Everyday Quilt Inspiration: Hermit Crabs

Hermit Crabs color scheme from Clever Chameleon

31 Days of Finding Quilt Inspiration in Real Life

Yesterday we stopped for a picnic lunch at a little spot where the beach is accessible, between the two Vanuatu villages we are working in.

Finding Quilt Inspiration in the Everyday: Day 5

Hermit crabs in Vanuatu

Once we had settled and stopped moving around, we discovered that the pebbly beach was swarming with tiny hermit crabs. The smallest were wearing shells of less than half an inch long. The biggest one we found was less than an inch and a half in length. They were fast and shy, disappearing instantly if anyone moved suddenly or cast a shadow over them. Of course, hermit crabs are a novelty to my family. But they are everyday critters for the Ni-Vanuatu villagers here.

How was I inspired by the Hermit Crabs?

Hermit crabs in Vanuatu Well, while the kids ruined their shoes by getting “unintentionally” wet in the ocean, I amused myself by trying to get photos of the tiny, speedy hermit crabs. When I looked at the photos later, I thought several might make good starting points for appliqué designs.

So here is my first mock-up of a design for a hermit crab appliqué from the photo above.

Hermit Crab appliqué design by Clever Chameleon

For the most part I traced the approximate shapes of the crab from the photo.

What about you? Do you use your photos to help you draw appliqués? If you are not a confident drawer, taking pictures of your subjects and tracing them is a good way to generate original designs that mean something special to you. Start with a photo of a loved one, a flower from your garden, a piece of fruit, an interesting leaf, a pet, your favourite ornaments…… the everyday objects around you that you could appliqué are almost endless.

I hope you like hermit crabs. I do.

See you again tomorrow!

P.S. You can find the start of my 31 Days of Everyday Quilt Inspiration blog post series here. Or you can find the Write 31 Days website here, for hundreds more 31-day series on all sorts of topics. Enjoy!

July 25, 2017January 19, 2024

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Frosty Berries

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 well into winter. We haven’t had near enough rain this year, but today is definitely plenty cold, grey and gloomy enough. What better way to warm up the mood and brighten the day a little than to add a little red?! So, here is the Frosty Berries winter palette with red for warmth and spectacular effect against icy greys. Enjoy!

Frosty Berries color palette by Clever Chameleon

Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Frosty Berries

The “Frosty Berries” colour palette includes four shades of grey, ranging from dark grey to a cold, lightly greyed blue. These are paired with three magnificent shades of berry red.

I can equally imagine this colour palette being used in strongly masculine geometric quits, bold modern quilts and stunning appliqué designs. This colour palette is very versatile for anyone who likes the combination of cool neutrals or black & white with red. Just vary the amount of red versus the grey. I’m sure you can find your perfect ratio!

Here are some quick and diverse ideas using the Frosty Berries colour scheme.

Frosty Berries colour scheme - modern quilt layout example — A modern Frosty Berries quilt layout favouring the greys

Frosty Berries colour scheme - masculine quilt layout example — A masculine Frosty Berries quilt layout favouring the reds

Frosty Berries colour scheme - flower appliqué quilt layout example — An appliqué flowers Frosty Berries quilt layout

Frosty Berries colour scheme - flower appliqué with leaves quilt layout example — And obviously the same, but with leaves in the mid-red colour

Not celebrating winter today?

Well, today is pretty exciting because Frosty Berries is the 10th official post in the Clever Chameleon Colour Inspiration Tuesday Series, and the 12th colour scheme to be found among the Clever Chameleon blog posts. So I have put together a post of all the Clever Chameleon colour palettes so far. Have a look and see if anything takes your fancy today! Time to get your imagination on for a new quilt project!

Credit

Today’s photo of Frosty Berries is from Unsplash.com. Unsplash is a collection of free, high resolution, “do what you want with” photos. No credit is demanded, but I love to give credit where credit is due. I 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 Maria Mekht via Unsplash. Be sure to check out her collection of photos on Unsplash.
Maria Mekht

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 Maria’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 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

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.