This adventure starts very soon, on January 1. Below is everything you need to know that wasn’t included in everything I already told you on Friday…… If you specifically want to be a part of the free Beary Colourful BOM, read Friday’s post as well.
My Fellow Colour Challenge Bloggers
Apart from Jen Shaffer of Patterns by Jen, and myself, there are six other quilt bloggers who are committed to making this whole-year blog hop an astounding success. They are:
If in doubt, call us all “Jen” – you will have a nearly 50% chance of being right!!! Lol. As it is, when I tell people my name they sometimes think I said “Jenny”. Dione rhymes with Leonne, but there isn’t a lot of phonetic difference between D and J. And Jeonne sounds wrong, so Jenny it becomes…… In contrast, when I write my name, people read Dion or Diane. So there you have it, an impromptu discussion on why my blog has a random name like “Clever Chameleon”, not something like “Dione Quilts”, You may blame my parents, although Dad squarely blames my Mum. 🙂
Anyway, I digress, and I must get to the best part! Sponsors!
Meet the Sponsors
Jen has done a marvellous job in finding sponsors for this colour challenge. I know for a fact that this challenge blog hop was a fairly last minute idea, but look at this line up of sponsors! Details about which sponsors are sponsoring which months will be forthcoming as they are finalised.
For every month you enter the colour challenge link up at Patterns by Jen, you get an entry for the grand prize. Which is to have your quilt top quilted by Jen of Dizzy Quilter! Not to be confused with Jen of Patterns by Jen……
There are a few conditions, understandably. Your quilt top can be up to 90″ x 90″ (US$202.50 value!), you must provide the backing, 8″ longer than width and length. Batting can be purchased from Jen, for $20, if you like.
Return shipping is included for US residents only. And the quilt will not be trimmed or bound, those services are extra. It is a fantastic prize!
Coming Back to Earth….
Tomorrow we will put aside our Beary Colourful excitement for a bit and have a more traditional Colour Inspiration Tuesday.
Do you remember my Hoya, or Wax Flower? I had a few comments about it seeming so fake. Well, I assure you, not only is it real, but it’s oddity pales into insignificance in light of another Australian flower. The Australian orchid I discovered through our local state Botanic Gardens the other day just cracks me up! But that’s all I’m telling you until tomorrow!
Would you like to keep in touch with Clever Chameleon and the fun quilty ideas I design as well as find all over the internet? You can follow directly for email updates, or through Bloglovin’, Pinterest or FB. All your follow options can be found here. Thanks for your support!
Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué Finished! – A Splash of Color Quilt-Along Update
Done! My Splash of Color Quilt-Along quilt top is constructed. The red border strip is added, the piano key borders are on, and the Vanuatu Turtle appliqué is laid out and stitched down. Both layers. Happy days!
The last time I formally up-dated you on this quilt for the Splash of Color quilt-along, I had all the major pieces constructed and the centre blocks pieced into one unit.
Then I decided this quilt needed a little push to get it done on time and out the way of some other projects. So I nominated it as my One Monthly Goal for my link up with Elm Street Quilts. By that point I had finished constructing the pieced part of the quilt top and had fused down the aqua turtle appliqué pieces.
Since then, I have been working very hard on this project. And now I have finished sewing down the aqua Vanuatu Turtle appliqué layer, fused on the red overlay and just this morning, finished sewing that down too! So, that means my quilt top is finished. 🙂
The current link-up for the Splash of Color quilt-along at Busy Hands Quilts requires that I have a finished flimsy quilt top to enter. So we are good to go! With 19 hours to spare! As I pointed out in my One Monthly Goal post, this last minute thing really has got to be wound back a little……
Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué Progress and Process
Anyway, I thought you might like to see some pics of the progress between the last update and the finished top, so here are the highlights.
