Wednesday, August 3, 2011

eucalyptus flowers


I made this some time ago and it stays on the shelf in my sewing room.  the stem and one leaf are stitched onto brown wool felt.


The upper leaf is worked as a detached element on calico using gumnut silk threads.






The caps on the top of the flowers are worked using green felt and silk threads.

The flowers are made using red silk threads bound together, similar to making a tassel, and these were inserted in the caps and then stitched to the stem.

I added some fabric stiffener to the ends of the flowers to keep them in place.

Although this is such a simple piece I am very pleased with it.

The variety of flowering eucalypts is extensive and always interesting.  They attract nectar loving birds and provide colour in the garden.  Many of the trees have interesting leaves and bark.  They are messy, dropping leaves throughout the year and often losing rather large limbs after strong winds.  Many of them shed long sheets of bark on a very hot day in an attempt to provide themselves with mulch to keep their roots cool.  A very efficient idea.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Quite something, your creation. Thanks so much for my felt pieces. I have used one in my wall hanging and another on a scrapbook page that is a gift. Lovely stuff. xox Corrime

artymess said...

thats amazing ......and interesting about the eucalyptus too.....xx

Radka said...

Beautiful red :)
Interesting post about eucalyptus trees, I have never seen them in flower.

Linda said...

Hello Dian, and thank you for sharing this lovely piece of your creative stitching. I love this piece, and to be honest, despite having seen it, I didn't know exactly how each element had been created. I love the threads you've used, and particularly the dimension you've achieved on the flowers. Eucalypts are a tremendous source of inspiration for us here in Australia. Actually, I have turned to them for my 'grey' project. Thanks again for such an informative post.

Anonymous said...

I didn't know that eucalyptus had flowers either. That lovely colourful piece keeps it in mind even on the darkest grey day. Anne