Watercolor paper eggs

Since unpacking and painting and reorganizing is taking up most of our time here, I thought I would post some pictures of some Easter decorations we made a few years ago. We simply cut some watercolored paper into egg shapes, punched a small hole and strung them up with some white thread and clear tape. 

Lovely to watch—constantly turning and changing (shadows, too) in the slight breeze from the drafty windows and air stirred when we walk past.

Spectrum mini-quilt or two

I have had plans to make a quilt for the kids for a while now, but have lacked the confidence to embark on such a big project without any prior quilting experience. So I decided to make a mini-quilt as a test-run; to figure out how to sandwich and pin and quilt and bind on a small scale.

Ok, so I made two.....

I made the first one (above) with the leftover already-pieced cool fabric spectrum from the apron I made for Q's kindergarten teacher a few years ago. For this version, I decided to both attach and finish the binding by machine.

For the second one, I decided to use a warm color spectrum for the pieced center stripe and a very slight peachy-blush solid. I machine-attached the binding in the same way as in the first one, but then finished the binding by hand. Although this method takes a bit more time, I definitely prefer the look of this end result. It also somehow is more satisfying to end with the hand. There are just some things that cannot be replicated by machine.

As a comparison I washed the warm one once completed to see how it would look and to see how much it would shrink: 

And yes, if you have been visiting this blog frequently, you may remember a sneak-peek of these mini-quilts (and a pillow cover in the same warm spectrum) in a post over a year ago when I had a table at a local festival... Needless to say, I have gotten a little behind in my plans. Big surprise? Well, no. This is what happens when one packs up the family and moves abroad for a time and then packs up the family upon returning stateside in order to put one's house on the market and then packs up the family to move to a temporary home during a few months of renovation in the new house. Oh, yes, and then once again packs up the family and finally moves into the new house just days before Christmas.

Now must get back to the unpacking.

Old and young

The web is a funny place.

A few months ago, I got an email from a woman in Germany, who had come across my blog while doing some image research. She was looking for the perfect cover picture for the inaugural issue of the Heidelberg University magazine titled Ruperto Carola, which comes from the Latin name for the university, Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis.

The main theme of the first issue is Old & Young or Alt & Jung in German, and she thought the images of my son, Q, in his dinosaur costume from a few years ago evoked just the right combination of old and young. I'm sure it didn't hurt that there was a scattering of leaves on the grass — perfect for the Fall publication.

Recently, I received a few copies of the magazine...

They decided to use one on the cover and one on the opening spread. 

Cool.

Spectrum of change

I don't know where the Spring went. Seriously, it's been a blur.

We got back from London in late March and folded back into our semi-suburban life while trying not to let go of the energy and cultural richness we absorbed from our urban winter abroad. 

In April, our return to the family rhythm was thrown off by a decision that would spell a big change for our family. 

We made an offer on a house around the corner.

We weren't really looking for a new house. But the much larger yard, extra bedroom, and potential space for moving our studio into the house (instead of a space we currently rent) seemed perfect. Initially, we were out-bid and mourned what could have been. But, a few weeks later, we were given another chance to place a bid after the initial buyers backed out. (Does that ever happen?) Still emotionally attached, we bid again, and our offer was accepted. Seemed it was meant to be.

We immediately went to work readying our house to put on the market. Since we had done a good job of de-cluttering and packing away many personal items in preparation for renting our house while we were in London, only painting and some minor staging was required. However, this process still managed to take six weeks or so. After all, we had two birthday parties to plan, end-of-the-school-year busyness to contend with and to top it all off, I was dealing with (and still am to a lesser degree) a post-viral mystery syndrome that kept me nauseated and slow. Fun, right?

Fastforward four months and much upheaval. (Showing a house every three to four days while trying to maintain a sense of normalcy with two young kids is not easy).

We have now closed on the new house, and hope to sell our current house soon. Even though this situation is not ideal, it will allow us to do some much needed work on the new house, while still living in the one we are tyring to sell.

Who wouldn't love this house? Presented with a rainbow of books for your consideration...

There is more change in this family than the eventual location shift around the block.

The youngest of us started kindergarten today. Yes, little O is officially in big-girl school.

I had a lump in my throat watching her play at the table in her new classroom at her new school this morning.

I was a little sad, but I am mostly in awe of (and could learn a lot from) this happy little person fully embracing this spectrum of change we are all facing.

London days

We have been having a brilliant time here in London. So much to see and do. For the first month, the kids and I visited museums, historical places, and a few parks and playgrounds. And since the kids started school earlier this month, I have been able to explore a bit on my own. 

We have gotten used to asking where the loo is instead of the restroom when we are away from our flat, saying football instead of soccer, plaster instead of band-aid, and jumper instead of sweater, but it all still feels a bit strange.

Here are just a few of the hundreds of photos I have taken on our excursions:

We are going to Paris tomorrow for a long weekend, and then will be back in London for just a few weeks before we head home. Hard to believe our winter here is almost over. But with the temperatures rising and the days getting longer, it is starting to feel like Springtime should be here soon.