Lily Rose Meets Klimt

Have you ever found a fabric line that makes your head spin, your heart beat faster, and your brain cells explode in giddy creative delight?

Of course you have! The Robert Kaufman Gustav Klimt collection burst into my life courtesy of Hancock’s of Paducah’s newsletter earlier this week, making me forget nearly every piece of fabric I ever loved before now. Lily Rose snoozed in my hard drive, downloaded and patiently waiting for inspiration. And here was INSPIRATION in the form of Klimt fabric.

Are you familiar with Klimt? Gustav Klimt was an Austrian artist (1862-1918) whose “gold phase” paintings remain population today. The Woman Gold, a 2015 move, recounts the recovery of his famous Adele Bloch-Bauer painting by Maria Altman from the Austrian government. It was among many works seized during the Nazi occupation of the country. His paintings of this era are typified by the use of gold leaf.

Esther Aliu’s Lily Rose is the perfect vehicle for Klimt themed fabric, which painstakingly recreates many of his dazzling artistic motifs and themes. I selected gold and red as my primary colors, with gray as a third accent color. Originally, I planned to do turned edge, but with so many very narrow and small pieces in the pattern, I have been persuaded to do this as a raw edge piece. The table cover and oval frame will be turned edge, however.

My palate is limited as I am trying to stick with the Klimt fabrics as much as possible (although I have a layer cake of Kaufman’s Empress line to supplement). It is an interesting challenge to keep within the parameters that I have set. I purchased a Klimt charm pack to give me some additional choices and have used those pieces for foliage and flower parts. I find that purchasing a charm pack when using a single line of fabric is a relatively inexpensive way to expand on the design choices.

The background fabric is left over Stonehenge from a previous project. It has the right hint of mettalic sheen and a slightly formal feeling which matches the mood of the Klimt fabrics.

This can be a challenging block, with many components and small pieces, so it is important your layout and pattern pieces are exact. I had some issues, even with my lightbox, in seeing the pattern lines through my background. My husband suggested outlining the pattern lines with a Sharpie and that has helped tremendously.

 

 Wishing everyone inspiration for their creations,

Lennea