Akychame's Dream-Warmer

This quilt has many memories. I sewed the log-cabin centerpiece when Akychame was two, before we moved to Japan. Six years later, freshly arrived in Germany, the quilt just barely covered her toes. 

Stories are stitched invisibly into this fabric of Akychame's childhood. For instance, you can see a mismatched purple patch covering the spot where Akychame's hamster tried eating the quilt for dinner (in 2003). Incidentally, there are scraps of this same fabric sewn and woven into many crafts around our house: the covers of nature journals, skirts, napkins, artwork, etc. So many family memories have taken on the hue of lavender and rose.

Since 2004, it's been my best intention to stretch the quilt to fit her growing body, but with homeschooling and all, the project gathered dust and Akychame's toes (and dreams) got a little chilly at night. In addition, the fact that I had absolutely no idea how to make a quilt lent a feeling of mystery and gravity to an already insurmountable-seeming project. Of course, Akychame had other blankets, but when you know there's a blanket out there made just for you. . .Well, any other blanket positively will not do!

So this year, while Phil's been gone in Korea, I've made it my joyful mission to complete her "teenager" quilt - stretching the fabric to cover her body as it is now, how it will be in college, and how it will be when she is married and there are more feet and dreams to keep warm. 

September Creations with my Two Sous Chefs

Voila! One lovingly hand-picked and home-cooked apple torte (created with apples hand-picked from a little orchard nearby). Every bite is filled with memories of tree climbing, laughter, and ripped jeans (mine, ripped while climbing). Even the executive chef does a little "sous" chef-ing from time to time. Who knew that serendipitously discovering apple trees along a Nordic Hiking trail in the Rheinland-Pfalz counts as dessert preparation?

Deep sweet chocolate and Kahlua brownies with bitter almond-cinnamon cream and toasted almonds.

A Thousand Miniature Get-Well Wishes from Lvov

The second week that Phil was away, I caught a cold (compounded by allergies). To keep me company, Lvov sat at my desk next to my bed tinkering away for about an hour and a half. This is what she was making, instead of playing outside or watching a movie or playing with the hamster...(please click on this picture to see the little notes!)

My children are so wonderful, they even make being sick joyful. They are my joy, every minute.

My Flower Children

Please click on the mosaic to enlarge

Almost every day my girls bring me little wildflower bouquets and heart-shaped rocks and 4-leaf clovers. There are always flowers by my bed, on the windowsill by the kitchen sink, and on our dining table. Their sweet bouquets make my heart so light and ecstatic. The girls even bring me breakfast and coffee in bed now and again and give me foot rubs! Akychame and Lvov, you are my heart's delight!!!

My Hipster-Knitters

Mommy is Crowned Queen of Everybody Because She "Rocks More than Anybody Else"

Pizza Box Loom-Weaving

A Couple of Jalina's Old Blackwork Drawings from '93

A Handful of Muses: Matisse, Chagall, Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Gibran, Kahlo, Warhol, Kandinsky, Rousse

Our Apron-Making Weekend

Because my apron was so boring compared to theirs, Lvov drew lovely pictures all over it in permanent marker, and wrote nice little notes to me. In the front pocket of my apron she wrote me a secret message upside-down, so that when I look down to get something out of my pocket, I can read it perfectly. She wrote, "you are the most beautiful mommy in the world!"