Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Aurora Green

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: a free resource of colour combinations to try on your quilts.

Welcome to our first Monochrome Colour Inspiration Tuesday! I have noticed that quilters quite like monochrome or very nearly monochrome colour schemes. And of these, green quilts are very popular. Among my Pinterest quilt inspiration boards I have one called Monochrome and Analogous Colour Quilts. And on this board it is typically the green quilt pins that receive the most attention. Green is a soothing colour, it is a great choice for a quilt.

To make an interesting monochrome quilt you need to pay attention to the colour value range. If there is not enough colour value contrast, a monochrome quilt will not have much visual interest. So, let’s look at a photo with a great green colour range: Aurora Green.

Aurora Green color palette by Clever Chameleon

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Aurora Green

The “Aurora Green” colour palette isa range of seven greens – from pale yellow green through to a green so dark it is nearly black.

This colour range is sufficient to capture the glow of this beautiful photo in luminescent quilt designs such as Blooming Nine-Patch or Light in the Valley. See?

Simple Blooming Nine-Patch Layout using the Aurora Green colour scheme.

It also covers enough green colour values to make a geometric quilt with good clean lines of contrast between the design elements. Here is one fabulous example of a quilt that uses a similar colour palette to do just that. Hop over and take a look at this lovely blog post by Pie Lady Quilts.

link to Pie Lady Quilts

You can also check out my carefully curated Green Quilts Pinterest Board for more inspiration on how to use green in a stunning quilt.

One final idea: add a little pink and/or yellow as highlights to this colour scheme to make a fresh garden colour quilt. Play with these colours until they resonate for you!

Not into Green? Fair enough….

Why not try some of the other colour palettes in the growing Clever Chameleon collection? Some popular colour schemes at the moment are Red-Eye Flight from a fortnight ago, and a calming blue and red-brown colour scheme called Blue Fox.

Credit

Today’s very green photo is from Unsplash.com. Unsplash is a collection of free, high resolution, “do what you want with” credit-free photos. I am grateful to people who contribute to open source communities, so I would like you to know that this lovely photo was provided by Jan Erik Waider. Visit Jan’s photo collection here:
Jan Erik Waider

Clever Chameleon logo in green For colour and layout inspiration for your quilts in your inbox weekly follow along by subscribing to this blog. Or follow Clever Chameleon Quilt Colour Inspiration on Pinterest and pin your favourite colour palettes to try later.

P.S. If you would like to use Jan’s photo or another Colour Inspiration Tuesday photo for your own projects, you can easily find all the Unsplash photos from Colour Inspiration Tuesday in one place for free in my Colour Inspiration Collection.

July 11, 2017January 19, 2024

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Jewel Tone Triangles

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: a free resource of colour combinations to try on your quilts.

Hi – Welcome to another Colour Inspiration Tuesday! When I was first introduced to quilting, the group I met regularly with had a thing about fabrics in rich jewel-tone colours. Specifically, batik collections in saturated turquoise, sapphire, emerald, topaz, magenta and amethyst colours. These were good times, so these colours will always transport me back to the fun afternoons we spent sewing and eating and laughing.

Today’s colour palette was inspired by a photo strong in both geometry and colour. Because the purples, blues and turquoise reminded me of quilts in jewel-tones, we have “Jewel-Tone Triangles”.

Jewel tone triangles colour scheme from Clever Chameleon

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Jewel Tone Triangles

The “Jewel Tone Triangles” colour palette is amethyst, sapphire and turquoise in several shades of each. These varying shades allow you to create depth, interest and even the optical illusion of 3D by using cleverly placed colour value contrasts.

It is very tempting to sit down and design a triangle quilt (or a tumbling block quilt) in these colours, using the colour transitions in the photo as a muse. I shouldn’t, due to time constraints…..

Of course, I did anyway …….. here is a free layout as an example of how you could use this colour palette (with two additional shades over and above the starting seven Jewel Tones) on a tumbling block quilt.

