Everyday Quilt Inspiration: Emoji

31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in Real Life

What could be more everyday inspiration these days than Emoji?!? They are everywhere. On your phone, on social media, in advertising, on fridge magnets, stickers, tattoos, cushions…. 🙂 here…… You name it, someone has probably stuck a smiley face on it. Do you know where Emoji started? You might be as surprised at their long history as at their very recent rocket to fame.

Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday: Day 18

My daughter bought the emoji cushion pictured above while we were living in Germany. All the other kids had a cushion on their chair at school, but initially she didn’t want to conform. At home in Australia she didn’t have a cushion on her chair at school. So at the time, even something so simple seemed to be a threat to her identity and a source of homesickness. But in the Christmas Markets we found familiar and happy faces…… She chose the expression she wanted. I am not sure I would have been comfortable at sitting on this particular face, but she was happy. I should probably just be thankful she didn’t choose the poop emoticon…. LOL

How am I inspired by Emoji?

You could have a lot of quilt fun with emoji-like pictures, and get in some appliqué practice at the same time. Draw up your own series of yellow faces, turn them into appliqué squares and put them together quilt-as-you-go. Here’s an example of a design I would enjoy making. I have coloured it using classic yellow emoji and my great aunt’s garden as inspiration.

Smiley face quilt design — Smiley-face quilt inspiration

There are all sorts of icons now recognised within the emoji family – including animal, food, flags, activity, travel and object emoji. Here’s one guide to a vast array of Emoji for inspiration. Just remember, existing pictures are subject to copyright, so don’t cut and paste willy-nilly. But thanks to the simple nature of emoji, and the public nature of the general idea, you can easily draw your own variations.

I hope this inspiration has put a smile on your dial. A smiley-face quilt would be very easy to create, and would make a fun addition to a young person’s bedroom. If I wasn’t already in the process of making my daughter a quilt, this would stand a chance of getting made!

P.S. Did you know that there is such a thing as World Emoji Day?!? Yes. Really. 🙂 17th of July.

P.S. Have missed being a part of many linkys while we were away – it was just too hard without reliable internet. So glad to be linking up again with:
Main Crush Monday, Sew Can Do, The Inquiring Quilter (I’m featured this week – check it out!!), The Quilting Room with Mel, Freemotion by the River, My Quilt Infatuation, Crazy Mom Quilts.

P.P.S. Find the start of my 31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday here.

See you tomorrow! 🙂

October 17, 2017January 19, 2024

Colour Inspiration Tuesday Collection 3

Colour Inspiration Tuesday Collection Number 3

Welcome to the third collection of Colour Inspiration Tuesday mood boards. Actually, these are not exclusively Colour Inspiration “Tuesday” boards…. they are mostly Colour Inspiration “Everyday” boards. Because October has been Write 31 Days month and I am exploring the theme finding quilt inspiration in the everyday. So, I have been sharing colour boards whenever inspiration strikes. But it would be silly to discriminate by birthday, so I hereby declare them to all be Colour Inspiration Tuesday colour schemes, and so therefore this is Colour Inspiration Tuesday Collection 3.

A quick summary of the ideas behind Colour Inspiration Tuesday Collection 3…..

In amongst the latest colour boards, we have explored 2 quilt designs, a hermit crab appliqué idea and two free-motion quilting designs. I even stitched out the strawberry vines FMQ design for you. Now that I am home again, I might try to whip up an example of Nervous Plant FMQ as well, but I have more pressing quilting matters at hand first.

Hot Chocolate led to a quilt design concept for a black, white and red quilt that I am going to make for the Splash of Color QAL. I will be sharing the next stage of this process very soon. The other quilt design in this set is from Pandanus Fruit, and was more of a theoretical exercise. I have no immediate plans to make this quilt, as fun as it would be!

My Hermit Crab appliqué idea looks like this. Wouldn’t he make a fun motif for someone who likes hermit crabs? I have a particular friend in mind for this one, so he stands a chance of actually getting done one day.

Hermit Crab appliqué idea from Clever Chameleon

The Third Colour Inspiration Tuesday Collection

To access the colour palettes and complete posts of Colour Inspiration Tuesday Collection 3, click on the thumbnails below.

Follow along and be the first with the free inspiration!

Green Clever Chameleon logo I hope you feel inspired by some of the ideas in Colour Inspiration Tuesday Collection 3. If you missed the first 12 Colour Inspiration Tuesday colour schemes, you can find them here. And the second collection of 12 colour schemes is found here.

At Clever Chameleon we explore at least one potential quilt colour scheme every week. For the rest of October it is likely to continue to be considerably more. But November will see the return of our usual posting schedule of 2-3 posts per week, including one Colour Inspiration Tuesday slot and a tutorial or quilt-process related post nearer the end of the week. Follow Clever Chameleon Quilting on Bloglovin’ to stay abreast of all the fun quilty things I do and find on the internet. Or subscribe in the sidebar to receive regular Clever Chameleon emails that will Colour Your Mood and Brighten Your World.

