Kaffe Fassett exhibition – in Norway

KF exhibition

Yesterday I finally convinced the family to go to Hadeland Glassverk, an old glass work funded in 1762 and still operative. KF exhibitionIt is run as a combined glasswork and a visitor center which this summer also housed an exhibition of works by Kaffee Fassett;” Kaffe Fassett 50 Years in Colour Exhibition”. I have knitted long enough (and is old enough…) to remember the first designs by him for Rowan, so it was quite exciting to see several of those garments “live”! The colours are really intense and the combinations very impressive! But I must admit that I have never dared to make one of his designs… The main reasons has been that he combines so many colours in on round, so you easily gets the treads tangled and a lot of loose ends need fastening… And his designs are mostly not suitable for knitting on cable needles. I always struggle when I have to go back and forth doing stranded knitting on the wrong side…

Some of his first knitted works; in the glass display was his first knitted cardigan.
Some of his first knitted works; in the glass display was his first knitted cardigan.

I think many knitters know the story about how he started to knit; he was visiting a wool mill in Scottland and was fascinated by the colours and bought yarn and knitting needles. The interesting thing was that on the train back to London he got a fellow passenger to learn him to knit! His first knitted garment was a jacket (in the wool from Scottland), and it was exhibited as well! One of my favourite garments were there as well; a coat with colourful leaves, if I ever dare knitting something from him, this would be the one! KF exhibitionI must admit I did have been ignorant about his other skill; he has made some impressive needleworks and amazing quilts! But to me his knitted works are still the most amazing… So if you are in Norway Hadeland is just an hour drive north of Oslo. And the exhibition is open one more week! And it looks from his website that he frequently visit places in UK and will be “touring” both in the US and in Australia in close future! It is listed in his web side. And finally, a surprising part of the exhibition; the “Please touch!” part; I felt like a kid in an Aquarium picking up a crab or a starfish from a small tank… Thanks to the curators for doing this; to touch and look at the KF Please touch!technical details was (almost) the best part!


Comments

12 responses to “Kaffe Fassett exhibition – in Norway”

  1. Fabulous. I attended this exhibition when it was at the American Museum in Bath. 😄

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    1. Agree; it was really worth a visit!

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  2. This looks like a great exhibition, unfortunately too far away for me to visit. I actually didn’t know about his knitting history, very interesting to read! And I love that leave pattern sweater.

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    1. He has a lot of inspiring books as well!

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  3. Thank you so much for this post and the great pics of Kaffe’s work.

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    1. It was amazing to see some of his work, he is a true genius! Being there was far better than any picture can recapitulate, so I was happy to see that he will travel to a lot of places showing and sharing his work and enthusiasm!

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      1. I quite believe it, seeing his work in real is so much better than a good picture in a book or on the internet. He is so inspiring and his sense for colour and patterns is marvelous!

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  4. Wow! Every piece is beautiful!!!

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    1. I know… he is a true artist!

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  5. Reblogged this on garnharmoni and commented:
    Some wonderful inspirations shared by a fine blogger in Norway. I wish I could hop across the border to see this Kaffe Fassett exhibition! Thanks for sharing, Hege.

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  6. Beautiful inspirations and fine photography. Thanks for sharing and I hope you don’t mind that I shared this to my page. Best wishes from a grey Stockholm cheered up by these colours. 😉

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    1. …same as here in Oslo; good to have some sources of colourful inspiration!

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