We Are Australian

[twocheeseplease.livejournal.com]

This mini quilt took me a long while to make so I'm really excited to be able to show it off finally!

This thing took me forever, and even though in one spot it looks like it says "floodin grains" instead of "flooding rains", I love it.

The appliqué is all needle-turn, which is horribly tedious - yet perfect for me because I love those deep concentration projects. The wreath is made up of eucalyptus (gum) leaves, gum blossoms (the smaller red flowers - that's what gumnuts are!), gumnuts, wattle stems made by far too many french knots, and a warratah right up the top there in the middle which is padded to make it 3D. Phew!

I didn't design this myself - it's actually a design by Beth Anderson I found in the Christmas Handmade magazine (vol. 26 no. 1). It was designed to be a table runner, so I just fiddled with the template a little until I could turn it into a wreath.

In the middle is my favourite verse from one of my favourite Aussie songs.


I came from the dream-time, from the dusty red soil plains
I am the ancient heart, the keeper of the flame.
I stood upon the rocky shore, I watched the tall ships come.
For forty thousand years I've been the first Australian.

We are one, but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come
We share a dream and sing with one voice:
I am, you are, we are Australian

I came upon the prison ship, bowed down by iron chains.
I cleared the land, endured the lash and waited for the rains.
I'm a settler, I'm a farmer's wife on a dry and barren run
A convict then a free man, I became Australian.

We are one, but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come
We share a dream and sing with one voice:
I am, you are, we are Australian

I'm the daughter of a digger who sought the mother lode
The girl became a woman on the long and dusty road
I'm a child of the depression, I saw the good times come
I'm a bushy, I'm a battler, I am Australian

We are one, but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come
We share a dream and sing with one voice:
I am, you are, we are Australian

I'm a teller of stories, I'm a singer of songs
I am Albert Namatjira, I paint the ghostly gums
I am Clancy on his horse, I'm Ned Kelly on the run
I'm the one who waltzed Matilda, I am Australian

We are one, but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come
We share a dream and sing with one voice:
I am, you are, we are Australian

I'm the hot wind from the desert, I'm the black soil of the plains
I'm the mountains and the valleys, I'm the drought and flooding rains
I am the rock, I am the sky, the rivers when they run
The spirit of this great land, I am Australian

We are one, but we are many
And from all the lands on earth we come
We share a dream and sing with one voice:
I am, you are, we are Australian
I am, you are, we are Australian.


( Here's a modern rendition of the song for those who'd like a listen: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=VtMNiVcmlpA )

Run = farm property
Digger = (usually it means someone who fought in WW2 but in this case I think it means gold miner during the gold rush)
Bushy = a bushman, someone who lives in the bush (our equivalent to forests)
Battler = someone who does it tough but doesn't compain.
Albert Namatjira = a famous aboriginal painter.
Clancy = Clancy of the Overflow, a stockman in a poem by Banjo Patterson.
Ned Kelly = our most famous Bushranger (our equivalent to cowboys I guess)
( I think that's all the important slang/references! If I forgot any just ask and I'll translate :D )

Tearing the paper off is very tedious, but it's still my favourite part - I love seeing the final piece emerge.

The back is from where else but Gail B's ( I didn't keep track of who designed it, sorry! I need to get better at that) as I thought some fauna would go well with the flora on the front.



I think this little mini quilt here is one of my favourite things I've crafted thus far, not necessarily because it took me so long to do, but because of everything that's tied into it for me. This song means a lot to me, and it's not often I get filled with pride for my country, but this song does it. I'm not a strong Nationalist at heart, I don't fly a flag in my yard, but I am proud to be Australian and I'm really glad that I could share this little part of myself with you guys.