Play with it until you find Your perfect combination. I just did!

I’m even tempted to make this quilt….. I could cut the diamonds with my GO! die. My daughter has spotted this post and said “Ooooo, I’d like that on My Bed”. Not sure that I am going to make it bed-sized, if it happens at all. Perhaps she can aspire to have it on her wall…. I’ll let you know if this one gets to the top of the ideas queue.

Update, this one is a goer – you can read about the start of the process here.

And read about my progress, including a tutorial on how to sew Y-Seams, here.

Don’t need rich geometry today? Try something more subtle.

There are several gentler colour schemes within the Clever Chameleon collection already….. why not take a look at Lily Pad Glow or Purple Tulip?

Today’s Photo Credit

Today’s stock photo is from Unsplash.com. Unsplash is a collection of free, high resolution, “do what you want with” photos. If you would like to also use this lovely photo, it was provided by Ferdinand Stöhr via Unsplash for license-free usage. Find more of Ferdinand’s photos here:
Ferdinand Stöhr

clever chameleon logo Don’t miss a post – follow along by subscribing to this blog. Or follow Clever Chameleon Quilt Colour Inspiration on Pinterest and pin your favourite colour palettes to try later.

P.S. For your convenience, I have placed all the Unsplash photos from Colour Inspiration Tuesdays in one place. Find them easily for free in my Colour Inspiration Collection.

July 4, 2017January 19, 2024

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Red-Eye Flight

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: a free resource of colour combinations to try on your quilts.

Happy Colour Inspiration Tuesday! Today’s palette is “Red-Eye Flight”, inspired by a stunningly intense stare from a bird of prey. This colour scheme is every bit as powerful as the bird looking at you!

Red-eye Flight Owl Colour Inspiration Tuesday color scheme

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Red-Eye Flight

The “Red-Eye Flight” colour palette is black, crimson red, stormy grey, limestone grey, pale grey, sienna and fire orange.

These colours lend themselves to a quilt with a strong geometric design. Or take a leaf out of the bird’s book and use the neutral colours for extensive negative space. Then use reds and oranges to piece or appliqué a minimal but vivid design. The result will be a very strong, modern quilt that will be every bit as attention seeking as the inspiration photo.

This colour scheme a bit too strong for the quilt you want to make next? No worries…..

How about a colour scheme with a bit less contrast? Try the blues of “Blue Fox” combined with the greys of “Red-Eye Flight”. This will still give you a great neutral palette to work into the background. You can use the more gentle blue colours to feature your design. The inspiration in Colour Inspiration Tuesdays is just the starting point. Come up with your own fantastic design ideas to make a unique quilt and impress your friends!

Credit

Today’s intense photo is from Unsplash.com. Unsplash is a collection of free, high resolution, “do what you want with” photos. I am grateful to people who contribute to open source communities, so I would like you to know that this lovely photo was provided by Massimo Mancini via Unsplash. Visit Massimo’s collection here:
Massimo Mancini

For colour inspiration for your quilts in your inbox weekly follow along by subscribing to this blog. Or follow Clever Chameleon Quilt Colour Inspiration on Pinterest and pin your favourite colour palettes to try later.

P.S. If you would like to use Massimo’s photo or another Colour Inspiration Tuesday photo for your own projects, you can easily find all the Unsplash photos from Colour Inspiration Tuesday in one place for free in my Colour Inspiration Collection.

June 27, 2017January 19, 2024

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Autumn Splendour

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: a free resource of colour combinations to try on your quilts.

Welcome back to Colour Inspiration Tuesday. Here in Adelaide we are now officially into winter. But summer lingered this year and there are still some wonderful displays of autumn leaves to be seen. Autumn (or Fall) is especially beautiful in the hills surrounding our city. So, I thought that before all the autumn leaves disappear altogether, I had better pay tribute to the beauty around me. Therefore, today’s palette is “Autumn Splendour”.

