December 2017 Roundup

December 2017 at Clever Chameleon

One Monthly Goal Check-in and December 2017 Roundup

At the beginning of December I nominated my ongoing Vanuatu Turtle Quilt for my specific One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts. The finished quilt is not due to be linked up at Busy Hands Quilts’ Splash of Color quilt along until January 16. But I know that quilt construction has a habit of expanding to take up all available time. And I want the Vanuatu Turtle quilt done so that I can get on with some other really interesting projects in January. So I decided to bring the “deadline” forward to the 31st December.

So, I am glad to report that the Vanuatu Turtle is finished! 🙂 It measures 60″ square.

Vanuatu Turtle Quilt by Clever Chameleon

Thank you to my dearest husband who eventually managed to help me get this photo under natural light.

I think I may have an opening for a new quilt holder-upperer ….. at first DH was holding this quilt not only upside down but also back-to-front. I honestly thought he was just being facetious……. But, apparently, no. And he swears he reads the blog…..

Vanuatu Turtle Quilt

So there we have it. A finished memento from our family’s work trip to Vanuatu. I’m thankful to Myra of Busy Hands Quilts for running the Splash of Color quit along this year, as without it, the Vanuatu Turtle Quilt would likely never have happened. It would still be like the throw quilt I mean to make from some fabrics I bought in Thailand 3 years ago….

The Vanuatu Quilt – blow by blow

If you’d like to go back and read about the conception, design and construction of the Vanuatu Turtle quilt, here are the relevant posts in order:

Where the Vanuatu Quilt concept started
More about the fabrics and the turtle appliqué pieces cut
Designing the black and white background on the fly
Finishing the black and white quilt top
Adding the first layer of the turtle appliqué
Adding the second layer of the turtle appliqué
Quilting design for the Vanuatu Turtle quilt

I said I was going to find out what being finished early feels like. So. What does it feel like to be done before the last minute? Weird. And slightly sad – I have liked working on this quilt and now it’s over. Perhaps the gasping sense of relief of going down to the wire has its upsides after all! hahahaha. Don’t worry, the melancholy hasn’t lasted – I have so many other projects to turn to. I have already done some therapy fabric cutting today. And not on the project I should be working on either. See, that’s better!

What else happened at Clever Chameleon in December 2017?

Well, we had another 4 Colour Inspiration Tuesdays.

Week 1

We explored the colours of a fake-looking Australian plant called the Wax Flower Plant or Hoya. And we used it as a launch point for a Christmas decoration made of couched thread and beads. Not strictly quilting, but it is a method I use for embellishing quilts, and these ornaments are a good way to get your hand in with this technique.

Christmas Stars color scheme from Clever Chameleon — Christmas Star colour scheme

Christmas Star Ornament — Christmas Star couched thread ornament

This post was a full tutorial, and showed how to make Christmas Trees and Christmas Bells as well.

Week 2

In the second week of December, Kathy of Tamarack Shack Longarm Quilting shared a tip about chalk being visible under blacklight. So I got all excited and the testing of this tip resulted in a blue colour scheme.

Blacklight Blue colour scheme from Clever Chameleon — Blacklight Blue colour scheme

And I received my own blacklight for Christmas. So now I can play with this technique some more. Sweet husbands who can’t tell the front of a quilt from the back still have their uses. hahahahaha. Thanks dearest!

Week 3

I was reading the newsletter from our local state Botanic Garden when I discovered the strangest flower I have possibly ever seen. This flower quacks me up, so I had to feature it on Colour Inspiration Tuesday!

Flying Duck Orchid color scheme from Clever Chameleon — Flying Duck Orchid colour scheme

Flying Duck Orchid colour scheme from Clever Chameleon

I would like to have the time to turn this flower into an appliqué at some point. Just for fun. The flying duck shape of this Australian native orchid is just the start of the strangeness – you can read more about this flower here.

Week 4

This was only yesterday – and we celebrated the colour red in all its glory. This is because we are leading up to the 2018 Monthly Color Challenge. And the first colour off the rank will be red.

Red colour scheme from Clever Chameleon — January is Red colour scheme

Beyond Colour Inspiration Tuesdays

What else happened at Clever Chameleon in December 2017? Well, lots of Vanuatu Turtle quilt construction, but we’ve already covered that. Probably the only thing of note we haven’t covered is that the Vanuatu Turtle quilting post includes a mini tutorial on how to freemotion quilt hibiscus flowers.

I also extended the couched thread Christmas Ornament tutorial to include a fourth variation – a glittery bauble. This was a guest post on Days Filled with Joy blog.

