Soo's Creaxions: March 2013

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Photo frame

The best memories are those created when you are with the ones that you love. This was taken in 1995 when Sonya was 8, Samuel was 5 and Audrey was 1.

This was the Original frame before I gave it a make-over

Friday, March 29, 2013

Sewing according to the seasons

Spring decor: I love purple so I decided to dress the windows with purple gingham. Cross stitch on tie backs. Painted the picture frame above the smaller window with purple acrylics. Got the purple piggies from Roscommon.

My purple room

Made this for a little girl for Christmas

An apron for a young lady

Another apron for a friend

Winter decor - pastels with cotton lace trimmings to complement the bold bed quilt.

Memory Box

My friend Harriet likes this picture of the Shannon River in Killaloe. It was taken by Michael, my husband. So I decided to make a memory box for her so she can always remember the spot where she had hours of fun.

I've waited forever for a puppy so in Sept 2012 we decided to get Hachiko, a beautiful labrador. Hachiko has graduated from obedience school and he is now a great dog that obeys both English and Chinese commands. Hachiko is named after the famous Akita, whose statue now stands at Shibuya station in Tokyo. There is a movie called Hachi: A dog's tale starring Richard Gere. If you haven't seen it, get a box of tissues ready.

Michael and I were married in Malaysia in 2010. We were penpals when we were still in our teens and God re-connected us after all those years. In the memory box you can see a mixture of Irish and Malaysian coins, stamps and flags. There is also a snippet of an article about our love story in Ireland Own's Christmas 2010 issue.

Michael and I come from two different parts of the world with different cultures, customs and childhood. What unites us is a love for God and for each other. The Chinese character on the lantern hanging from the cherry blossom tree is 'Ai' or love.

This was done when I completed my doctorate in the field of education. It was a long, lonely and arduous journey but at the end of it all I could say that it was a proud moment and God was with me all the way through that journey.

These are my lovely Polish friends. They invited me to their house for a wonderful Polish meal. I love diversity and if we open our minds and hearts we can only become better people. Black and white are my friend's favourite colours. Her daughter loves performing arts and her husband is a great chef.

This is my American friend who's such a lovely lady. We've had great times together, sharing the big and small things of our lives over coffee and scones.

This is my daughter Audrey who came with me to Ireland. She is presently studying in a secondary school. She is a lovely girl, very obedient, God-fearing and disciplined. I can't ask for more. She loves beautiful things and has an eye for design. Faith in God and in herself brought her through the early months of adaptation to a new culture and a new school.

This is me as Pepper with my friend Salt in the musical Beauty and the Beast, a Nenagh Choral Society Production in 2012. Audrey also took part and she was a napkin.We practised for 6 months but we had a wonderful time on stage for 8 nights. There was standing ovation every night.

These are my three friends who were also in the same musical production. I made this for my German friend (extreme right) who was in Ireland for an exchange programme and had to go back to Germany after the production.

This is for a lovely Canadian and Irish couple who had their first baby shower. I created a space so that they could insert the baby's photo.

This is our first grandchild who arrived in February 2013. An adorable little sweetheart. May God's choicest blessings be on her and may she grow up to love the Lord and follow in His ways.

Quilting

I enjoy hand quilting because I can take the project with me anywhere, especially when I watch tv. Unless the tv programme demands my full attention, I normally multitask. This is a lap quilt that I made for my late mother-in-law. I was told that she loved it and would show it to all who came to visit her.

An example of machine applique. The quilting is done by hand.

A quilted single bed cover using the binding technique

A christmas tree quilt to throw over the back of a sofa

Hand sewn applique and shadow quilting

A quilt for my daughter Sonya

A label behind a quilt for my nieceny

A quilt made from a jelly-roll

This is a quilt I made for charity using simple blocks and rectangles. I was told that the child in the foster home loved it.

This is a teddy bear quilt for Michael's grand nephew

A Christmas wall hanging quilt

Quilted cushion with musical instrument design

This is a cover for my sewing machine. I embroidered the centre picture with a mixture of wool and embroidery thread. Then mount it on yellow gingham before quilting it.