Colour Inspiration Tuesday is also easily accessible through Pinterest. Follow my Understanding Color for Quilts board for regular quilt colour inspiration. Or my whole Pinterest account for a wider selection of quilt-related boards.

Linking up with: Let’s Bee Social, Midweek Makers, Can I get a Whoop Whoop? , Busy Hands Quilts, Crazy Mom Quilts

See you tomorrow for more Everyday Quilt Inspiration! Emoji!

October 16, 2017January 19, 2024

Everyday Quilt Inspiration: Fellow Quilters

31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in Real Life

Yesterday I wrote about how I went to the unveiling of an honour roll that included my late Grandpa, and how I found quilt inspiration there. Today I want to tell you about the other half of that trip. Because the town that we visited is also the home of the only relative I have who loves quilting as much as I do. My great aunt Dorothy.

Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday: Day 16

Aunty Dorothy is an inspiring person. She has lived through so much, but has never been anything but kind to me. She was always very good to my mum too. She lives in considerable pain, yet still gardens, quilts, and volunteers in her church and community. Aunty Dorothy is a good deal older than 80, but I don’t think she’d like it if I told you exactly how much older……. when I am elderly, I definitely want to be sparky like her! And still quilting too!

How am I inspired by my Aunty Dorothy?

Aunty Dorothy always has a quilt on the go. She has plenty of quilts lying around her place, but I suspect she has given most of her creations away over the years. Yesterday she showed me the quilt she is working on at the moment.

gingham and rickrack crazy quilt

You’d have to be crazy!

There is a story behind this quilt, just like most quilts. Aunty Dorothy is unashamedly using up her stash before anyone can inherit it. And among her things she recently found a box of gingham that had belonged to her late husband’s grandmother! Inside the box was also a collection of white rickrack and a second box of coloured rickrack. According to my great aunt, her husband’s grandmother had always been one for buying things (including gingham aprons) in multiples, maybe even 6 or more!

gingham and rickrack crazy quilt — Red gingham on the back.

Anyway, Aunty Dorothy decided to cut up the gingham and use it to make crazy patchwork squares. She has then embellished all the seams with the rickrack, and now she is putting it all together, quilt-as-you-go. She just has 3 piano-key borders to go to finish the job. On the back she has used the large number of red gingham aprons from the box. And she has still saved the nicest four or so aprons intact!

This is a lovely girl’s quilt design. Perfect for scraps. The white checks and rickrack keep this quilt feeling light and airy. It’s going to be lovely when it’s done and a very big upgrade on the original aprons and rickrack.

Hand-quilting admiration

After we had admired her quilt in progress and I had showed her one of mine, we had a tour of her other quilts. I had seen them before, but my aunt and cousin had not previously had the detailed commentary. This one is my favourite. Hand-stitched and Hand-quilted bed quilt

It is all hand-stitched and hand-quilted. Aunty Dorothy is super proud that not a single machine stitch went into this quilt. She also says that the colour transitions are a result of the quilt taking so long that she couldn’t buy more of the same fabrics – not once but twice.! I am glad, as the quilt has a lot more character as a result and is a testament to Dorothy’s creativity and colour sense.

Hand-stitched and Hand-quilted bed quilt

Now it’s your turn….. Who has inspired your quilting journey? Do you have relatives or friends who add value and enjoyment to your hobby (addiction?). My Aunty Dorothy isn’t to blame for getting me into quilting, but she is now one of my favourite quilting confidantes.

Or perhaps you have a quilt that is better for having had run out of fabric, forcing some creative re-thinking? Let us know.

I hope you are able to share your stitches with other passionate quilters. If not (or even if you do) you are welcome to share with me.

See you again tomorrow!

P.S. Here’s my week’s pick of the fresh quilting inspiration on the internet: Autumn Lattice Quilt by Laura of Slice of Pi Quilts. It is an amazing creation with an open lattice section between the quilt centre and the border. And Laura generously shares he process in her blog post as well. Highly recommended!

October 15, 2017January 19, 2024

Everyday Quilt Inspiration: Poppies

31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in Real Life

Today I did something a little bit different. I attended the unveiling of a new pair of plaques honouring all the war veterans who came/come from the Karoonda district. Karoonda is a small country town in South Australia where my only surviving great aunt lives. And where my maternal grandfather and grandmother first met and courted many decades ago.

Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday: Day 15

After travelling so much for the last two weeks, I was very grateful to share a ride to Karoonda (about an hour and half away) with my aunt, uncle and a cousin. As well as attending the memorial and unveiling ceremony, I was thrilled to visit my great aunt. Aunty Dorothy is the original rabid quilter in my family. As you can imagine, we always have a lot to talk about. I wish she lived closer!

When my great aunt is not quilting, she is gardening. And today her garden was a mass of spring flowers. Roses, irises and poppies. Lots and lots of beautiful poppies.

How was I inspired by the poppies?

After being away from home for 2 weeks, I have been a little surprised by Spring. It definitely arrived while we were away! And yesterday, Aunty’s garden was in full-bloom.