Stitching down the first layer of the Vanuatu Turtle appliqué.Aqua layer of the Vanuatu turtle appliqué finishedLaying out the red Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué piecesAt the moment, my go-to appliqué technique is raw edge appliqué. Fast and furious for busy mums! I free-motion straight stitch around the edge of each piece 4-5 times to secure them well for everyday use.This morning…. mild relief as I hit the last appliqué piece.Finished!
Here’s the back. I simply use the batting as the stabiliser for my raw edge appliqué when I can, so currently this quilt has the top and batting layers but no backing.
The back of my raw edge appliqué
Next job…. piece a backing and get this quilted. Any suggestions on a quilting motif? I think perhaps some sort of large simple swirl/wave curl pattern in grey might be in order. I certainly don’t want to add to the complexity of this quilt any further.
Have you seen the other completed quilt tops in Myra’s Splash of Color Quilt-Along? I have enjoyed this exercise immensely and I’m going to get a finished quilt to keep…… Not something that happens at my house very often. I only Start quilts to keep. I usually Finish quilts to give away! Anyone else out there with this problem?!! I suspect I am in good company…… let me know. 🙂
Would you like to keep in touch with Clever Chameleon and the fun quilty ideas I design as well as find all over the internet? You can follow directly for email updates, or through Bloglovin’, Pinterest or FB. All your follow options can be found here. Thanks for your support!
Just this once I am going to be Done. on. Time! Ha! Just to find out what it feels like! Welcome to My One Monthly Goal with Elm Street Quilts
Well, there is really only one thing to say about late November/early December if you have school age kids in Australia!!! But I suggest you plug your ears first! Here it comes…….. “Aaaaaggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!”
Thankfully, I believe the worst of the concerts and end of year break-up parties and special excursions and graduations and farewells and etc. etc are done with, and the end is in sight. School is out for the summer in a week’s time….. which will bring it’s own joys and challenges, but also hopefully, more sewing time. I really, really hope more sewing time. Because there are several projects I want/need to get on top of. Which leads me to…..
My One Monthly Goal for December
On the top of my list to finish for December is my Vanuatu Turtle Quilt. Here’s where we were at on the 24th of November.
Most of a quilt top
And this is where I need to get to by New Year. A completely finished version of this…..
Some background info in case you are new here….
This quilt is my project for the Splash of Color QAL at Busy Hands Quilts. A quilt along that encouraged everyone to choose their own project, as long as it fit the theme of black and white, with colour highlights. Then it was up to us to keep up with a set of deadlines for quilt construction milestones.
Currently the milestone on the table is to have a finished quilt top (flimsy). The whole way along I have been running down to the wire to get each milestone done before Myra’s linky closes. And of course, my current status is no different….. the opportunity to link up a finished quilt top will expire on Monday.
But I am getting there….. yesterday I added the first layer of the turtle appliqué. I was going to sew the appliqué down today but I like to machine appliqué with the batting under it. And the batting I rinsed out last night is not dry this morning…. of course after a record-hot Spring we had showers early this morning………
Anyway, I should be able to get the aqua appliqué layer sewn down tomorrow, and then once the red pieces are ironed on I am calling this flimsy done.
So that just leaves the finish line…… a completed quilt. The linky for finished quilts opens on the 2nd of Jan 2018. Technically I have until until the 15th Jan to be linked up. But, I hereby declare that I intend to have my quilt done by the 31st of December, thereby being ready BEFORE the last linky opens, rather than throwing my URL under the descending roller door of a rapidly expiring linkup, again! Can I do it? With OMG at my back, anything is possible! 🙂
Why such enthusiasm to get the Vanuatu Turtle Quilt done?!
Good question! Well, I need to put this quilt to bed (so to speak) so I can get on with some new exciting projects for 2018. Otherwise I fear it will end up on my UFO pile.
There are two things that I am currently planning for Clever Chameleon next year that are making me really happy just thinking about them. Both are BOM style projects that will be available for you to follow along with if you wish or to go back to over time. I hope at least one might appeal to you.
