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. 

Miniature Family Scrapbook from 1999

This is one of the first miniature books I made (around 2000, in Japan). It's just about two inches tall. I made it from old photo proof sheets, bits of tissue paper, a silk flower, gum wrappers, and (of course) gold thread.

I'm a gold thread junky. Mythology's Ariadne unspooled a golden thread for Theseus as he ventured into the Minotaur's labyrinth. Like Hansel and Gretel's bread crumbs and shining moonlit stones, the golden thread would bring Theseus back to the light of day, to his home, his love.

The word "clue" derives from the ancient word "clew," which means thread. I use gold thread somehow in everything I create. It is my clue, my sign post directing me toward love, light, and family. Of course, these are all the same thing. My lifeline.

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!"