Poppies in Aunt Dorothy's garden — Poppies and more poppies!

Spring Poppies color scheme from Clever Chameleon — A colour board from Aunt Dorothy’s garden

So it seemed more than appropriate to do a Spring mood board from Aunty Dorothy’s garden.

But more relevant to the theme of today’s visit to Karoonda, it turns out that Aunty Dorothy also has a patch of Flanders Poppies that she grew from seeds gifted to her. Flanders Poppies are the distinctive red and black flowers from France that are now used widely in Anzac and Remembrance Day ceremonies in Australia. There weren’t many open Flanders Poppies to see in her garden, because she had donated them all to today’s ceremony.

Here is part of one of the new plaques. My Grandpa’s name is on there (F.A. Longmire, WWII). As is my Great Uncle Geoff’s (WWII) and a great-great uncle’s (WWI). A fourth very distant relative is also named, but the connection with him is many many generations back. I do know where he fits in the family forest thanks to someone else’s hard work, but I won’t bore you with the details.

More than just colour inspiration

Between the two new plaques is the main gate to the town’s oval. I was also quilt-inspired by these gates, with their plastic poppy tributes and rosemary attached.

Poppies on gate — Poppy and Rosemary tributes at the unveiling

This geometric design would make a great quilt border, especially adorned with poppy appliqués. It’s not often that I get inspired to make a quilt border without having a clue what the centre of the quilt should be. But that is the case this time!

What would you place in the middle of a quilt with a really strong, geometric border design like this? Do you have memorial traditions that would translate to a meaningful quilt?

Comments make my day and I and would love to know your ideas. Thanks for dropping by today. Hope to see you again tomorrow!

P.S. If you would like to know more about why Flanders Poppies mean so much to Australian Veterans, you can read a short story here. Rosemary is also a significant symbol for Anzac Day.

P.P.S. If you have not been following along with my 31 Days of Everyday Quilt Inspiration series, and would like to, you should start here.

October 14, 2017January 19, 2024

Everyday Quilt Inspiration: Book and Movie Characters

31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in Real Life

There is nowhere like home! It’s nice to be back in Australia with my sewing machines and fast internet. And my furry quilting helper! The second half of my Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday series is likely to be be much more everyday than the first half. And in my house, there is nothing more everyday than a children’s book. I read to both my kids before bed most evenings, and have done since they were babies. Like my mother did for me. That is a lot of bedtime stories!

Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday: Day 14

A significant proportion of the world’s quilts seem to be made for children. Babies on their way, babies just born, sons, daughters, grandchildren, nieces, nephews….. etc etc. And I find that kids love a good size quilt…. for sleeping, emotional comfort, cuddling on the couch, picnics, making cubby houses… wherever their imagination takes them.

characters from children's stories

So today I want to briefly discuss a common source of inspiration I often see used on kids’ quilts. That is, popular characters from children’s books and movies. There are upsides and downsides to using your child’s favourite story characters as quilt inspiration, as we shall see.

Why do people like characters on quilts?

There are at least three good reasons why people consider kids’ story characters for quilt inspiration:

The first is that the illustrations in many children’s stories are relatively simple, so they make great shapes for appliqué and paper-pieced designs.
Secondly, if your child loves a particular book character (or TV/movie character), they are going to love the quilt. So you get to simplify your process, and impress the little person in your life in one go!
And thirdly, there are often licensed prints or panels that you can pair with your creations to make the quilt bigger or to use as the perfect backing.

Why shouldn’t I make character quilts?

Despite these attractions, I recommend caution if you are considering making character-based quilts. There is one massive reason to be very careful. And that is, unlicensed fandom quilts featuring copyrightable characters are a form of copyright infringement.

That said, fan art is usually tolerated as benign unless you are prolific and/or profiting from your creations. Fan art is even encouraged by some copyright holders to increase the public interest in their original works. But not everyone feels this way. So, if you must make a quilt featuring a character or story, get permission if possible. Only make character quilts as one-off love gifts for children in your immediate circle. Keep the process private….. it is unwise to share your patterns with the intention of strangers making it too, or to sell your adorable creation on Etsy. Please note, none of this constitutes legal advice, just common sense. Any fan art you create is at your own risk. You can also read an interesting article about the tensions between fan art and copyright here.

How can I be inspired then?

A more ethical way to use children’s stories to inspire a quilt is to use general ideas to create your own works. There is no hazard in making a caterpillar quilt with nibbled food-stuffs. As long as it isn’t The Hungry Caterpillar. Likewise, you can safely make a pattern for a quilt with a puppy doing something fun on it – as long as that puppy is not Kipper or Spot… or a myriad of other distinctive fun-loving puppies.

But I acknowledge this isn’t really possible for all characters. My son would love a Pokémon quilt – only actual Pokémon need apply. And I have long thought that the Mr. Men would make great appliqués. “Mr Generic Persons” isn’t really going to cut it. But if I do ever make either of these quilts, you won’t find them here. That’ll be between me and my small friends!