Exciting Project 1
The first project is a joint BOM quilt with Joy of “Days Filled with Joy”. We are going to be doing a skill-builder quilt. One that focusses heavily on techniques that you can use to texturise or embellish a quilt. We are still finalising the details, but I can tell you it will be a house block quilt and will start a little way into 2018 after all the New Year dust has settled. This one will be very informal and lots of fun. I’ll keep you posted as we get closer to launching.
Exciting Project 2
I am thrilled about my second big project for 2018 because it will complement my weekly colour board posts very nicely! It is the brainchild of Jen from Patterns by Jen, and involves a monthly Color challenge. This one kicks off on the 1st of January 2018, so not long to go now!
Jen is doing a colour challenge BOM quilt project, with free patterns and instructions available to you from her website. She has asked for a small group of quilt bloggers to support her by either making her blocks or something else in her colour of the month. I have opted for the second option and will be doing a Beary Colourful quilt. Twelve appliqué bears in Jen’s 12 colour challenge themes. Oh happy day! This one is making me wriggle with anticipation already!
I will be giving away the instructions for each bear each month on the same schedule as Jen. My aim is to get some of those scraps moving from my sewing room…… want to join in?! I’ll keep you posted on this project as it develops too.
If you would like to keep in touch with Clever Chameleon and the fun quilty ideas I find all over the internet, you can follow directly for email updates, or through Bloglovin’, Pinterest or FB. All your follow options can be found here. Thanks for your support!
From the Sewing Room: Vanuatu Turtle Quilt Progress
At last check-in
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve updated you on the quilt that I am doing for the Splash of Color Quilt Along at Busy Hands Quilts. I have been slightly distracted with the homemade ornament blog hop and a few other small projects. They’ve been lots of fun, but I must admit, it’s really nice to get back to quilt making again.
In a nutshell, my plan is to make a quilt with fabrics predominately from Vanuatu. The intention is that this quilt will be a memento of our family’s visit there earlier this year. It will also double as a TV snuggle rug and protection for the couch from the cat. This is roughly what I’m aiming for:
My Vanuatu Turtle Quilt design for the Black and White and Splash of Color QAL
So, the progress report….
Now I have all the components prepared for my quilt top. I have sewn the centre blocks from my last check-in together.
And I have sewn up four border strips.
It would have been quicker and simpler without the assistance……
You can’t prove anything…..
Now all that remains is to combine these pieces with a red strip border to create the flimsy. And then it will be time to add the appliqué. 🙂
Short and sweet this week!
If it’s part of your heritage, I hope you had a special Thanksgiving. And wishing everyone a great week ahead as we enter Advent. My kids are eagerly anticipating the hanging of the Advent quilt (aka the candy-pockets quilt)! Do you have any Advent or Christmas quilts that will be making their seasonal appearance soon? I’d love to hear from you!
Vanuatu Turtle Quilt: Design process, warts and all.
In the last few days I have finally had a chance to get back into the sewing room. And I have to admit it was very therapeutic. I have missed sewing. So has our cat. I swear he is addicted as I am!
My goal this week was to design and sew the blocks for my black, white and red Vanuatu Turtle quilt for the Splash of Color Quilt Along. I started with this basic plan…
And these fabrics…..
If you wish, you can read more about the what and why of my original plans, and see my turtle appliqué pieces all cut, waiting for a quilt top.
So, on Thursday, I started on the quilt top. I looked at my plan. I cut six 6½ squares. And I went off script.
That might be a record, even for me!
Changing my mind….
Firstly, I decided that I wanted to add in a very dark, plain fabric behind the bulk of the turtle appliqué. Plainer than any fabric I have brought home from Vanuatu. I did actually look for a mostly black fabric in Vanuatu, but there wasn’t any to be had.
So, I went hunting among my scraps here at home and found an Australian Aboriginal print in black called Sand Dunes. The Sand Dunes scraps are leftover from the backing of a dear friend’s quilt. It is very soft and colourfast – an amazing piece of fabric to work with. So I added it to the mix. I also found some black 2½” pre-cut strips inherited from another friend. Perfect for extra darkness behind the appliqué.
