Countdown to Christmas 8 - Where in the world?

from http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/barker/christmas/christmas.html
Christmas Cake in Four Quarters

Where else in the world is the Christmas fruitcake? Here are just a few of the more well known....

Germany: Stollen is a traditional fruitcake for Christmas. It is loaf shaped and dredged with powdered icing sugar. The most famous recipe is the Dresden stollen sold at the equally famous Christmas markets. However, I tasted an absolutely scrumptious stollen just a couple of days ago (right in the heart of Newcastle NSW Australia) and that's what inspired this blog post.

Italy : I think they like fruitcake in Italy? Panforte is a heavy Tuscan cake , from the traditions of 13th century, heavily spiced and baked in a shallow pan. Panettone is a another sweet fruit cake, made with dried and glace fruits. Also well known is the fruitcake from Genoa. I remember it filled with lots of glace cherries, but I am not sure if this is what is called Pandolce.

Ireland: Barmbrack was traditionally eaten at Halloween - a fruitcake with special charms which predicted the fortune of the person who ate the slice of cake.

"Barmbrack is a traditional Irish cake eaten on holidays. After pouring into the prepared pan, it is tradition to add objects to the barmbrack which symbolize certain things for the person who receives each in their slice. Thoroughly clean objects before adding them to the barmbrack. These objects can be pressed into the bottom of the loaf after baking instead: coin-wealth or good fortune; ring-will marry within the year; bean-poverty; pea-will not marry within the year; matchstick-unhappy marriage; thimble-single for life." from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/162072/irish-barmbrack/

Portugal : Bolo Rei ( the King's cake) has its origins in France, but is now a popular cake for Christmas. It is usually made with a hold in the centre - a crown - with lots of crystallized fruits and nits. A fava bean ( broad bean) is usually placed inside the cake and whoever receives the bean makes the bolo rei for the following year. The story of the bean dates back to the Magi, who supposedly met a baker on their way to greet the Baby Jesus, and he gave them a cake with a bean baked inside . The baker told them whoever got the bean had to give Jesus the first gift.

Spain : Bollo de Higo ( Fig bun) is a traditional fruit cake with figs, other dried fruits and nuts, shaped by hand into a roll. I have never tasted this, but others say it is a little like Italian panforte.

I am sure there are many other countries who have a fruitcake tradition, and of course I will devote a whole post to the English tradition later in the blog, but these are the ones I think are most known....

However, I came across the digital book :Christmas Cake in Four Quarters (1871) where the story wanders from England, to Jamaica, to India and to New Zealand.... so something for you to follow up if you are interested in the multi-cultural experiences of Christmas fruitcake.
Tomorrow :? It will be a surprise for you and me!

Bilby Infatuation

Wrapped wire and fabric bilby sculpture : Wilma Simmons 2016 Over the years I have been fascinated with the plight of the bilby and it has inspired quite a few of my cloth creations... With long pinkish-coloured ears and silky, blue-grey fur, the Bilby has become Australia’s version of the Easter Bunny. Unlike the rabbit, bilby numbers are falling rapidly. There were originally two species but the Greater Bilby is now commonly referred to simply as ‘the Bilby’ as the Lesser Bilby (Macrotis leucura) is thought to have become extinct in the early 1950s... Bilbies are nocturnal, emerging after dark to forage for food. Using their long snouts, they dig out bulbs, tubers, spiders, termites, witchetty grubs and fungi. They use their tongues to lick up grass seeds. Bilbies have poor sight and rely on good hearing and a keen sense of smell. To minimise threats from predators they’ll mostly stay within 250m of their burrows, but sometimes roam further afield depending on the food...

"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 ...

Non-Committal Collage Anything Goes

Have you heard of non-committal collage? I hadn't until one of the other participants of the 100 Day Project started doing this each day and showing the results.... Here are Peggy's rules : 1. S elect 9 scraps of paper from collage box/stash 2. Make three different compositions using each scrap at least once. (some pieces can be used more than once) 3. Do not alter the scraps of paper in any way. 4.Do not use glue. 5.Take photo, disassemble and return scraps to box. I thought this would be a fun and quick exercise to do for Tag Tuesday's theme , Anything Goes... so here are my "non-committal collage" tags.... Did you spot the nine pieces? Would you like to suggest some titles? And I repeated the exercise before putting back the 9 scraps of paper, so these are different items. Hope you will try this exercise - it is lots of...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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