Luminary Assets

Rosy Autumn: 2010  (Started: 2000)

Our King Parrots felt right at home

We (four of our RLI group) had somehow lucked in with a place for a day’s workshop with colour master extraordinaire, Kaffe Fassett.  We assembled (nervously) at the Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre on 18^th June 2000, with great hopes that he could teach us his best colour secrets in only a few hours. 

Our homework had simply been to assemble a collection of blowsy prints in either autumn or spring colourways.  We had even been told not to be afraid to tea dye various selections to have them “fit” better and  warned off overly “matching” our selections too.  I chose a tawny rose selection - autumn colours that I probably wouldn’t have normally selected in a combo of bright reds, rusty oranges and eucalypt greens.

The pattern, Tawney Rosy, was in Kaffe’s book “Patchwork”.  It involved placing our fabric selections into a simple formula that allowed us to develop our eye for colour selections. (I’m not sure I was really convinced it would work at the start!)

• Fabric A: bold large scale florals
• Fabric B: smaller scale prints
• Fabric C: neutrals including stripes, plaids, tone prints or toiles

These fabrics were then chopped up into different sized blocks (see his book for the recipe!) to be ready on the day to play.  

An explosion of colour

And play we did!  If Kaffe thought you needed another fabric to “improve” your set, he would happily delve into a neighbour’s stockpile.  We learned how to share – and consider our selections – shaking up the usual suspects.  Both Kaffe and Brendon Mabley made the day very challenging yet most rewarding.  By the end of it we had a top pinned (to a flannel sheet) ready to machine. Go Rinny!

I finally had my quilt basted by Dec 2001 but it took me a couple of machine quilting classes (Lee Cleland & Kim Bradley) and lots of practice to give me the confidence to take on the quilting.  It was some 9 years later, (2010) before I felt that I had the right pattern & technique to finish!   Now I look back, I believe one thing that held me back was that no matter what I did to the quilt, I felt it was always going to be a KF quilt.  Eventually I chose a simple an autumn leaf design (that I made up myself) and even managed a decorative label to finish it off. 

King Parrots - two males, one a rare albino; 

This is my label.  I guess you knew that!

Just for the Record:

Quilt Finished Size: 169 x 172cm
Block Sizes: 9”; 4.5”; 3”
Cut in: 2000
Pieced & Basted: Machine 2001
Quilted: Machine 1995
Quilt Type: Workshop
Quilt Finished: 2010
Exhibited: Dangar Island Australia Day 2011
Collection: Home# 038
Pattern Name: Kaffe’s Nine Patch, Rosy Autumn
Pattern Source: Kaffe Fassett’s “Patchwork” p68
Fabrics Purchased: Group Choice
Fabric Design: Prints & Plains
Fabric Style: Cotton
Materials Type: Cotton
Wadding Type: Thin Poly Batt
Backing: Cotton

Lessons Learned:
I still can’t believe how fortunate we were to get places at a workshop on mastering simplicity, colour and style with this amazing textile artist and his clever assistant. You just couldn’t do it now!  It is always worth the effort to challenge your perceptions, understand your limitations and learn from master artists.  I can see the true value in experiencing shared learning.  An experience not to be forgotten!