Fans of the California-born London transplant Kaffe Fassett should mark their calendars now for a new show coming to the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown later this year.

“Blanket Statements: New Quilts by Kaffe Fassett and Historical Quilts from the collection of the Quilt Museum and Gallery, York, U.K.” will open November 14 and continue through February 21, 2016.

From needlepoint to knitting, from interior design to quilting, Mr. Fassett has inspired countless professional and amateur designers with his hands-on approach and passion for deep vibrant color for both items to wear and interiors to live in. No one does color like Mr. Fassett and no one shares his techniques and sources of inspiration with more generosity and enthusiasm.

Born in San Francisco, in 1937, Mr. Fassett won a scholarship to the Museum of Fine Arts School in Boston when he was 19. He was quickly lured across the pond and settled in London in the mid-60s. Inspired by the colorful yarns he saw in a Scottish woolen mill, he bought some Shetland wool and taught himself to knit with the help of a fellow passenger on the train back to London. His first design appeared as a full page spread in Vogue Knitting. His one-of-a-kind garments are collector’s items.

In 1988, Mr. Fassett was the first living textile artist to have a one man show at the Victoria & Albert Museum, an appropriate venue for an artist who draws inspirations from landscape, vintage textiles, mosaics, and cultural traditions across the globe. The exhibition drew record crowds and brought the artist world recognition.

He has designed needlepoint for Marks & Spencer department stores and for clients around the world and he’s also worked for Oxfam, advising poverty-stricken weavers in India and Guatemala on designs that would be more marketable in the West. As a result, a range of colorful hand woven fabrics is being produced for use as shirt fabric, bed throws, and patchwork fabric, available in the United Kingdom and the United States.

In 2013, the accomplished artist was awarded The Turner Medal, named for the famed English colorist, J.M.W. Turner. Previous winners include Zandra Rhodes and John Gage.

Known as a guru in the world of color and textiles, Mr. Fassett’s many books include Glorious Color, Glorious Knitting, Glorious Interiors and, more recently, Glorious Patchwork.

The Michener will be one of only two museums in the United States to host this special show, for which Senior Curator of Exhibitions Kirsten M. Jensen will provide curatorial oversight.

The 35 historical and contemporary quilts on display at the Michener include 15 new quilts by Mr. Fassett who created them in response to 15 historical quilts that he selected from the collection in the Quilt Museum and Gallery in the English town of York. The quilts date from 1780 to 1949.

The artist will be lecturing and hosting a series of hands-on workshops during the exhibition.

Bucks County Connections

Although it comes to the Michener from the United Kingdom, “Blanket Statements,” which was shown in England as “Ancestral Gifts,” has strong Pennsylvania connections: three of the new quilts were designed by Bucks County artisans, and ten of them were crafted in the area under Mr. Fassett’s supervision.

In addition, the Michener is augmenting the exhibition with a number of mixed-media quilted pieces by the contemporary Philadelphia artist Virgil Marti, who frequently integrates textiles into his work.

The publication, Heritage Quilts, which includes stunning photographs and detailed descriptions of the quilts on display as well as patterns and instructions for each of Mr. Fassett’s quilts, will be available for purchase.

The James A. Michener Art Museum is located at 138 South Pine Street in Doylestown, Pa. For more information, call (215) 340-9800, or visit: www.michenermuseum.org.