Mushrooms and Anzacs

Mushrooms in the garden .... we have had some rain in the last week, but these mushrooms are the beautiful hand printed Thea and Sami Fabric. http://www.thea-sami.com.au/ I was fortunate enough to win some of this hand printed linen from Thea's blog giveaway in February, and this is what I made with it.

This woodland elf is an adaptation of Jacquie Lecuyer's pattern, Uma . This was a pattern of the month in January at Hello Dollies http://www.agbhellodollies.blogspot.com/ - my doll group at Anne's Glory Box . My version of Uma not only features the prize fabric, but some my embellished felt and one of my husband's wooden buttons. It is a cloth doll, with a needle sculpted face. I am still very much a beginner as far as needle sculpted faces go, as I tend to make most doll heads from clay, but I like the idea of "soft sculpture" so am determined to keep practising.

Mother's Day is coming up , so with the remnants of the mushroom fabric, I made some very simple little matryoshka dolls. I really enjoyed making these and think I will make some more, with other little bits of leftover fabric I have stashed away because I've liked the prints so much.

Tomorrow is Anzac Day - an important day of remembrance in Australia.for those who have been lost in war. The dawn services and other memorial ceremonies are very moving and allow for serious reflection, but later there is usually time for celebrating mateship and family. Our family love ANZAC biscuits. There are lots of variations of the recipe, and while this one isn't original , it makes the biscuits just the way we like them and we pretend it's healthy because it comes from the Weight Watchers' site.

Anzac Biscuits
POINTS® Value: 2.5

Servings: 18

Preparation Time: 10 min Cooking Time: 15 min

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Fast to make and utterly delicious, these ANZAC biscuits are not too crunchy or chewy, but just right!

Ingredients
1 spray Gold 'n' Canola Canola oil spray
150 g plain white flour, sifted
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 cup rolled oats
100 g butter, melted
2 tbs golden syrup
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Instructions
Preheat oven to 180°C. Spray 2 baking trays with oil and cover with some baking paper.
Mix flour, sugar and oats together in a large bowl until well combined.
Melt butter and golden syrup together. Combine one tablespoon of boiling water with baking soda and add to butter mixture, with vanilla essence.
Mix butter and oat mixture together to form a dough. Drop teaspoonfuls onto baking trays, gently flattening each one. Leave 3cm aside each biscuit for spreading.
Bake biscuits until edges turn golden, about 15 minutes. Let biscuits stand on trays for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool and crisp completely.
Notes
You can also add ½ cup of dessicated coconut to the dry ingredients for a slight change

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

Background Information: Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap. 2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...

Stitched Gardens and Magpies

Magpies are always around in our garden , strutting, poking about for insects and having a splash in the birdbath. They often call if the water is at a low level in the birdbath until one of us replenishes the water supply. It is no coincidence then that they have figured prominently as part of recent little works in the stitched garden series. I also like to include human figures in my gardens, especially taken from old photos of family members. This "impressionist ' stitched garden features my husband's great aunt, Sarah Ann Bath. I like to think of her in this abundant garden , when in reality, she grew up in the early 1900s in rather cramped living conditions in Birmingham UK See more and read more about my stitched gardens - other posts: How does your garden grow with stitch? How does your garden grow with crayons?

Dotee Divertissement

Dotee by Wendy Anderson What is a "dotee' doll? ... A dotee is a mini art doll, meant to be traded or swapped. The dolls 6 inches /15 cm tall or smaller, but the hanger or tail can exceed that measurement. They have a face, but do not require arms or legs. Dotees have a loop for hanging, and come with tails (tails are fibres, ribbon, charms or other string-y things that add to the theme of the doll). Dotees can be made from a variety of materials - fabric, felt, paperclay, yarn, beads, gourds or any other material/media that you can make a doll from. Most dotee makers add buttons, beads, sequins, embroidery, or charms to embellish the doll. Dotee dolls by Wilma Simmons At the February meeting of Gumnut Dollies Newcastle, the group activity was to revisit these little dolls, which were very popular for doll swaps around the world about 10 years ago. As our theme for 2020 is The Twenties, the little flapper girl face buttons were a good start.... Dot...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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