Famous color design meets music.

QC 005 - Kaffecaster

I get inspiration from anywhere, at anytime.  The key for me is to ‘feel’ the vibe or energy from that inspiration.  For me it’s that energy that propels me to create a piece that will take months to complete…and to have the trust that it will turn out either the way you wanted it, or better!

QC 005 was no exception.  I was looking for some unique fabric, something inspiring.  Since my last Quiltcaster was the Camocaster I knew this next guitar had to be something colorful.  Really colorful.  So while looking through some fabric bolts at my local quilting store in Golden, Colorado I stumbled upon the fabrics of Kaffe Fassett.  

A famous textile designer

If you don’t know Kaffe Fasset check out this link.  His is a well know textiles designer, and his major focus is color.  The more colorful the better.  Looks like I just found my fabric designs for QC 005!  So I bought several samples of his designs and started playing around with some patchwork ideas.  I decided to pull the eye into the guitar and carry the ‘visual energy’ of the guitar from the neck into the pickups and through the end of the guitar.  A chevron pattern seems to work the best.  Another challenge was getting the chevron points to line up perfectly.  As quilters, we all can see when the points of piecework are a little off.  In this case I feel it came out very well.  As for the quilted pattern its just a basic straight stitch boxing in the colors, but done hundreds of times with 4 or 5 colored fabrics on each colored stripe. If you look closely you’ll see the different thread colors and how they repeat. Further challenges involved the bookend pattern where I wanted to carry the same colors from front to back.  Then to add just a bit more complexity I wanted the edge design pattern to be carried as if the guitar had been wrapped.  Some areas were not perfectly lined up but to me that adds the ‘human’ touch of imperfection, which adds a feeling of warmth and willingness to overcome design challenges in new and unique ways.  We are all imperfect beings and those imperfections sometimes create the more powerful interest.

The hardware, body and neck

The hardware on this guitar is different.  I opted to go with custom pickups, bridge, knobs, switch plates with a nickel relic look.  It gives them a warn look, something I have not used yet.  I wanted the eye to be directed to Kaffe’s fabric and the patchwork quilted design and not spend too much attention to the hardware.  

This guitar is a telecaster guitar body.  The neck is a clean, white maple fretboard which keeps the guitar looking bright.  Maple does age over time so the neck will look a bit darker as the years pass.  

The result

Another touch on this telecaster style is that I sanded out carve outs on the guitar for a more comfortable feel against your body. I love how this guitar exemplifies Kaffe Fassett’s love for color and used his fabric on a piece of functional artwork. It pushes even more sensory buttons. I think Quiltcaster 005 does Kaffe’s designs colorful justice! 

QC 005 Kaffecaster completed 2018.

GALLERY