Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, Oi, Oi!
This past weekend was our national holiday long weekend, with Australia Day on Saturday (the 26th and a Monday public holiday). So it only seems fitting to have a look at a few things uniquely Australian today.
The bird in our colour board today is a jacana. Like all Australian animals it is a little on the unique side, verging on eccentric. A bit like the critters on my Wild Things quilt. And it occurs to me, I never did get around to posting photoshoot pictures of my finished Wild Things Australian Tangram quilt from December, did I? So, since it’s on topic, let’s do that today too.
What is that Bird?
This Comb-crested Jacana is a bird from Northern Australia, with incredibly long toes that allow it to distribute its weight over a surprisingly large area. This in turn means that it can stroll leisurely over floating lily pads without sinking. They feed on aquatic insects, build floating nests and are rarely seen on land. I am told the males do all the housework and the parenting, while the female quilts all day mates with as many guys she fancies.
But the cool thing that really makes boy Jacanas stand out from the crowd is their adorable habit of protecting their young in a totally kooky way. If a Jacana Dad senses danger, he gathers up his chicks under his wings. Nothing wrong with that, I hear you say. Well, then he jams his wings tight around their heads, stands up on his long legs and carries them off. All you see is the retreating Jacana with little spindly chick legs hanging out from under his wings. If you want to see, follow the link to a recent local news article with a picture.
Awwwwww. See, I told you. Totally adorable. And I can just imagine muffled cries of “Not cool Dad, soooooo not cool!” from under the wings. hahahaha There’s got to be a slightly twisted quilt idea in that!
So that’s one dose of Australiana for you for the day. Here’s another…..
Wild Australian Things: the finished quilt
Wild Australian Things was my December Island Batik ambassador challenge quilt, made to fit the theme of “Wonky and Whimsical”. You can read about the construction phase here. And for Christmas, I doctored the quilt with temporary Santa hats and wrote a silly song about it for some festive cheer.
But then I hit summer holiday mode and the quilt never made it to the park for photography. It is a pretty big quilt, so getting pictures of the full thing was not an easy task. But a couple of weeks ago we had a family evening at the park with a picnic so I was able to get some shots from the top of the slide looking down.
And my daughter and I had a go at hanging it in an old oak tree too. Mostly because my daughter wanted to climb the tree, of course.
I hope you have enjoyed a slightly retrospective look at Wild Australian Things. This was a fun quilt to make and write about.
And one last dose of Australiana to mark the annual occasion
From a land where it is currently too hot to be bothered….
and where the national emblems are both delicious and fiesty….
and where a Dane designed our most iconic building (but he didn’t foresee us doing this to it!)…
Happy Tuesday from us crazy Aussies!
I hope your Tuesday is filled to the brim with colourful and left-field inspiration!
More Inspiration, from all over the World
The final week of the Island Batik Getaway blog hop has inspiration from all over. The Island Batik Ambassador idea of a getaway is clearly as diverse as we are. Here are the remaining fabrics and feature quilts for this terrific event.
WEEK 4
Monday, January 28 – French Blue
Pamela Boatright – PamelaQuilts
Joyce Mullis– Hearts Creations
Tuesday, January 29 – Midsummer Night
Kathleen McCormick – Kathleen McMusing
Connie Kauffman– Kauffman Designs
Wednesday, January 30 – Oh Deer
Jen Shaffer– Patterns by Jen
Jeanette Jones– Inchworm Fabrics
Thursday, January 31 – Snow Berry
Sally Mannke– Sally Manke Fiber Artist
Joan Kawano– Moosestash Quilting
Friday, February 1, Fabric 1– Icicle
Terri Vanden Bosch – Meanderings along Lizard Creek
Anne Wiens – Sweetgrass Creative Designs
Friday, February 1, Fabric 2– Candy Cane Lane
Mania Hatziioannidi – Mania For Quilts
Barbara Gaddy – Bejeweled Quilts by Barb
You can also find the Week 1 Getaway posts here. The Week 2 Getaway posts here. And the Week 3 Getaway posts here.
And don’t forget to visit Island Batik’s blog to register for their giveaway!
Lastly, let’s see what inspired the Chameleon and co. this week
Joan of Moosestash Quilting linked up this amazing black and white quilt as part of the Creatin’ In The Sticks Black and White blog hop. I love this quilt for its simplicity and its complexity. The secondary design created by the bear paws and churn dash blocks really captures me. And the bear appliqués are a really great use of the white space. Joan runs a very fun blog with lots of interesting quilts on it – if you haven’t checked in there for a while (or ever), you most definitely should.