The photo I have chosen this week for inspiration, has of course, autumn leaves. But in truth it is as much the autumn colours of the background that really captured my imagination.

Autumn splendour colour palette from Colour Inspiration Tuesday

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Autumn Splendour

The “Autumn Splendour” colour palette is burnt red, orange, coral, dark olive green, light olive green, saddle brown and olive brown.

I can imagine this colour palette being used in a paper pieced maple leaf quilt or a quilt covered in appliqué leaves. Or in blocks made of 2.5″ strips set on the diagonal. It would make a lovely lap quilt in any number of patterns or a wonderful re-interpretation of harvest colours for an original table runner. I’m sure your imagination could run riot with ideas for this colour scheme!

Not ready for Autumn yet? Thinking about Spring instead?

Find a little bit of Spring in the Colour Inspiration Tuesday archives with “Lily Pad Glow“. Softer pinks and greens evoke the feeling of growth and gentle warmth that epitomises the best of Spring.

Credit

Today’s photo of autumn splendour is from Unsplash.com. Unsplash is a collection of free, high resolution, “do what you want with” photos. I love to give credit where credit is due, and am always grateful to people who contribute to open source communities. So I would like you to know that this lovely photo was provided by Aaron Burden via Unsplash. Be sure to check out his collection of photos on Unsplash.

Aaron Burden

Olive green Clever Chameleon Logo For colour inspiration for your quilts in your inbox weekly follow along by subscribing to this blog. Or follow Clever Chameleon Quilt Colour Inspiration on Pinterest and pin your favourite colour palettes to try later.

P.S. If you would like to use Aaron’s photo or another Colour Inspiration Tuesday photo for your own projects, you can easily find all the Unsplash photos from Colour Inspiration Tuesday in one place for free in my Colour Inspiration Collection.

June 20, 2017January 19, 2024

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Knot Dramatic

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: a free resource of colour combinations to try on your quilts.

Another Tuesday, another healthy dose of colour inspiration for your quilts! Today we have a really strong colour palette, called “Knot Dramatic”. Inspired by a crisp photo of a coiled rope with beautiful lighting and textures. It is another blue and brown colour scheme, but in cool rather than warm tones like the lovely “Blue Fox” scheme we had a few weeks ago.

Knot Dramatic colour scheme

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Knot Dramatic

The “Knot Dramatic” colour palette is dark slate grey, gingerbread, coffee, light powder blue, stone blue and aegean blue. It is quite masculine, but would also look wonderful against neutral decor in a living area, or as a throw rug on my dark blue couch.

I think this combination would work best by concentrating on the mid and light tones, using the dark colours more sparingly. There is definitely a risk that too much of the slate grey could dampen the mood of a quilt in the Knot Dramatic colour scheme, but a little would really lift the vibrancy of the rest of the collection. Play with it until you find Your perfect combination!

Don’t need a masculine/neutral colour palette today?

There are much softer, warmer palettes to chose from in the Colour Inspiration Tuesday archives. Perhaps you’d prefer “Purple Tulip” in pinks, purples and greens or the gentle pastel confectionery colours of “Lily Pad Glow“.

Today’s Photo Credit

Today’s stock photo is from Unsplash.com. Unsplash is a collection of free, high resolution, “do what you want with” photos. While there is no obligation for me to tell you where I got this photo, I love to give credit where credit is due. So; this lovely photo was provided by Robert Zunikoff via Unsplash. Robert Zunikoff

Clever Chameleon Logo blue

For colour inspiration in your inbox weekly follow along by subscribing to this blog. Or follow Clever Chameleon Quilt Colour Inspiration on Pinterest and pin your favourite colour palettes to try later.

P.S. If you would like to use Robert’s photo for your own projects, you can find all the Unsplash photos from Colour Inspiration Tuesday in one place for free in my Colour Inspiration Collection.