lunarcy quilt Archives - Page 4 of 6 - Clever Chameleon Quilting

July 7, 2020January 19, 2024

Guiding Lights: Colour & Inspiration Tuesday

Lighthouse colour board at Clever Chameleon

It’s the school mid-year break, so I have plaaaaans!

Since my days have been gifted back to me for a fortnight, I am going to …

finish all the appliqués on the Lunarcy quilt!
get ahead on my study assignments!
finally answer the comments from my last two posts! Got a bit behind there, sorry.
do more exercise!
win the lottery!
bake a whole batch of Sky Pies for the freezer!

LOL. All seriously and increasingly unlikely, but a Chameleon can dream. Since I don’t buy lotto tickets, that second-to-last one can probably be safely ruled out. But some things have to happen, so they will somehow happen. Particularly, I want the Lunarcy flimsy finished before school goes back. I’m headed in the right direction: here’s this week’s finish, the Year of the SSSSnake block.

Snake appliqué at Clever Chameleon Quilting

Mr(s?) Snake has the same shape of eye as everyone else on this quilt, but somehow (s)he looks uniquely angry. Or perhaps up to no good. Definitely not happy. I guess I got it at the wrong angle? Or perhaps just shaped it too flat? Don’t know, I don’t think it looked like that on my blueprints. Never mind, it doesn’t matter, the quilt is coming along nicely overall. One animal’s strange expression isn’t going to stand out when it’s finished, surely. It will be fine!

June 30, 2020January 19, 2024

Grumpy Sunflowers: Colour & Inspiration Tuesday

I was going to pass. No blogging this week….

The Chameleon was just not in the mood. Grumpy. Not enough sewing, for one. My laptop ate my homework for another (no joke, literally corrupted my assignment during the last save, between proofread and submit….(&*$%@!!!) and we are all suffering varying degrees of end-of-school-term-itis here, etc etc. Nothing serious. Just pecked to death by the gloom duck, even after hubby helped me retrieve *most* of my assignment from wherever it is that corrupted files go to die.

But then I read through the link ups at last week’s Colour & Inspiration Party and felt sooo much better. Little rays of sunshine everywhere, encouraging the Chameleon to lighten up.

From this…. (perhaps not really quite this bad!)…..

To this….. (also maybe not quite this sunny, but you get the idea).

And, I thought, if I needed a bit of eye-candy to help get things going in the right direction again, then maybe so does at least one of the Chameleon’s quilty friends. So, the Chameleon is showing up and getting on with it. I have actually finished the next block on the Lunarcy Quilt (Year of the Horse). Done in advance, as I knew this week wouldn’t likely be pretty, even before I naively underestimated the curve balls. Thankfully I worked really hard last week to get ahead. And of course, when all else fails we can always Party! 😀

June 23, 2020January 19, 2024

Winter Solstice: Colour & Inspiration Tuesday

Moth at Arkaroola colour board at Clever Chameleon

Desert winters are nothing if not unpredictable

Winter is a funny thing in the desert. The nights are mostly bitterly cold, while the days are pleasantly warm. But very occasionally we get a wind blowing in with heat from somewhere, and the night can stay ‘balmy’ for many hours after sunset. We had one of those evenings on Friday night. While the freezing cold nights (think frozen water pipes) are bug-free, warmer evenings bring small collections of brave new winter visitor species we haven’t seen before. Mostly lazy moths decorated in interesting patterns, like this pretty little thing that reminds me of a seventies carpet rug.

On a tree or a bush, I reckon this little guy could teach the Chameleon a thing or two about camouflage. Instead he seemed to be taking lessons from the Chameleon on standing out. Why let all that wonderful patterning go to waste?

What a load of……

Ummmm….. Ox?

Year of the Ox that is. I’m halfway through the sewing of the Lunarcy quilt and still accelerating. You will have to forgive me if next week is a bust though, as the kids have an itinerant teacher visit for the next few days. All bets are off as to what will or won’t get done.