Dark corner for the turtle appliqué background. Sand Dunes is the black with the dotted wavy lines through it.
Changing my mind, again…
Although I had a 5×5 grid drawn up for my colour gradient in the quick diagram above, I had actually intended to do an 8×8 grid of 6″ squares. Some fussy cut whole squares and some pieced squares to get a black and white gradient. That is why I started by cutting 6½ squares of each Vanuatu fabric.
However, I quickly realised that 6″ squares of pinwheels and HSTs in these prints is going to result in a very. busy. quilt. Which would be fine, except that this was supposed to be the background for my appliquéd turtle. And it was also going to take waaaay too long to construct.
So, I decided that my mockup was trying to tell me something – that I should have 5×5 8″ finished blocks. I cut some new 8½” squares, and recycled the 6½” squares into 8½ squares by adding 2½” strips on two sides. This had the added bonus of being an easy way to graduate through colour values and tie the blocks together visually.
Building up the Vanuatu Turtle Quilt
And again…
As I started on the more intricately pieced blocks, I decided that I needed some more solid or solid-like fabrics. Specifically in the grey range. Somewhere for the eyes to rest from the prints. I had already included a blue-grey hand-dye and a white solid in my original fabric choices. Now I added two grey Shadow Play fabrics from my scraps. I only had enough of the dark grey Shadow Play for 4 pieces. But that is half the fun, making do. 🙂
More progress on the turtle quilt
And again…
At this point it was time for me to head out to the South Australian Quilters’ Guild evening meeting. I’m glad I got this far before I had to go, because I was beginning to heed the little voice that said I needed to add a nearly white fabric. There were no nearly white fabrics in Vanuatu, just as there were no nearly black ones. I had thought that I might get by with fussy cutting. Or using the reverse side of a fabric. But…
At the Guild meetings there is always a shop stall, and in the end I picked up something to round out my fabric choices. Actually I picked up two somethings. One was a white fabric with a fine black print. It had slightly more black than I wanted, but it was the best pick available. I was happy at least that the swirls on the print are consistent with the patterns already in my quilt. 🙂 The second purchase was a fat quarter of a dark blue-grey Grunge that happens to be the exact same colour as the blue grey on two of the Vanuatu fabrics. Score!
Finishing off the design
A little more playing and switching fabrics around and I settled on this layout (with a few more tweaks as I sewed).
Nearly finished. You can probably guess who disturbed my nice tidy layout…..Somebody who thinks he is invisible siiting here…..
And now I have finished sewing up the 8½” blocks for my Vanuatu Turtle quilt. They are ready to be assembled into a quilt top and have borders attached.
Vanuatu Turtle quilt blocks finished and ready for assemblyHappy with my pile of blocks
So, how am I feeling? Well, I really love this quilt top so far. I think the design is actually quite effective as it is. A small part of me even thinks that I should claim the grey-blue as my “Splash of Color” and leave it really simple. Because there is a whisper of a question in my head as to whether it will marry well with my appliqué. Despite all the changes I have made, it is still very busy.
But the whole point of this quilt is the turtle appliqué….. And if I stop now this quilt top will be too small to be particularly useful, and my turtle appliqué will be orphaned. So I will push on. If, in the end, it isn’t as fantastic as I envisioned, then I won’t mind it going on the couch, right?! And there is always something to be learned in quilts that don’t quite make it to awesome. Fingers crossed that I am just over analysing things and it will be just fine!
If you are also participating in the Splash of Color Quilt Along I hope that you are pleased with your progress so far. If you like black and white quilts and haven’t been over and checked out the progress of the other projects yet, be sure to do that. Everyone has chosen their own project, so this QAL is very interesting, even as a spectator sport. 🙂
P.S. Colour Inspiration Tuesday resumes here tomorrow! Yay!
And there is a Grand Prize as well!!
Tomorrow we will put aside our Beary Colourful excitement for a bit and have a more traditional Colour Inspiration Tuesday. 
