Green Hearts: Colour & Inspiration Tuesday

Green patchwork colours at Clever Chameleon

Green for Solidarity and Caring

Several days ago I found out about the Healing Hearts for Christchurch initiative. It is a drive to make and distribute quilts to the people most affected by the recent terror attack in Christchurch.

I decided that I would like to support this group of caring quilters on their quest to show love, respect, acceptance, and support to those affected within the Muslim community. They are also reaching out to the first responders, emergency services personal and ongoing support workers of Christchurch. So today, my friend Susan and I started turning our green fabric scraps into a quilt top to send to New Zealand via Healing Hearts. It is going to have improv pieced green appliqué hearts alternated with green nine-patches. The green is used at the request of the drive organisers. I’m hoping to get this project in the post by the end of the week.

Hearts and nine-patches

If you’d like to join me in this, the information for contributions to Healing Hearts for Christchurch can be found here on Facebook. Initially the request was specifically for green hearts for Islamic recipients, but they are now also taking donations of all colours, as they wish to support other affected community members too. Susan and I have a big tub of green fabric pieces, so we decided to stay within the green theme.

Green fabric scraps

I chose a selection of fabric pieces and ironed them…..

Green fabric scraps

…..while Susan put my Accuquilt GO! through its paces, cutting 2.5″ squares. We also used a little of the white batik-weight cotton I have from Island Batik as the background fabric.

Accuquilt turning scraps into patches

I then improv pieced smaller green pieces and strings into a new piece of fabric while Susan traced hearts onto fusible adhesive. The pieced scraps look like beautiful fields as seen from the air!

improv pieced green scraps

This patched piece was big enough to cut out nine of the 21 appliqué hearts we have planned. I fused the traced shapes onto the reverse side of this patchwork and Susan cut them out.

Green scrap hearts for appliqué

By the end of the day we also had constructed about half of the nine-patches we need.

Green hearts and nine-patches

Hopefully I will be able to report this little project finished by the end of the week.

That’s my week looking forward. Here’s a summary of the Chameleon’s week looking back….

Last week our Chameleon was inspired to change his name!

….to Timothy Q. Chameleon.

Hahahaha. Do you know why? If you know your Disney movies from the 1940s, you will….. of course, it’s a reference to the mouse in the original film of “Dumbo”.

Roseanne’s One Monthly Goal finish, a Dumbo panel baby quilt is just the cutest thing. I hope you follow darling Roseanne and her quilting adventures at Home Sewn by Us. But if not, now is the time to pop over and take a look at her recent projects, including Dumbo.

I once owned a vinyl record of the Dumbo soundtrack and a read-along book – so Dumbo was a part of my childhood and I could not resist this chance to make him part of my blog too. Thanks Roseanne!

The Chameleon also spied lots of monochrome projects in this week’s links (although no green ones)

Jen's Blue Clever Chameleon

Blue: Jen at De Jong’s Dream House has finished and gifted her piano quilt. I know we featured this amazing quilt at the flimsy stage, but……. It is now finished, and it has had adventures, and it’s been gifted. If you only read one other blog post today, this has to be it. Yup, it’s a corker.

Amazing Piano quilt by Jen of De Jong's Dream House
Eve's Clever Chameleon

Purple: Eve of Destruxion at Patches of Destruxion is making a halloween version of Willyne Hammerstein’s La Passacaglia…. with fussy cut eyes and skeletons and pumpkins and all sorts. It’s not all purple, but this rosette is very purple. The overall quilt going to be insane! Who am I kidding? It’s already insane, in a terrific, impressive, I want to make one too kind of way!

Halloween La Passacaglia at Patches of Destruxion
Kathleen's pink Clever Chameleon

And Kathleen of Kathleen McMusing linked up her Vintage Reimagined quilt from the Island Batik Ambassadors March challenge. She very cleverly used a checkerboard batik print to replace the original pattern’s 25-patch squares. What a time saver!

I also learnt from Kathleen about Chrome Orange dye from the 1800s….. I really hope people in the future will be as incredulous about our use of plastics as we are now of the past uses of lead-based chemicals. Go check out the quilt Kathleen used as inspiration and admire her modern take on it.

Kathleen McMusing's Vintage Reimagined quilt

And then…..

Tell us…. What’s got your sewing attention this week?

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!

  • 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!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


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!

8 Replies to “Green Hearts: Colour & Inspiration Tuesday”

  1. Wonderful that you were able to make that top with your friend. It feels good to do something to comfort people who were subjected to these senseless, violent crimes. AHH, and thanks for the lovely chameleon – looks great in grey and pink! Haven’t seen a checked chameleon in nature, kind of what people are saying about the checked batiks. Thanks again featuring my blog.

  2. You continue to amaze and inspire me with your generosity and thoughfulness about the world around you! Thanks so much for reminding each of us that it’s the little things that often mean the most and touch hearts and change lives.

  3. Hi Dione! Aww, thank you so much for sharing Dumbo and the shout out. That is so nice of you, but of course I shouldn’t be surprised because that’s how you roll. Just like making the green hearts piece. I have never made my own fabric as you have, but I sure am drawn to it. It does look exactly like the fields as you flyover them from a airplane. I am 100% sure that someone will take great comfort from your finished piece, and I cannot wait to see it soon. Happy Tuesday to you. ~smile~ Roseanne

  4. As an American, it breaks my heart that your beautiful country has been marred by such a senseless tragedy. It is jarring for me to realize that when (not if) these things happen, my first thought as a quilter is, “How I can help make quilts for those affected?” I love your generosity.

    And thank you for featuring my piano quilt again. I was so grateful when the folks at Steinway invited us to take pictures at their gallery. What an experience!

  5. Your green hearts quilt is perfect… I wanted to make one but may have run out of time… Love the piano quilt, it’s amazing! xx

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