Say Hello to our Deepavali Sampler!

Deepavali, a.k.a. the Festival of Lights, is celebrated by those who embrace Hinduism. 

We must confess, since neither Ruzanna nor I celebrate it, we had our reservations on designing a Deepavali Sampler; we felt we didn't know enough (aside from murukku and kolam) to do the festival justice. Since we were determined to have a sampler for each major festival in Malaysia, I dug deep and began my research into the festival and how it's celebrated in Malaysia. 

We'd also like to take this opportunity to thank our Hindu friends, who had helped us to verify that our sampler reflected their beautiful culture. 

Without further ado, here's our Happy Diwali Sampler:

Starting at the top, we have our very vibrant Toran hanging. It is usually used to decorate the main entrance of the home and it's believed to attract the Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi and also bring good fortune to the family and guests.

In first row of boxes, we have a Hindu temple, where devotees go for prayers. This is loosely modeled after the popular Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur. After the houses are cleaned, they are decorated with Lakshmi's footsteps, the swastika sign and a kolam/rangoli to welcome Lakshmi into their homes to receive her blessings. We chose a peacock design for our kolam. At the end of the row, we have a statue of Lakshmi.

Next up is the cow, which is considered a sacred animal in Hinduism, so Hindus do not eat beef. We also have a cute little boy and girl in their kurta and lehenga and the Aum symbol, which is one of the most important symbols in Hinduism. 

During Diwali, it is tradition for Hindus to take an oil bath, which is believed to remove bad luck and to purify the body and mind. And of course, we can't go without the Diwali snacks (murukku, ladoo, ghee balls and coconut candies) and food (thosai, curry, dahl and masala chai tea)! Not forgetting our oil diyas to light up the homes, too! It is the festival of lights, after all. 

If the sampler is too overwhelming for you, we have some cute Deepavali minis to tide you over!

We hope you like our sampler and would love to hear your thoughts below or if you'd like to share with us on your Deepavali celebrations/ rituals. Do remember to share your stitching with us, too!

If you'd like to explore our other Festival samplers, head here.

xoxo, Michelle

It's Chinese New Year again soon!

Hello! 

It feels like we have just crossed over into 2022 and yet CNY is just around the corner with less than a month to go. 😅

As a Lego fan, I am in love with this beautifully thought out set that they have just launched! It brilliantly depicts 6 of the common traditions before and during CNY. I bought their Chinese New Year Eve's Dinner set in 2019 and still have it on display. 

Lego 80108: Lunar New Year Traditions

(Photo credit: Jay's Brick Blog)

We had always wanted to design a CNY Sampler, it's been in our pipeline for years but after seeing this set, I decided this year we're going to have our sampler! So, we have launched the Gong Xi Fa Cai sampler AND a second set of minis to accompany those from last year!

To refresh your memory, here's a look at our CNY Minis from last year:

This is our Gong Xi Fa Cai Sampler:

From the top, we have the Gong Xi Fa Cai banner with the a couple of lanterns. It reads 年年有余 on the lanterns, which is a way of saying, "May you have abundance year after year".

Elements in the first row of boxes are commonly seen during the Lion Dance: Cai Shen Ye, the long row of firecrackers, the Lion itself and the Big Head Buddha and his fan.

In the second row, we have a pretty bonsai plant, a little boy playing Pop Pop, a girl with her stash of angpows and a 福 paper cutting.

And last but not least, what's a festival without food? 😂 Some of the must-haves for this season include mandarin oranges, some kueh kapit kept in tins, reunion dinner with yee sang and of course, the nian gao. 

What do you think of our collection? Let us know in the comments.

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And this is our CNY Minis Vol. 2 set:

Additions to this year's minis are:

• Mahjong tiles - 3-player or 4-player mahjong is commonly played in Malaysia
• Children's pellet drum
• Cute longevity peach bun
• Lucky knot - this can be stitched with a Weave stitch and even add a tassel
• Fireworks
• Joss sticks and candles for Pai Ti Kong prayers - usually celebrated by the Hokkien community on the 9th day of Chinese New Year

We truly hope that you enjoy this year's designs! Can't wait to see your pieces 😉

xoxo, Michelle

[TUTORIAL] Teh Tarik, Hot Milo and Neslo Froth

 As promised, here's a new tutorial.

This is an accompaniment for our hot drinks design - Bos, Kopi Satu!
Let's make out hot milo, Neslo and of course, teh tarik frothy! What is teh tarik without the bubbles!?!?

If the colonial knots is not your cup of tea, go for the usual french knots k?
Tutorial available on our YouTube channel - https://youtu.be/CyyvjDJQAJg

Mari Kita Minum Dulu!

Since we first got into the scene under MiRuMakes, we've been getting requests for Malaysian food and drinks. Malaysia and food are inseparable. lol We love our food, don't we?

We recently launched our drinks designs. Both hot and cold. There are surely more drinks but we decided to go with the famous ones. We decided to go mamak and kopitiam for this range. :) Hope you love it!

If you prefer hot drinks, go order Bos, Kopi Satu!

For scorching hot days, opt for cold drinks and sing Ice, Ice, Baby 🎵

Small budget? We let you Ikat Tepi or go for the Boba Boba at RM2 each.

If this is too much of decision-making, dabao all lah. Get the combo at only RM48 (you save RM6). You get all the drinks. For alternative text, download it FOC at https://mirumakes.wordpress.com/category/free-charts/

Get back to you soon on a tutorial clip. ;)

-Ruzanna-

Just Another MCO....

Hello everybody!

It has been awhile since we last popped in here. Hope all are well for you and your family in this round of MCO. Good news today - Health DG showed infectivity rate is now on downward trend at below 1.0. Gotta pray hard the number of cases go lower too.

Let's do our parts by ONLY going out if REALLY required. Oh! Get vaccinated. The vaccine is a hope. Looking at other countries which have started going out and "unmasking", it sure looks promising. May we be there soon. Amin!

See ya soon!

-Ruzanna-

Tiffin-y & Co - Pot Handle

Gong Xi Fa Cai to all our followers! Wishing you all good health and prosperity in this Niu Year! 😁

Today, we have a quickie tutorial for you. If you look at the Nyonya Tiffin-y & Co cover photo, I'm not sure if any of you have noticed that the handle on the pink enamel pot is not backstitched. I had actually used some sort of couching stitch to give it a 3D effect. 

So, if you'd rather not backstitch it per the chart, you may cut a 4” length of #2 and separate 1 strand. Using this single strand, use it to shape the handle and tack the 5 remaining strands to the pot. Simple, right? 😜 Take care and stay safe!

xoxo, Michelle

Teh-riffic Bamboo Handle

This is the alternative finishing for the teapot handle in our Nyonya Teh-riffic design. 

Here's how to achieve the bamboo effect! For both photos, start at the top to bottom, from L-R.

1. Cut two 4” lengths of DMC 3822. Separate 3 strands from one of the lengths.

2. Using the 3 strands, stitch as indicated in the photo.

3. Bring the 6 strands up at the indicated spot.

4. Use the 3 strands to tack it down by stitching into the same hole.

5. Bring up the 3 strands at the next available hole and slowly wind it around the 6-strand length to give it the bamboo look.

6. Curve it to the length and shape that you desire and tack down both ends and finish off.

7. You may tack the centre of the handle down, if you like.

Hope you learnt something new. 

xoxo, Michelle