But, as promised, the top half of the Lunarcy quilt is done this week (except the flower centres). Also, another promise: I am not going to beguile you further with insect stories today. Ok, maybe one butterfly birth. But nothing scary or creepy. How about a short walk around the southern side of Griselda Hill into a slightly damp microclimate instead?

June 16, 2020January 19, 2024

Arkaroola Birds: Colour & Inspiration Tuesday

Mallee parrot colours at Clever Chameleon

Thirsty, Busy, Romantic Visitors

June seems to be nesting season at Arkaroola. There are lots of pairs of birds around, and I’ve even been seeing a few different species collecting nesting materials. A Little Crow went past my lounge room window on the weekend with several large sticks in its beak. The Mallee Ringneck Parrots seem to be collecting moss or lichen from my roof. And all the lads have started trying to impress their dinner dates by bringing them to the very exclusive Chameleon’s freshwater café and bar.

The nights here have become very cold recently, which causes water to condense on our roof and verandahs. It is also increasingly dry here again, so this condensation seems to be an important source of morning water for the local birds. So, when the conditions are just right, we get a queue of feathered visitors to drink from our gutters. Most are very camera shy, and flee at the first scent of paparazzi, so it has been challenging to get good photos. But I have managed to snap and identify a few of the different species.

The handsome fellow in our colour board is a Mallee Ringneck Parrot. He brought a lady friend, but she stayed on the roof out of sight until they were ready to leave. He posed for just long enough to get a couple of pics for the society pages. My other recently identified visitors include Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters, White-plumed Honeyeaters, and Purple-backed Fairywrens. The Crested Pigeons and Willie Wagtails continue to visit too.

In the sewing room, I’m still making good progress on the Lunarcy quilt. The cold nights that are watering the birds are also playing havoc with my bobbin tension though….. so sewing is off the menu until the ambient temperature rises each morning. Not that I am often allowed to touch the quilt until Mr Mew is warm anyway.

June 9, 2020January 19, 2024

Ladybirds for Luck: Colour & Inspiration Tuesday

Ladybug colour board at Clever Chameleon

Ladybirds for Luck

So…… This week, things are going pretty well here…… Covid restrictions easing. My latest assignment written (and submitted!) on time. Three more blocks on the Lunarcy finished….. which gives me some breathing space to do some of the pattern writing for a change. And a four day weekend due to a public holiday yesterday combined with a student-free day today…. Puts me in the mood for a lighthearted look at Lady Luck, since that’s where the themes in my sewing room, the great outdoors and my linky inbox seem to intersect this week.

Why luck? The Chameleon doesn’t strike you as being overly superstitious, (unless it suits him), you say? Ladybugs, that’s why. They are the latest nice thing to arrive in my desert backyard in numbers large enough for me to notice. The ladybugs here in Arkaroola are smaller than at home in Adelaide, and are quite a fabulous orange, with large “three-lobed” markings. They are the Transverse Ladybird, or Coccinella transversalis, whereas the ones further south are the Large Spotted Ladybird, and are, well, larger and more spotted.

Lucky Charms

Ladybirds are lucky in many cultures, and widely popular as a good luck charm. Good for the garden, and cheery to look at. When I am finished the Lunarcy project, I am tempted to work some ladybird luck into my sewing room next. I am still thinking to design some extra blocks to accompany a paper-pieced garden block I have just developed for Seams to be Sew’s row-along in September. Ladybugs are right at the top of my ideas list. It seems to me that a Ladybug quilt is a must have in one’s gifting repertoire….. Going on a new adventure? – Cool, here’s a ladybug quilt for prosperity in your new place. Getting engaged or married?…. Everyone needs a bit of luck to kickstart the journey. A quilt for comfort in health challenges? Ladybugs are never in bad taste.

Actually, the Chameleon says ladybugs have a very bad taste indeed. Lucky for them, I reckon.

Do you know what else is supposed to be lucky? A rabbit’s foot.