And we have been getting organised to start 2018 at full speed with the Beary Colourful BOM – part of the Monthly Color Challenge at Patterns by Jen.

I hope you will be joining us for this one!

100 Posts!

So, that was December 2017. And this is my 100th post since I started blogging back on the 26th April. It seems very fitting to be able to report a complete quilt finish for my 100th post!

Oh boy, the things I have learned since I launched this blog! And all the amazing people I have “met”! Thank you to all of you for reading my blog and a special thank you to all the people who have connected in some way. I hope that 2018 is going to be a year of great things!

I’m now off to share my December OMG success on Elm Street Quilts.

P.S. In the next few days I also hope to also be participating in several end of year linkys. In particular, Cheryl of Meadow in the Mist is holding a Best of 2017 Linky Party. You might like to head over there now. A collection of the year’s best quilt blog posts ought to be really good reading! And there are several other goal-setting linkys for 2018 which I’d like to sit down and muse over if I can find the time.

P.P.S Also sharing on Freemotion by the River, Quilt Fabrication, Sew Fresh Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Inquiring Quilter, Crazy Mom Quilts, Busy Hands Quilts. and a new linky: Powered by Quilting

P.P.P.S. This post has now been linked up with the Last Splash of Color linky.

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!

December 26, 2017January 19, 2024

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: January is Red!

January is Red color scheme from Clever Chameleon

The last Colour Inspiration Tuesday of 2017, and the first of our 2018 Monthly Colour Inspiration series

In 2018 it is my intention to set aside the last Colour Inspiration Tuesday of each month to look forward to the incoming “Colour of the Month”. The Colour of the Month is the colour that we will focus on each month in Jen Shaffer’s Monthly Color Challenge and blog hop.

The Colour of the Month for January 2018 is Red. And today, being the last Tuesday before January, I am painting the town!

Red mosaic

January is Red. Where can red take us…..?

Red is strong, red is loud and attention seeking. Red is demanding, warning, luring. Red is the colour of danger, the colour of speed and adventure, and the colour of rescue. Red declares the most passionate of loves!

red mosaic

Red is delicious ……. or poisonous. One thing is certain, red is never boring! Red stimulates appetite, causes tension, and generates excitement. Red is the colour of opportunity, wealth and prosperity. Red is glorious.

Red deepens to purple……

red mosaic

….. and lightens to orange.

red mosaic

A little red can go a long way. It loves to accent white, grey and black colour schemes. Red is very powerful.

Red mosaic

It looks great with its complement, green. But blue and red runs deepest in many a people groups’ veins.

red and blue mosaic

Will you be seeing red in January?

Are you joining the 2018 Monthly Color Challenge? If so, where will the colour red take you? A red block for a rainbow quilt? Like Jen’s red block or my red appliqué bear?

Or are you a true lover of red? Whether it is a red block, a red pin cushion, a red pillow or an entire really red quilt. I can’t wait to see what everyone shares!

Join my Beary Colourful BOM in January for the first block… the Red Bear of New Beginnings

Today, red is already in the air at my house. I have been making binding for the Vanuatu Turtle Quilt.

Red fabric strips

If you wish to explore the world of red quilty projects, here are a few to get you started:
My own Vanuatu Turtle Quilt
Red Nanny’s Red Quilt (That Patchwork Principle 2013)
Red Crazy Pieced Quilt (Exuberant Color, Dec 2017)
The Year of the Red and White Quilt (Lynn Carson Harris 2014)
Red & White Patchwork Quilt (Gold Shoe Girl 2016)

I have also started a Pinterest Board dedicated to red quilts and related sewing.

And more Colour Inspiration Tuesdays where we have looked at red include:

Quangdong Christmas color scheme from Clever Chameleon — Quangdong Christmas

Hot Chocolate color scheme from Clever Chameleon — Hot Chocolate

Butterfly Loves Red color scheme from Clever Chameleon — Butterfly Loves Red

Red Eye Flight color scheme at Clever Chameleon — Red Eye Flight

Frosty Berries color scheme from Clever Chameleon — Frosty Berries

Flanders Poppies color scheme from Clever Chameleon — Flanders Poppies

No Red and Blue yet….

It seems we haven’t done blue and red colour scheme yet. We will have to rectify that.

Not long to go now….. 2018 is less than a week away. I have a great feeling that it is going to be a marvellous quilty year! Have you had a think about your goals for 2018 (if you are a goal setting type)? My main quilting goal is to end 2018 with less UFOs than I started with!!!

