They live in Ireland, but got married here in South Africa, and is currently on holiday here again, with us in Pretoria, but mostly in Hartenbos, where we spent a lovely 10 days by the sea.
On April 9, 2007, I had the bittersweet privilege to give her away:
I wanted to make them a nice cross-stitched quilt as a wedding gift, but as usual, time was against me and I ended up combining cross-stitch, some photos of them, and remnant fabric that would have some link to her:
Some lines from her favourite songs/poems.
Reddish fabric from an old table cloth of my mom.
Blue check fabric from curtains when she lived with us for a while.
Photo of them, me and our gran on their wedding day.
Photo of the two of them on Table Mountain.
Embroidered their initials, first names, something symbolising their names, and birth dates.
Can see a bit of the church they were married (NG Groot Brak) and their rings.
A photo of her husband's first visit to Africa, when my husband took him all the way up to Beit Bridge and the Limpopo River. They stopped by a nice baobab on the N1 route.
Port Natal is our little beach house in Hartenbos.
A photo of my boy (now almost 8!) sitting next to her in the car on a road trip in Aus, when we lived there for a while.
Floral fabric of a new table cloth for my kitchen when we returned to RSA.
Excerpt from the "I am an African"-speech by Thabo Mbeki, then president of South Africa:
"Southern Cross" by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
Also visible here - I embroidered their house in Cork (blue).
Photo of my boy's hand on her arm, same road trip as above.
Small white and blue check - cut-off from the table cloth at our little beach house.
Blue chambric - cut-offs from my boy's bed linen when he was a baby.
I loved making this. It is now a wall hanging in their house.
Happy 5th, Gerlene and Ken :-)
Beautiful!! This is such a thoughtful gift, with so much meaning in every square. I'm sure it will be a much loved item for many years to come.
ReplyDeleteAdelle
This is so incredibly beautiful. I cannot thank you enough for sharing it here.
ReplyDeleteYou are so creative.
Hai Stel, wat n fantastiese geskenk! Ek sit nou hier en tjank, en verlang nou sommer my sussie. Well done girl. Celeste x
ReplyDeleteMuito lindo.
ReplyDeleteParabéns.
What an absolutely incredible gift!
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of love in that quilt. Priceless.
cheers
Fi
Prachtige deken! Wat een mooi kado! Ik moest lachen om je comment op mijn blog. Two boxers would indeed have a ball with it. Luckily mine isn't the demolishing type.
ReplyDeleteHOw fantastic! The greatest gift of all. I totally understand that you loved working on it. :D
ReplyDeleteReading your comment on my new walking post makes me so inspired to just do it. I totally agree. What the hell am I waiting for. Just get out there. Lift that butt from the couch and step out the door! 15 minutes IS nothing. Thanks Stel! :D
Annette