Victorian Lace: Colour & Inspiration Tuesday

Tackling a UFO from the Victorian Era!

Not really. 😀 It’s just an unfinished flimsy from March, but March does seem like ever such a long time ago. Time flies, does it not?

Do you remember my Crazed Diamonds crazy patchwork piece? No?!! 😮 I’d be quite surprised if you did actually, there’s been a lot of water under all manner of quilting bridges since then! But full marks if you have any idea what I am talking about. And bonus points for reading on…..

Secret Crazy Squirrel Business

I’ve been busy finishing off my Crazed Diamonds as a bit of a rushed and sneaky project; hopefully all will be revealed next week. In the meantime I am burning multiple candles at both ends trying to get it done and still keep up with life as a (thankfully temporary) single parent.

Anyway, I have been channelling my inner Victorian era ancestors to get this quilt to completion. After I finished this quilt top in March, I set it aside to decide on the quilting. Of course, that is a bad idea because – there it sat. And sat. However, one of my original thoughts – to use the grey areas for some free motion quilting in a motif reminiscent of Victorian lace – has eventually won.

Having finally decided, I have researched Victorian lace and drawn out a continuous line design for quilting. Here’s another sneak peek.

I’m using HOBBS pure wool batting given to me as an Island Batik Ambassador. Doesn’t it give a great texture? The fabrics are all Island Batik also given to me. The white rayon thread is a Madeira, the variegated rayon thread is a Wonderfil Mirage and the background matchstick quilting is a Rasant poly-cotton (all purchased by me).

Anyway the short of it is – this is a zippy post because I need to take my boy to Scouts, pick him back up, throw a binding on the Crazed Diamonds quilt and hopefully catch some zzzz’s before too long. So while I get sorted, here’s some other fun for you to check out:

A great idea to get more out of your cutting dies!

Last week I told you about a quilting retreat I just went on where we pooled all our AccuQuilt GO! resources. Well, in amongst that fun, I helped Marie (Hi Marie!) cut some leaping frog (affiliate link) silhouettes into paper. Marie said she want to try some printing with her cut-outs, and true to her word, look at the photo she sent me yesterday.

Printed frogs abound!! Isn’t this a clever way to use the appliqué AccuQuilt die shapes!!? I can’t wait to see what all these frogs will become! Thanks for sharing your brilliant idea, Marie.

If you enjoyed reading about our retreat activities last week, Joy has added more details from our play date on her blog since we talked last.

More Quilty Action on the Interwebs

Next on my list of suggested reading, there is still the ongoing Beat the Heat Blog Hop with Island Batik. The second week is finished, but there is still plenty more to come. The latest blog post on Island Batik’s site is a roundup of all the amazing quilts from the second week, and it’s another feast of eye-candy! I know one should not choose favourites, but if I could sneak just one quilt home from last week’s hop participants it would be the Geared Up collection quilt by Michelle Roberts. It’s perfect, go see!

And finally, we obviously can’t let a Tuesday get past us without the Chameleon sticking in his two cents worth……

So here’s his features for this week

Vasudha of Storied Quilts linked up an inspiring idea for featuring fabrics that are almost too awesome to cut up. We’ve all got those in stash right? We buy the most terrific fabric we can see, and then can’t bear to actually use it….. Well not Vasudha – she bought this fabric that she clearly loves and designed this quilt to show it off. I love the way the piecing design plays to the strengths of the fabric surface design – she called the quilt “Interference”. You’ll have to click over to find out why. 😀

Next year the Chameleon might need to make a Shoo Fly quilt. “Why?!” I hear you ask! Afterall, chameleons do not shoo flies. Too tasty!

Well, it’s mostly a story for another day, but the short of it is that our family is planning some big adventures in 2020. Adventures to places where the flies are more sticky than they are here in Adelaide. and while the Chameleon might like flies, I don’t. Besides, it’s never too early to start planning a new quilt, Chris from ChrisKnitsSews is making Shoo Fly blocks, and that has given me an idea……

Did you even know that there is a quilt block called “Shoo Fly”. I am not ashamed to say that I did not until just over a year ago. I actually even remember who introduced me to the Shoo Fly block. It was Ann of Laughing Gas Quilts. She made a Shoo Fly challenge quilt called “Shoo Fly Rosie”. Rosie is a cow. Now you’ll have to look at that too!

But not before you link up!

The Chameleon has brought the snacks, perhaps you could bring the entertainment? Some quilt inspiration would be nice. 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!

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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!