New Design Release - Pink Mulla Mulla

So very pleased to release a new design today - the Pink Mulla Mulla.  It is found widespread across Australia in arid and semi-arid areas in a range of habitats requiring good soil drainage in sunny and open positions and grows to a height of 1.5 metres.

I remember the first time I set eyes on this pretty little plant.  My family had taken a trip to the Brisbane Mt. Coot-tha Botanical Gardens to the Australian Natives area for a picnic morning tea.  Amongst the varieties of banksias, grevilleas and bottlebrushes, etc. were these Pink Mulla Mullas and I simply fell in love with them.  They look as though their flowerheads would be spiky and sharp but on the contrary they are so soft and fluffy and sway ever so gently in the breeze.   Imagine my sheer unadulterated excitement ... (ahem - my 'delight' - I don't want to come across as a total flower nerd) ... when I found a couple of these plants at my favourite plant nursery soon after.  Of course like a shoeaholic - if that's a word - I just had to buy a couple and plant them in my native garden.  Yes they flowered for a length of time enough for me to admire and enjoy, but then died so were sadly dug out. 

My research showed Greek and Latin origins for the botanical name of Ptilotus nobilis - Mulla Mulla.  Ptilon (Greek) meaning down or feathers - reference to the appearance of the flowers and nobilis (Latin) meaning notable or famous which refers to the flowering habit of the plant.

I spent quite a bit of time perfecting the Pink Mulla Mulla cross stitch design.   It was vital to achieve it's unique shape and colouring and the all important spiked effect.  The design is 58 x 109mm (2.3 x 4.3in) or 32 x 60 stitches in dimension and contains 9 colours.  

 
Think it might be time for another picnic morning tea visit to the Gardens again!!

Ros

Fringe Benefits

Over the past few months my husband and son have been creating magic in our front yard by building raised garden beds and replacing dated framed lattice panels with wooden slats all of which is giving a fresh and modern appearance to the house - and, may I add, some wonderful compliments to the 'carpenters' from our neighbours.  My part in all of this landscaping project is to oil the wooden slats for weather protection and select plants for the garden beds - a job which I have undertaken with much relish.  

I decided to fill the beds with native plants and delighted in the task of visiting the plant nursery to choose suitable plants.  As time goes on and my natives flourish they will form the subject of other posts, but for today I would love to highlight a pretty and delicate flower which, up until I saw it at the plant nursery, didn't realise its quaint size.  It is in fact one of my earliest designs - the Fringe Lily - and I must admit that when I saw it, I just knew I had to buy it (much like a pair of shoes or dress) because it is such a sweet little flower.

There are a cluster of buds on a stem and each flower only blooms once but they don't all bloom at the same time so each new day brings a new and perfect bloom.  It took about a whole week for this particular cluster to complete flowering with about four blooms each day and there are a couple of smaller clusters still yet to flower.  The flower itself is about the size of a thumbnail but what I found absolutely unusual was the pretty frilled fringe around each petal and the gorgeous colour.

My cross stitched design of the Fringe Lily depicts the actual flower perfectly with its markings and colourings and the frilled edge. It contains 9 colours and measures 82 x 73mm (3.2 x 2.9in) in size and there is currently a Fringe Lily card for sale in my Etsy shop on purple cardboard.

I don't seem to recall the flower having a fragrance, but I think we can forgive it for that when it produces such beauty and provides such pleasure.

Ros

'Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.' - Judy Garland

Design Release - Boronia

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and so in keeping with the recognised colour of pink associated with breast cancer I thought it appropriate to release a new design - the Boronia.  

                         

Boronias grow as low shrubs in open forests and woodlands and belong to a family of approximately 95 species Australia wide.  The species of Boronia chosen for my particular design - Boronia safrolifera (or commonly known as Safrole Boronia) - grows mostly in south-east Australia in moist soils but can also be found in protected areas of swamp regions of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland.  It has a pretty and dainty star-like shaped flower ranging in colour from deep to pale pink with a beautiful perfume which is harvested for its well-known essential oil qualities and strongly-scented aromatic leaves commonly used in potpourri.  An interesting fact is that the Boronia was named after an 18th century Italian botanist Fransesco Borone.

