Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

Eco Print art tags # Wilma Simmons  “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”  ―  Rachel Carson ,  Silent Spring Can you hear the songs of spring ?   ( Click here to see more eco prints) Eco Prints  stitched -#Wilma Simmons  Eco print tag -#Wilma Simmons

eco print - marigold, grevillea leaf on khadi paper  Today is the first day of Autumn in the southern hemisphere  Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness  Close bosom friend of the maturing sun....   And still more, Later flowers for the bees,  Until they think the warm days will never cease...  Where are the songs of Spring ? Yellow in all the earth and in the skies  The world would seem  Faint as a widow mourning with soft eyes  And falling into dream . ...  The woods are lovely, dark and deep  But I have  promises to keep And miles to go   Before I sleep .....   Words by John Keats, John Shaw Neilson, Robert Frost Images by me -  (Wilma Simmons, Empress Wu Designs) from my handmade book, Where are the songs of Spring? gum leaf captured between tea bag paper , dipped in beeswax  eco dyed wool with handstitching  tea bag and hand stitching  eco dyed wool, f...

sliced centre of Momordica fruit  Momordica tea - I must admit I had not heard of it until I met a fellow traveller in China recently, and she told me about it. In fact, rather than try to describe it, she sourced some for me  in Sydney and sent me some to try.   Momordica fruit    Here is a description of the fruit , summarised from the Life Rising Tea website  and Wikipedia   The  Momordica or "lo han kuo" is a small gourd-like fruit having an intensely sweet taste, widely used by the South Chinese as a household remedy for colds, sore-throat, and minor stomach and intestinal troubles. In the early fall, Momordica fruit is yellowish-red and found in the south of China. Naturally sweet and delicious. Momordica has been nicknamed "longevity fruit" in China because it is believed that prolonged consumption will result in a long life. The fruit's shape is said to imitate the belly of a Buddha and its   names include arhat f...

Can you guess what sort of tea ? It's cranberry  tea, with a couple of cranberry and pomegranate tea bags thrown in for good colour! Here I have laid down some gum leaves on the fabric, and pressed tea bags over the top, and then taking a few tea bags with a pair of kitchen tongs, I dabbed the fabric .I then traced the outlines and drew the flowers in with a permanent marker. This is a prayer flag I've made for  The Talking Needles Project  held in conjunction with  Timeless Textiles .  This flag with the 100+ others will be auctioned off on Sunday at 2pm - you can even bid online by contacting  Timeless Textiles .

Featuring eco prints by my grandson....  eucalypt leaves, grevillea leaves and Rooibos tea bags on watercolour paper. PostScript .... There was a request to explain how this was done. Watercolour paper folded over, leaves and tea bags placed inside the folded paper. The folded paper was then sandwiched between two pieces of ply board and clamped together with strong paper clip ( we call them 'bulldog' clips) and the whole sandwich was boiled in a pot of water  for about an hour. I learnt this technique from Elizabeth Bunsen who is the master artist of this technique- we have just been playing.

I have been spending a little more time in our garden lately, and have noticed that this week it is definitely showing signs of summer. This morning, I took a break from weeding and photographed  many bushes and trees with their flowers coming to an end after the Spring burst....  like the bottlebrushes (above), shedding their flower spikes; the last Kangaroo paw, waving in the breeze.... and the Dianella droppingtheir bright purple berries ....  but some are still in full bloom like the purple melaleuca.... and the 'Robyn Gordon' grevillea which seems to flower all year round   I want the Australian Christmas bush, with just a few buds opening now, to slow down so it will be beautiful for Christmas....  While most of our garden is native,  the little chameleon roses are blushingly beautiful,  but the summer aphids are also busy as you can see from this photo ... and this year, I planted a hydrangea cutting, and its ...