And Turid of Den syende himmel linked up her last project as an Island Batik Ambassador – a log cabin variation in Island Batik’s Bazaar fabrics. After you have overdosed on all the terrific black and white quilts in the Black and White blog hop, this colourful number will be the perfect antidote. This was the Chameleon’s favourite linkup, as he feels awesome dressed like this!
Turid may be moving on from the Island Batik program this year after two stellar years, but I can guarantee her blog is still another to watch. As well as lots of other interesting projects, Turid does some crazy good, tiny English paper piecing, and I love watching her progress.
You guys are pretty diverse too! Show us the latest results of your inspiration.
Tell us – what are you working on, or have recently finished in your sewing room? We want to know so we can visit and be inspired. Link up a blog post, an IG post or simply a photo from your computer. See if you can get the Chameleon to turn quilted with happiness. We’d love to see your quilting colours!
Guidelines
- Link up your latest or recent quilt/sewing excitement. All quilt construction stages welcome – finished quilts, quilt blocks – even fabric pulls! Or inspiration sources!
- You have 50 characters in the link description…. tell us who you are and what your fantastic project is.
- URL links are not necessary to link up…. non-bloggers 100% welcome! If you don’t have a URL, you can link up with just a photo.
- Take a moment to visit some friends who came to the party – leave a little love and make their day. And a link back to Clever Chameleon is always appreciated.
- Do it now……. before you forget!
[inlinkz_linkup id=814907 mode=1]
The Chameleon turns rainbow with pleasure when he hears from you. I am more reserved, so I will respond in gratitude by email instead. Now that it’s your turn…. Scroll right to the end, leave me a comment and tell me, what do you think? Thanks for connecting!
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, IG or FB. All your follow options can be found here. Don’t forget to link up all your current quilting projects on Tuesdays at our Colour & Inspiration Linky parties!
Thanks for the Aussie animal lessons! It is so much fun! Beautiful quilt!
We are experiencing our coldest weather this week. Temps -21 with windchills pushing -50!! Oh, and plenty of snow too. Keep cool as we attempt to stay warm!
Oh, thanks for the highlights on the animals where you live. The photo with dad and the legs is too cute. I can hear him saying “Kid, quit pecking under there, I’m doing this for your good! You’ll understand that someday!” Haha! Too hot for you there? I might come and visit; our temps are dropping deep into the negatives!
What a funny bird! I love the pictures of the male with the extra legs. It is so interesting to me the way some creatures have adapted so differently from others in their species. How the heck does that happen! Love the wild things quilt in the wild and all the fun and interesting things you bring to our attention – makes me want to hop on a plane and get to Australia!
Oh I love your Wild Australia quilt. The design is amazing, and those eyes…they are just perfect! Great finish there.
Hi Dione! The red crest is so beautiful on the Jicana, and that picture you shared with all the young legs sticking out is hilarious. It looks rather like he’s wearing a festive red hat! I am so glad you finally shared photos of your finished quilt. Those figures are so much more discernible for me from a distance. On our visit to Australia we got a chance to see and photograph a koala bear. The guide was saying that the sleep a lot, and could be very vicious. As Sue stood next to the sweet looking and soft furry guy, he opened his eyes and looked at her. I think we have the only photo in our group that had the bear awake. I’ll never forget how soft his fur was. I would love to visit again except for the VERY long flight to get there. ~smile~ Roseanne
I think that male jacana is a real keeper! LOL I love seeing the pics of your very different animals. I’m sure Aussies think some of our animals look “different” too! Thanks for sharing the pics of your finished December IB quilt! It really was perfect timing to do so! Happy belated Australia Day!!
Another fascinating post Dione. The Jicana male gets top marks in my book. He is too cute protecting his offspring. Imagine being able to glide over lily pads. There is definitely something there for a quilter with an imagination who finds so many ideas she is constantly juggling to find out which one of those ideas gets out to play and a given time. Watching him made me think of music, gliding, skating on a sea of blue and green. And the creature with the eyes, wow! he is somewhat intimidating.
Your wild things quilt with those particular fabrics is perfect. Now like that sleepy guy at the end of your post, I’m gonna scram and wait for your next episode. Thanks a bunch Dione.
Oh Dione, where do I start . . . Lovely quilt – so nice to see all your creatures together! The blog post is fabulous – I’ve never heard of a Jacana, but laughing all the way through your comments, especially the “sooo not cool Dad” and the linked news article was great – learn something new everyday. Loved all your pics, and was surprised to hear the opera house was designed by a Dane – my Dad was Danish, so I guess I was too, ha ha. Well laying here with the flu – your blog has made my day – thank you!
Absolutely love your Wild Aussie Animals quilt…would love to see closeups of the individual animals and know what they are!!! I just love your tangram animals!!