.