My cross stitched boronia measures 54 x 78mm (if stitched on 14 point Aida) or 30 stitch width x 43 stitch height dimensions and consists of 9 colours.  Small white and lemon french knots placed in the centre of each open flower complete the design.  Easily and quickly stitched, this design would be beautiful for any floral enthusiast.

Ros

'Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength' - Francis de Sales

A Bed of Roses

Today I would like to share with you an embroidery project I recently completed - one which gave me much pleasure to work as it incorporated basic stitching techniques, beautifully coloured variegated thread and a flower design.  Anyone who knows me by now will understand my undisputed love of flowers - any flowers - and this rose floral design was something I just couldn't overlook because it was discovered at a time when I had just bought a new doona cover and pillowcases for our updated bedroom and you guessed it .... the bed linen set consisted of roses - antique roses to be precise.  My creative imagination immediately knew it would make a perfect addition to the bed as a rectangle cushion.  And so the fun began.

The pattern is one of Aunt Martha's hot iron transfers where the design is cut and placed on fabric to your own specification.  My choice of hand dyed Australian threads from Cottage Garden Threads were Wattle Blossom (309) - gold, Ash (201) - green, Grand Ridge (411) - purple/brown and Dahlia (909) - pink. These were worked entirely in double strand over the whole design and as you can see by the following close-up photos, the variegated thread helped create an interesting and natural colour blend.

I chose to stitch the roses (Dahlia) and bird (Wattle Blossom) in stem stitch and the rose leaves (Ash) outlined in a small blanket stitch with vein detail in backstitch. The daisies (Grand Ridge) were worked in a very fine chain stitch with satin stitch centres and straight stitch for the detail and the daisy leaves (Ash) in satin stitch.  The rose stems (Ash) were also stitched in stem stitch.  

All was stitched on a natural cream homespun fabric and as I had found a perfectly matching length of rose design fabric, decided to use that as the backing for the cushion and used a couple of pretty buttons from my stash to secure the flap after placement of the insert.  

I guess it only seems appropriate to highlight a project depicting roses so close to Valentines Day, but this beautiful cushion adorns our bed each and every day of the year and is a constant reminder of the many hours of relaxation that went into its creation.

Ros

'Earth laughs in flowers' - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Snow Flake Bush

Over the last week or two winter has well and truly arrived in Brisbane (even though we are still officially in Autumn) and one of the best things about winter in the tropics is that we have the most glorious of days with minimal rainfall and warming sunshine. Although a lot of trees may lose their leaves during this time, one bush that makes an appearance with a spectacular display - if only for a short time - is the Snow Flake Bush.  They are in full bloom everywhere in our neighbourhood at the moment and so I thought I would feature this flowering bush whilst currently at its most beautiful.  

Originating from Central America, the Euphorbia leucocephala bush is grown in many countries and as such has been given many common names, a couple being 'Snows of Kilimanjaro' and 'Pasquita', but here in Australia we are familiar with the name of 'Snow Flake'.  Closely related to the Poinsettia flower, this bush is a low maintenance shrub growing 1.5 to 2 metres in height and 2 to 3 metres in width in full sun to semi-shade and will suit an average garden, however, it doesn't tolerate frost.  Its best climate is in areas north of Sydney and Perth and mostly dominates the coastal perimeter.

The pretty creamy/white, petal-like bracts are dense blooming and cover the entire plant in fragrant flowers which attract butterflies and flower only during Autumn and Winter (April to July) when the days are shorter and there is the least amount of daily sun.  After flowering, the bush loses its leaves for a short while before again greening up from Spring onwards for the remainder of the year.  The stems contain a milky sap which could irritate some sensitive skins therefore it's advisable to wear protective gloves when pruning or taking cuttings.

All of these above photos were taken in my local street and considering we live in a tropical climate of extreme heat, cyclones and severe electrical storms and don't really experience bitterly cold winters, I find it wonderful to dream of being surrounded by 'snow flakes' even if it is a bush and only for such a short time.

Ros

"Failing to try is far worse than trying and failing" - Bryce Courtenay