I never had any toy as a child. Not store-bought ones, at least. We play like most kids in our village - running around, hide and seek games & climbing lots of trees. One fond memory was the "5-stone" game we did, similiar to "jacks", I think. With no spare fabric scraps & no rice nor beans for the fillings (these are for eating only), I became quite good at this game as I had to use real stones.
Now, I made these for my kids, not only when they were small but to play with, even now. It makes great sewing-projects-on-the-go. There are green beans stuffed in them as I no longer have to save every morsel for food. Seeing these makes me think of my mother, whom we visited over Easter. She gave up schooling at 8 years old so that she could work & support her family. She taught herself to read & write our Chinese language & now reads the Chinese newspaper every day. She adopted me so I could live & have a better life. And funnily, I have inherited my sewing skills from her.
She learns English so she could communicate better with my children, whose Chinese are sadly, not as fluent as their Po-Po's ( Grandma in Mandarin ) English. All these make us children & grandchildren, love her more. I am proud of her as she is proud of me.
Happy Mother's Day to my Mama. Happy Mother's Day to you all.
Happy Mother's Day to my Mama. Happy Mother's Day to you all.
18 comments:
Love the little sewing highlights in your jacks. When I was little one of my favourite playground games was jacks...luckily though the jacks were plastic otherwise my hands would have been very bruised!
Happy Mothers Day.
great tribute, she chose you.
I love hearing stories of your life. They are always very touching. Your mother is a wonderful person, and you are a wonderful daughter. You are very blessed to have each other. I love these little toys you made for your children. They are so sweet and fun looking. I appreciate simple, handmade toys so much more than store bought. Sometimes our children will make their own toys; although they do have too many store bought ones as well. I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day. We will be spending it on the beach with my my sister and brother's family.
Same for me, our toys were all hand made like paper dolls, chatek, five stones, and spinning toy made out of bottle caps, etc. Hope you have a great day celebrating Mother's Day.
An amazing story .. we should learn to appreciate what we have around us , instead of moaning a lot .. a very inspirational post . happy mothers day .
Aw, sweet! Happy Mother's Day to you too!
Lovely post! I hope you had a very special Mothers Day!!
What an amazing journey your life has taken. Your adopted mother is the real deal. Full of love and sacrifice and devotion. It breaks my heart how girls are still so unwanted and unvalued in so much of the world. Thank goodness for those who love deeply and live by their hearts, such as your mother who raised you, and you yourself.
Your handmade toys are lovely. They make me want to make a batch and sit down to play!
Happy Mothers Day, Xue!
Again I say, Happy Mother's Day to you...This is a beautiful story you've told. You are a proud Mom.
I love these, so very colorful and a very fun game. Beautiful work.
What a beautiful tribute to your mother! Happy Mother's Day to her and to you!
Xue...I remember the first time I commented on this blog was also around Mother's Day, also your beautiful story about how your Mother adopted you. It's a beautiful post, very meaningful and special.
A lovely Mothers day story from your life Xue. Sounds like you have a very special bond with your Mother which is so important when you live far away from her. Handmade toys are the best in my books! These jacks are so colourful and vibrant.
Beautiful hearing your story, Xue...And love this fabric version of your 5-Stone game--very clever, and I love those bright cheerful fabrics! Thanks for stopping by--great to see you. Happy Mother's Day ((HUGS))
Dear Xue,
Greetings from Japan! So you've left your beautiful home and headed for the mysterious oasis, bringing 'snow' there! I hope you're settling down quick and enjoying your new life phase!
I've never forgotten your story, I'm never close to my mom too. But I'm glad that things turn out fulfilling for you afterall, and you have a loving mother to look up to. It's a blessing.
You're a wonderful mom yourself. I'm really envious of your sewing skills. Am hoping to hand-make my kid something in future..;)
Dearest sweet Xue, such a lovely sweet post and thanks for sharing your inspiring story with us! Happy belated mother's day and i hope you had a great marry happy celebration! Love to you!
Your Mom has always sounded awesome to me! I hope you had a fun trip and a great Mother's Day! :)
What a wonderful blog and sorry it has taken be so long to visit you..How do you like your new home?
I hope you all will be very happy..
Take care my dear friend..sending love from Maine..xoxoRosebud/Carolyn
I have been MIA from blogging for a few months and I missed reading the stories of your life.....your Mother sounds so wonderful and you as well and your beautiful birthday girl too.....you have each taught each other so much! This game looks so cute....I love the things you make....amazing amounts of talent.....I am going to try to be more diligent in visiting blogs and writing mine....I am trying to catch mine up.....YOU ARE AMAZING! I love the music on your blog too!
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