Kaffe Fassett – Dreaming in Colour

I have just finished reading Dreaming in Colour which is an autobiography by Kaffe Fassett. I have loved everything this man has ever turned his hand to and there is a wide variety – knitting, mosaics, tapestry, interiors, quilting, painting, rug making, theatre – you get the idea!

 Kaffe writes this book in a really easy to read tone, as if he is just chatting to you about life over a cup of tea. He talks about his childhood which was relatively bohemian and full of now famous creatives as they hung out at his parents restaurant in Big Sur (one of my favourite places on earth).

In fact the whole book reads like a Who’s Who  – he was well-connected from the start and although he has obvious talent and drive it’s no wonder that he made it so quickly. There’s a point in the book where Kaffe has literally just learnt to knit on a train, produces something which gets shown to a friend of an editor for a Vogue publication and in the next breath he is heralded as the godsend of knitting – but I’m probably only jealous!

He talks openly about his business decisions, his mistakes and successes and all that he has learnt. I think it’s always easy to look at someone once they’ve made it big and think that they never suffered or doubted along the way – so it’s refreshing and encouraging to read about someone’s experience of being short of money, or food, or taking an unknown risk which hindsight shows paid off well.

This book has strengthened my idea that Kaffe Fassett is an open, friendly, generous man with outstanding talent.

My biggest take-away from the book is just how creatively playful and open Kaffe is to all that is around to inspire.

If you like looking at how his work has developed and are interested in his history, then you’ll enjoy this book enormously.