New Design Release - Mountain Devil

Happy New Year to everyone and welcome to the release of my first design for 2016 - the Mountain Devil flower. 

I agree that the name is unusual and dramatic and perhaps conjures images of witchcraft but rest assured it is derived from the horned woody follicles which retain a seed bank in its canopy and released after bushfires.  What I find so absolutely fascinating with some of our wildflower bushes are their ability to regenerate and re-establish after the heat and intensity of our harsh bushfires. 

This showy flower, consisting of seven individual tubular flowers, has a common name of Honey Flower and produces an abundance of sweet nectar which attracts a variety of native birds, eg. honeyeaters, noisy miners, little wattlebirds and eastern spinebills. The multi-stemmed bush spreads to a height of two metres with stiff, narrow leaves and showy pink to red flowerheads.  It is endemic to New South Wales and found on or to the east of the Great Dividing Range growing in sandy or rocky soils of open forests.

My cross stitch design has depicted the colours of this wildflower by using 11 colours to match as closely as possible to its natural counterpart.  The design uses 39 x 48 stitches and when stitched on 14 point Aida or 28 count evenweave fabric measures 71 x 87mm (2.8 x 3.4 inches).  As with all my designs, it is available in kit, chart or PDF.

A Google search of Australian Bush Flower Essences found an interesting fact for the Mountain Devil flower.  It states that the essence from this flower helps to deal with feelings of hatred, anger, jealousy and the major blocks to expressing love and for people who tend to be suspicious of others by helping to develop unconditional love and acceptance.  It also states that it helps to express anger in a healthy way and develop sound boundaries and may open the way to forgiveness.

Whether you believe is up to you but what a magical flower if found to be the case.  We live in a world today where we certainly could use more love and acceptance of others.

Ros

'From a little spark may burst a mighty flame' - Dante

Design Release - Strawflower

Today I am excited to release a design which I have been working on over the past couple of weeks - the Strawflower.  I am also just as proud to mention that this design was inspired by beautiful strawflowers that I have growing in my garden at the moment with the photos below being proof.

Blooming in differing shades of both pale and bright colours they certainly make a striking display in the garden.  What has amazed me though is that, although they flower best in the hot summer months, these beauties have thrived during our winter and in a position that hasn't been receiving much sunlight. 

Strawflowers are found Australia wide growing in many different habitats from rainforests to deserts to subalpine areas and provide a food source for butterflies, bees and insects.  They are a herbaceous shrub growing to a height of up to 80cm high and have lovely leafy green foliage.  But what makes these little beauties so special is the different texture of their petals (or bracts) which are stiff, papery and dry making them a perfect long lasting flower.  Touching them actually does feel like very light cardboard yet they are quite strong and it is because of this texture that they are ideal as dried flowers and for use in the cut flower industry.

Replicating the sharp edges of the strawflower was a challenge when designing this flower and my aim, as always, is to be as authentic as possible so some stitchers may find the design a little intricate.  This is probably the only wildflower design where the availability of different colours for a flower have been included in the one design and therefore a total of 13 colours have been used.  

But with such an array of colours to choose from to portray the Strawflower, it was just too difficult for me to decide on just one.  Or......maybe.....it was just an excuse for the artist in me to experiment with colours and my stash!!!

Ros

'Flowers are those little colourful beacons of the sun from which we get sunshine when dark, sombre skies blanket our thoughts' - Dodinsky