Paper Pie

Mama's Day

I had a beautiful Mother's Day filled with all of my favorite things: flowers, love, food, art, family, music, fun and lots and lots of snuggles! But perhaps the most rare and exquisite of all was the extra rest I soaked up while sleeping in until 8 AM! Upon waking to 2 excited children cheering "Happy Mother's Day," I was escorted to the breakfast table where my hot and delicious meal had been prepared and was waiting for me. The kids had made me french toast and yogurt parfaits. As we finished breakfast they very excitedly handed me gifts and cards. The day before they went to an art and craft festival and had their sweetness captured as portraits by the very talented Rosefur. While each one waited for the other to be painted, they were supplied with their own 3 x 5 art paper to draw upon and Rylie drew our family. After my heart finished swelling from their kindness, Ryan gifted me a portrait of myself a la Pop Up Charlie. Charlie will draw anything for you, just supply him with photos and brief descriptors. Ryan told him, "My wife loves knitting. She'd knit the whole world if she could." and sent him photos of myself and the kids and told him it could be as zany as he wanted. I quite like the results and it is cute the way Rylie thinks it is so hilarious. Humor and drawing play really big for her. After all of the sentimental and inspiring art, Ryan presented me with 2 tickets to see Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds tour. What fun to look forward to. How grateful I am for my amazing husband, he knows exactly what his gal likes.

After my people, bestowed me with such love and thoughtfulness, I called my mom and my mom-in-law. They both really loved their quilts and had a few tears. I felt such joy at the thought of both of them feeling our love over the vast physical distance between us. I am happy to think of the quilts as a symbol of all of the grandkids together in one place. After our slow morning, we headed out to our weekly trip to the Farmer's Market and did our shopping. Otis loves this place so much! There is so much to see and do. This week he spent the majority of his time playing the "Trash? Recycling? Compost?" game at The Green Tent, where the sweet women working indulged him endlessly. We also visited the ever popular Steve's Machines tent. After the market, the kids wanted to take me "to a picnic on a mountain but we don't want to drive on the highway." err... So we headed to a nearby park that is on top a really big hill and they were thrilled with that. We ate a bit of food and flew our kite. Otis rode his scooter up and down the big hills and for a while, and I even snuck in a quick bit of reading. It seems so exotic and special to steal a few daytime moments to sit and read quietly in the park. I've been solely on audiobooks for a while now, but I do so love to sit and touch the pages of a paper book. The sun was out, but it was not too hot. It was windy enough for kite flying, but not too cold. A perfect day that made this mama feel loved and blessed beyond measure.

Mother's Day Quilts

I hope all of the mama's out there had a wonderful and restful day yesterday! I wanted to share something here that I've been working on for a little while now but have not been able to talk about because of the element of surprise. A few months ago, with Mother's Day in the back of my mind, I finally decided to take the plunge on an idea I have had lingering for several years.

These lap quilts are for my mom and my mom-in-law with photos of all of their respective grandchildren. I felt like the kids were the perfect ages for a gift like this, though still changing by the second, they've all outgrown their infancy, but not quite through their teen years either, which is the case with the oldest of my mom's. I knew that these 2 very special women in my life and in the life of my children, would love to see all of their beloved grandchildren in one place, and in between some beautiful scraps of fabric I might add.


I have wanted to make these quilts for quite a while, but busyness and excuses have gotten in the way. Not the least of these excuses was figuring out how to print photos on fabric. I knew that I could buy the substrate and experiment on my home printer, but admittedly I was afraid of the amount of trial and error I'd have to endure. I also know that my obsessive attention to detail tends to make these sort of technical tasks quite painstaking. But then my Spoonflower magalog arrived in the mail, and it was while flipping through the pages that I realized I could upload my photos on their site and they would send me the fabric. Easy peasy. Also, if there were irksome details (only noticeable by me) I wouldn't be able to make changes without incurring more time and expense - an effective barrier to perfectionism.


After several weeks of work, and hand-stitching into the wee hours, the quilts were finished just before the USPS priority express overnight deadline. These quilts left my hands and quickly made their way across the country to their respective new homes. They are not the most complicated or precisely sewn objects, but I'm pretty sure they are the most sentimental and meaningful projects I have ever sewn. I know that both my mom and my mom-in-law will be so appreciative to have this tangible symbol of family - a snapshot of right now. My greatest hope is that each quilt will bring these dear and special ladies a moment of joy and will be enjoyed for years to come.