P.S. All of the red photos featured today are the work of the generous photographers who use the Unsplash distribution platform. If you would like to use any of these photos (they are all free and without strings attached), or find the talented photographers who took them, head over to my Red Collection here.

P.P.S. Sharing on Crazy Mom Quilts

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!

December 19, 2017January 19, 2024

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Flying Duck Orchid

Duck into the Sunset color scheme from Clever Chameleon

Welcome to the last Colour Inspiration Tuesday before Christmas! Only one more and that’s it for the year!

Yesterday I hinted that I had recently found out about an Australian flower that is even more strange than my Hoya wax flower!

The astonishing little plant in question is Caleana major, commonly called the Flying Duck Orchid.

The Flying Duck Orchid

Have a look at it. What else could it possibly be called?!? I have never seen one of these in the flesh, even though they are reportedly endemic to the areas where I spent my youth. Apparently they tend to go unnoticed due to their small size. And they are not particularly common, being one of about 20 Australian native orchids now being seed banked by the South Australian Botanic Gardens to ensure their future.

Don’t you think this flower is amazing? It looks more like a typcal orchid from the front.

But if its shape isn’t enough for you, its behaviour is fascinating too. Apparently the flower is vibration sensitive and the duck head part moves to trap insects inside the flower for a short period. This is to ensure the insects collect and transfer pollen before they leave. But those poor panicked insects were lured there under false pretences in the first place…. this sort of attention seeking in the plant world is known as being “sexually deceptive”. Oh, the secret sordid lives of sawflies and flying ducks!

Where will the Flying Duck Orchid lead?

I love the sunset colours that I have pulled out of one of Peter Woodard’s Flying Duck Orchid pictures that he has kindly placed into the public domain. At their brightest, Flying Duck Orchids exhibit these rich purple, red brown and peach tones. Of course, there are also the bright greens and yellows in this picture that I could play with.

Another of Peter’s pictures has more muted colours, colours that I also adore.

Flying Duck Orchid colour scheme from Clever Chameleon

I think you might understand when I say that I have my plate full at the moment. We all do, this time of year! But I definitely have to bookmark this idea, as I’d love to make an appliqué version of the Flying Duck Orchid sometime later. A cushion project perhaps.

Or perhaps I could use these colours to make something like this fabulous Migrating Geese quilt by Sandra of Musings of a Menopausal Melon- mmm! quilts. That seems appropriate! Sandra has done a fabulous job of her latest flimsy. Go see!

Before you go….

Just to quell any lingering doubts about whether the Hoya from 2 weeks ago is real……. the flowers do perish eventually. ….

spent Hoya flowers

And there are fresh buds coming. I like these nearly as much as the flowers themselves!

Hoya buds

Wishing you many blessings in the lead up to Christmas and New Year.

December 11, 2017January 19, 2024

Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué Finished!

Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué complete

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.

Vanuatu Turtle quilt progress

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.

Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué stage 1

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. 🙂

Vanuatu Turtle quilt top 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.

Vanuatu turtle appliqué layer one — Stitching down the first layer of the Vanuatu Turtle appliqué.

aqua Vanuatu turtle appliqué finished — Aqua layer of the Vanuatu turtle appliqué finished

Vanuatu Turtle appliqué second layer — Laying out the red Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué pieces

Close up of raw edge appliqué — At 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.

Vanuatu Turtle appliqué layer two — This morning…. mild relief as I hit the last appliqué piece.

Vanuatu Turtle appliqué finished — 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.

back of Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué — 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. 🙂

Linking up with: The Quilting Room with Mel, Cooking up Quilts, Love Laugh Quilt, Sew Can Do, Freemotion by the River, Sew Fresh Quilts, Needle and Thread Thursday, Wednesday Wait Loss, Midweek Makers, Confessions of a Quilt Addict, Busy Hands Quilts, Crazy Mom Quilts.

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!

December 7, 2017January 19, 2024

UFO Attack December 2017

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.

black and white quilt in progress — Most of a quilt top

And this is where I need to get to by New Year. A completely finished version of this…..

Vanuatu Turtle quilt plan

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………

turtle applique in progress

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.

And of course, linking up to One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts! There are a lot of goals linked up this month! Go check it out!

Wishing you all a fabulous December!

P.S. Also linking to Confessions of a Quilt Addict, Crazy Mom Quilts

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!

Tag: red

December 2017 Roundup

One Monthly Goal Check-in and December 2017 Roundup

The Vanuatu Quilt – blow by blow