No. No. No. No.

No. No. No. No.

What a blow.
On my beloved Kaffe Fassett Collection facebookpage was a post from Liza, in which she told us that Westminster and Free Spirit are being taken over by Coats.

How is that possible. How can they do that.
Off course, economics.
And that is one of the few things I don't understand at all.

But I really really can't believe they are going to stop producing the fabric that brings me so much.

Luckily there are a few things I DO understand and CAN do in quite a good way: blogging, quilting, and being VERY enthousiastic about that.

So.
Here are a few of my happy thoughts about everything brought to me by the Kaffe Fassett Collective.
And pics to make it even happier.

Really, these fabrics have changed my life.
They changed my way of quilting, and when I discovered them it felt like I had been waiting for this exact same fabric all my life.
For instance I had been waiting for fabric to use to make my interpretation of a beautiful work of art: "The 1st 7 days in Your House". Here's the day: there's also the night. This work you can find in the Dom Church in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

I saw this for the 1st time when I just started quilting. My thoughts were: if I EVER find the fabric, I will make it.
And I did...

Then I joined the facebookpage.
That brought me my friends from all over the globe: Anja, Kitty, Brandy, Jackie, Cori, Shane, Billie, Donna, Daria, Ditte, Liz, Linda, BEnte,  Wanda, Mirjam, Janet, Sue, Wilhelmina, Sigridur, Lori, Karen, Luisa, Nancy, Marla, Judi, Kathleen, Hannelore, Thea, Mary, Sally, Margaret, Rita, Eke, Cathy, Roxanne, Lilya, Joe, Ana Maria, Eleanor, Carmen, Maria Elia, Kleo, Rebecca, Amy, Ruth, Nery, Barbara, Colleen, Debbie, Karen, DeeDee, Miki, Sylvi, Janet, Milagros, BJ, Deb, Jocelyn, Carolyn, Karen, Joyce, Karen, Laure, Jody, Anne, Frances, Linda, Becky, Gwen, Marziah, Connyie, Emilie, Charmian, Marie, Barbara, JoAnne, Karen, Varbara, Gayle, Mary, Kaoru, Beverly, Wensy, Pam, Debi, Kathy, Wendy, JoTee, Lynn, Sharyn, Cindi, Patty, Maria, Patricia, Barbara, Karen, Julie, Susan, Lorette, Rebecca, Liatris, Dawn, Nadine, Cara, Lilian, Pat, Helen, Pearl, AnnaMaria, Terry, Olivia, Dagmar, Anita, Ringelmops, Tui Susan, Char, Karen, Janeen, Rosemary, Jane, Joy, karen, Joan, Joan, Jeannette, Karen, Emily, Vicki, Ann, Antonia, Robyn, Shelli, Kate, Cindy, Stephanie, Karen, Virgina, Kathleen, Susie, Jane, Linda, Deborah, Fanny, Philip, Brandon, Kaffe...

Can you believe that????
OK, I do not have contact with everybody every day, but I do get a lot of joy and comfort out of you all!

I met Kaffe on several lectures: with Willy, Linda and Wanda in New Jersey:

I met him in the Netherlands too, in Woerden where I met Sandra and her aunt José, and in Staphorst with my friend Marga.
I just loved those meetings, and I shared my joy, enthousiasm and thankfullness with so much of you!

The relationships that seriously developed with those of you I met in real life are just too precious. Some of the others I will meet up with in the future, like BJ!

But the best part of my happiness comes from the fabric itself.
It is so joyous.
It bears enthousiasm in itselfs; otherwise it would not be cherished by so very many people in the world. As I write "In the world" I remember that even in a worldfamous program like Top Gear, shirts from Kaffe's fabric are shown...

My most favourite pieces are I think my coats. One is made from Philip's fabric Gradi Flora Tomato, I made a one block wonder from it, but didn't know what to do with it.
This is the result:

The other coat is not all Kaffe, but there definitely is a lot:

And my shirt:

And how about the challenge to make a silly headcover: I made a "Happy cappy" for me, and got assignements for 8 of them...

My "Fragile", who lives with friend Frank travelled through Europe:

The one I struggled most with: my mediterrenean hexagon... What color to use for the triangles was a BIG question!

I pimped a grocerybag...

I lost my marbles:

I made a tryptich for a dear friend

Even my business card has Kaffe in the logo!

We have a tulip exhibition in the spring...
This one has found its way to the USA, brought by a Dutch woman who thought it was a great souvenir...
My first sold work!

And lately I am working on a Travellers Blanket who I will call "Kaffe meets Dijanne", and I will dedicate it to my dear friend Donna, who introduced me to the concept.

However would those quilts and pretty things be so pretty without Kaffe Fassett Collective fabric?
However will we continue from here?
What scares me is not just that they will stop producing.
What scares the hell out of me is the shopowners that thrive on KFC.
Like my dear friend Anja on Vashon Island.

Please, let there be a way to keep those gorgeous fabrics to continue.

We all, quilters all over the globe want that.
We all who adore Kaffe, Brandon, Philip, and the others from Free Spirit.
We all who can get happiness just by buying, hoarding, and creating beautiful quilts...

And above all, we all who love the connection around the world that those fabrics bring to us!
With a big hug from Zeewolde, the Netherlands, to you, my dear friends where ever on our world!!!

Love, Hilda