Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

The appearance of wattle flowers seems to cheer up the Australian landscape.... apparently it's true that somewhere in Australia at any time of the year, one species of wattle is in bloom.  That's probably not a surprise if you consider there are at least 1000 species of wattle native to Australia, adapted to flowering in all seasons, in all climate zones.  The word "wattle'  often refers to the framework of interwoven sticks or branches. The early settlers'  "wattle and daub" houses - composite buildings of wood and mud are today highly considered as a sustainable alternative to less eco- friendly building techniques.  Long before British settlement, indigenous Australians  had discovered the many uses of  the Acacia (wattle species )  - food, medicine, utensils, weapons, musical instruments, and ceremonial decoration.  While Masterchef has introduced many of us to recipes using wattle seed, the Australian Aborigines prepared and ate wattle ...

After making a tag for Tag Tuesday's theme Bunnies and Butterflies and changing the theme to suit myself to Bilby and Butterfly, I decided to make a few more as I had the fabric out on my work table. ...  So here is another bilby friend and a possum - still chasing butterflies.  And not being able to stop there , I took out some more fabric from my stash to add a couple of koala friends, delighting  in their playtime with butterflies.  You could also try making some fun tags as gifts for friends - just cut out some motifs from print fabric and use iron on double sided adhesive to the fabric and attach in layers to the cardboard tag.  These tags are available in my Etsy shop - free postage within Australia.

At Tag Tuesday , the current theme is Bunnies and Butterflies.... a celebration of Spring.   This is a heat appliqued fabric tag with an Australian touch.  While I love Michele's theme and have nothing against bunnies,  I have not really kept exactly to the Tag Tuesday theme  - my tag is a Bilby and Butterfly.  Why?    For some years, I have been supporting "Save the Bilby" fund - a campaign to save a native endangered animal and its habitat. A bilby is a small marsupial and it has long ears like a rabbit. Especially at Easter, the campaign increases its presence, with chocolate bilbies instead of bunnies.  Hope I am forgiven for going off on a tangent with my tag?  More info about Bilbies - here 

The twelve days of Christmas are the twelve days between Christmas Day, 25 December   and the Epiphany, 6 January,  the day Christians celebrate the arrival of the Magi (Wise Men) .     The Christmas song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is a well known song which enumerates gifts, each day something more elaborate. There are many parodies .... here   is a modern Australian version. However, the song  actually had its origins in religious symbolism - and with a serious purpose.  It dates from a time of religious persecution. The song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," was written as a kind of secret catechism that could  be sung in public without fear of arrest - a learning or memory aid to Christians.  

Christmas Countdown ... 13....  Christmas beetle is the common name for an Australian beetle Anonplognathus.  They are known as Christmas beetles because they are abundant in both urban and rural areas close to Christmas   Christmas beetles are large (20-30 mm long) members of the scarab family that are noisy and clumsy fliers. They are easily spotted in the sunshine because of their iridescent colours. It's not all good news about Christmas beetles, as some of the species have been implicated in dieback of Australian eucalypt trees. 

Fabric_-Animotion 1994  Further adventures in Australia of the Traveling Art Doll.( please see the previous posts for more information - Australian Inspired Traveling Art Doll  and  Art Dolls Only Traveling Art Doll )  Today is Anzac Day, so it was a quiet afternoon and  I set to completing Lulu's doll. Here is what she looked like early this morning. As Lulu lives in USA, I wanted to give this doll an Australian touch ,too.  Lulu's doll as she arrived.  I had intended to use the"Yalke" design fabric which I used on Martha's doll but once I held it against her body, with the fringed yarn already in place, it just didn't seem to work. This doll has a "spirit" look and I first thought of the Australian classic children's novel, "Playing Beatie Bow"  about the ghost girl who couldn't find her way back to 1873....  No....calico pinafore - a bit boring!  Then I remembered a vintage looking piece of Australiana fabric with...

Ever wonder what to say when someone asks what is your national food? Is it a meat pie? pavlova? BBQ? Vegemite? We settled for a lamington , so as not to assault the taste buds too much too soon ... This week, the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar from Japan arrived . Mayuko is a really delightful, confident and engaging young woman who will be studying for her Master's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language at the University of Newcastle. Have you heard of this program ? It is the world's largest privately funded international scholarship program which has sponsored, since 1947, nearly 38,000 men and women from 100+nations to study abroad, generally completing post graduate degrees. The purpose of Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships is to further international understanding and friendships among people of different countries and geographical areas. While abroad,the scholars serve as goodwill ambassadors to the host country, and upon returning home, the scholars share the exp...