A Little Birdie: Colour & Inspiration Tuesday

A little birdie wants to tell you…

… all about the quilt I am making. It’s from the It’s A Garden Party row along. Oh, oh, he is hopping with excitement! Of course, the little birdie must not tell you too much just yet, but he can drop a few morsels of information. He can definitely show you what I’ve sewn from patterns already released in the It’s A Garden Party row along.

It's a garden party row along with Seams to be Sew

He can also tell you who is participating in the hop next. The hop hop of excitement has really only just got into full swing…. there are lots and lots of blocks still yet to come. Lots more blog hop hopping you can do to find patterns and prize draws. Lots and lots of garden secrets and secret gardens to discover. Plenty of fun remaining!

Nearly my turn in the row along!

Not to be outdone by a gossipy little birdie, the attention seeking Chameleon is going to give you a sneak peak today of his my our quilt block for the It’s a Garden Party hop… I’ve called it “Garden Bath Joy”. My free pattern is coming on Thursday, only a couple more days to wait! The Chameleon imagines you’re going mottled with anticipation!

While the Chameleon amuses himself and the rest of us wait patiently for Thursday, we can take the birdie’s tour of the It’s A Garden Party blocks I have sewn so far. And I’ve picked out some garden-themed beauties from the Chameleon’s last Colour & Inspiration Party to keep us on theme to the end. This week it’s all flower power and Spring fever at the Clever Chameleon!

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Hummingbirds and Hot Springs: Colour & Inspiration Tuesday

Aren’t Hummingbirds the greatest?

Don’t tell the Chameleon, but I think so. One of Nature’s little oddities, and beautiful into the bargain. We don’t have hummingbirds in Australia, and I’ve never seen one, although I’d love to one day. In the meantime I have settled for making an appliqué version…. yup, I started playing around with some of the free patterns being offered in the It’s A Garden Party Row Along that popped up last week. I hope you’ve had a chance to look into that blog hop for both the patterns and the prizes.

Also, I have devised a cunning quilt plan to use some of the Garden Party blocks. I will reveal my progress as the pattern collection grows. If you like it you are welcome to make one too. I can tell you how it goes together, you find all the parts in your collected patterns, and then you beat me at my own game. No waiting for me to get my act together to write you a pattern. Perfect!

Read on to get your head start on me now. 😀

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Take that 2020! Colour & Inspiration Tuesday

Take that 2020 colour board at Clever Chameleon

2020: What a Rodent of a Year!

Well, I think it is safe to say 2020, the Year of the Rat, has not gone to plan. I, for one, will be happy to draw a line under this year and recycle all my 2020 New Year’s hopes and plans for 2021. Easiest New Year’s resolutions ever and environmentally friendly too! 😀

But for now I’m hanging in there, and I hope you are too. There’s still some fight left in this Chameleon! And in a defiant act of self-defence I am finally releasing the Lunarcy Quilt pattern. Take that 2020!

Lunarcy BOM

This post includes the first installment of the Lunarcy pattern – a pdf for the Lunarcy Quilt fabric requirements and the basic quilt construction. The appliqué files will follow in fairly rapid succession. The reality is that Lunarcy will not be a block of the month anymore, as I would still like to wrap it up when I originally intended – around the beginning of the Year of the Ox (in mid February 2021). So the patterns will be released far more frequently than monthly to make up for lost time. Of course, they will still be free, and still available on the Clever Chameleon website until it is all over. Just now you don’t have to be quite as patient! How’s that for positive spin? 🙂

So, hold onto your hats, batten down your email hatches, and enjoy the lunatic Lunarcy Lunar Calendar ride. Welcome to the Chameleon’s 2020 BOM, truncated in time but not awesomeness. And here’s to the rest of the year that must surely be more fun than the first part!

Read on to start collecting your Lunarcy patterns

Salvation Jane and Ruby Dock: Colour & Inspiration Tuesday

Salvation Jane colour board at Clever Chameleon

Happy Winter, from the Southern Hemisphere

Our winter officially started here yesterday. Although if you were here, you’d be forgiven for not noticing: 18C (64F) and sunny. Truly lovely weather during the day, although the nights are chilly now.

Arkaroola in June
Arkaroola at the beginning of June

The desert knows it’s not summer anymore though. The Salvation Jane weeds (also known as Paterson’s Curse) are growing their incredibly perfect rosettes of teal leaves in the creek bed. Hate the weed, but got to admire that growth habit in our colour board! Also, another weed that has been insipidly hanging around for months has suddenly just acquired breathtaking colour. I give you the latest in desert decoration: the Ruby Dock.

Ruby dock

I can’t help but admire the colours, the intricate patterns and the marvellous textures of these amazing plants, even if it would be better if they weren’t here.

The beautiful weather has been good for my own intricate patterns too. I’ve had a productive week ….. I’ve finished my secret sewing I mentioned last week, and submitted the draft pattern. I’m increasingly finding that paper-piecing is pretty addictive…. But no squirrels just yet. I am being good and I’m back to working on the Lunarcy. I have even finished tweaking the Year of the Dog block. Another big step closer to starting to release the pattern.

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Last Minute Colours: Colour & Inspiration Tuesday

Sunset colours at Clever Chameleon

As luck would have it…..

As I was trying to work out where I should draw colour inspiration for today’s post from, nature volunteered. This was tonight’s sunset, as seen from our back patio. The colours were brief, but some of the very best we’ve had since we moved here.

Arkaroola sunset May 2020

Good timing, Mother Nature. Just glorious, thank you!

Arkaroola sunset May 2020
Arkaroola sunset May 2020

Pinks, yellows and oranges and last minutes on the Lunarcy too

Progress continues on the Lunarcy quilt this week. I now have a Pig block to go with the Rat block from last week. I only finished the pig appliqué this afternoon, getting photos just before the sunlight disappeared in that blaze of glory.

Year of the Pig block at Clever Chameleon Quilting, from the Lunarcy quilt
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