My mom invented Princess Pinecone…
My mom’s version of the Princess revolved mostly around her spider silk dress collection but I still remember her soothing voice as she stroked my hair and I drifted off to dreams full of magic. It became our special story and made me feel loved.
I wanted to write a tale with more plot and morals stitched in (literally and figuratively) that all parents and caregivers could read aloud to their children at bedtime. As cheesy as it sounds, I believe feeling loved is the backbone to all goodness, and that empathy and kindness are learned traits, ones I’d like to ingrain in my own kids as early as possible.
Three years ago, whilst inside a deep Instagram hole,
I found Irem of @_.baobap._ and I knew she was the right person to bring my story to life. It took her more than 1,400 hours to stitch both the pictures and words of the original book. Its high-res facsimile shows the dedication that went into her tiny stitches and it is now available on this website, Barnes & Noble and Amazon. Coming soon to a few select female owned and operated shops, such as RAC and Land of Bebe!
You can buy a special tiny edition or a personalized hardcover edition from this site. Simply type up your dedication and it will be printed on the very first page.
Irem and me, air hugging during Covid times.
Proceeds from the book helped fund four (!) school kitchen gardens with Grow It Yourself, a social enterprise focused on food sustainability. All ongoing book profits are donated to The MOTHER LOVERS, a 501(c)3 non-profit that works to raise awareness about the maternal health crisis in the United States.
Click video above to hear the book read aloud from its original hand-stitched panels. Please excuse the twee voice.