Thank goodness today has been Sunday. We’re tired from staying up too late last night. We’re feeling a bit drained from all the … well, small challenges that we’re presently facing: expensive car repairs, viruses, rush projects. Even Ian is working this weekend, which isn’t something he has to do too often.

It’s fine. Everything will be all right.

Housework. Sick boys. Freelance work. These are the things that have occupied our time this weekend instead of what we had planned: our annual trip to Mimi’s cabin in Strawberry in the Tahoe forest, to visit her and grandpa. Feverish children changed our plans.

We’re in a bit of a slump, you might say.

However, there were several sweet highlights. Like unexpected visits from friends, who fill up my heart with love and see deep inside me.

Low-key, take-it-easy play and movies to ease the disappointment, sickness, and crabbies. I think Lucas is well enough to return to school tomorrow, which is great because he’s feeling pretty blue and misses his friends.

The delicious mushroom, spinach, onion omelette Ian made me for breakfast.

A few feverish smiles and the wonderful opportunity to climb on Dad.

Some sewing for mama. I got to complete a small knot doll I started a month or more ago. She’s for Asher and I sewed all her clothing, hat, and hair today, using just leftover bits and bobs.

Ian said she looks a bit like a preschool teacher, and Asher immediately named her after his own teacher. So sweet.

I’m trying my hand at a new bread-making method. We’ll see how that turns out…. I also managed to finish a work project today, so that feels good, too.

And as for the rest of today, I’m thinking of snuggles and food and an early bedtime for all.

Mom and I picked up this vibrant paisley fabric a couple of weeks ago during an outing. I’m making for myself this Simplicity 2410 skirt (B—the short one).  There’s a zipper in this one too, and I’ll definitely need Mom’s help with that part again.

Yesterday was Mom’s last day of summer vacation. Asher got to swim and eat up all of grandma’s snacks. Mom and I cut out the skirt pieces together. I still don’t understand most of what she says when she talks about sewing, but I’m trying.

I love spending time with my mom. I wish her all the best in this new fall semester!

Mom gave me some old calico scraps from her fabric stash a while back. They are so old-fashioned she didn’t want them anymore. They moved into my house and sat on my desk for weeks. I thought I’d make some new cloth napkins for our mealtimes, as our old ones are getting kind of ratty from everyday use.

Eventually, Mom asked me what I was going to do with these calicoes and I told her. “Oh, give it all back to me. I’ll make them for you. I have the time and you don’t.”

And so she did it in a jiffy with her super-fancy serger that she won’t even let me touch. See how she still takes care of me? They’re pretty, aren’t they? This is about the only place for flowers in my all-boy household.

With tons of help from my mother, the real sewist in the family, I finally finished the skirt I started last July. This is the first garment I’ve sewn for myself since I was about 11 years old and mom tried to teach me to sew during one summer vacation. Back then, I made a pair of cotton shorts and a simple, matching shirt (kind of like a short-sleeved, scrubs-type shirt) and doing it was rather like jackhammering out my own teeth with a sewing machine. I’ve grown since then, I think.

The pattern is Butterick B4461, “Fast and Easy,” a simple A-line skirt. It has facing and a zipper in back and a couple of small darts in the front. Nothing fancy. Ultimately wearable. It fits into my mommy uniform of tees, sandals, and comfy skirts quite well.

This summer I’ve worked on another bunch of clam diggers for Asher, more because I need the sewing practice than he needs the pants.  I’m now working on the fifth pair, every once in a blue moon. If I had a solid free hour, I’d finish them. Here are two pairs that are done. I made a golden pair with yellow stars, too. Too bad “lellow” isn’t his favorite color anymore.

We match colorful pants/clam diggers/shorts with tees like these to make the perfect play clothes for little boys. But aren’t all clothes play clothes when you’re little?

I have this stash of fun fabric for making Asher pants, clam diggers, and shorts and today I finally had all the pieces in the same location and a little time to get started. I haven’t sewed clothing like this since last summer, so I wasn’t entirely sure I’d remember what to do, but it all worked out pretty well. We’ll call these a “proof of concept.” I’m still using the pattern that my mother bought in 2008, I just cut them a trifle bigger. Now that I’ve got them all together, I can see that they’re pretty baggy and could be skinnier in the legs. But baggy clothing is cooler on hot days, no? I may choose to hem them up another inch….

And because these clam diggers are roomy this year, they will probably fit him again next summer, too, only they will be a little shorter. (Ahser is still able to wear the pants and shorts mom and I made last summer.) These are made from “Vehicles Allover” fabric from “Oh Boy!” by David Walker for Free Spirit Westminster Fibers. Fun!

I can see why fabric collecting is addicting, especially to someone like me who is totally invigorated by color. This is most of the stash I’ve gathered little by little over the last year. Via the Glorious Internet, I’ve come to find that I actually have some favorite designers. Wacky!

I’m hoping to make some groovy new shorts and pants for Asher. The ones that I and my mother made in past years were such a success and fun to make. I bought these fabrics with Asher in mind. It’s more challenging that I realized at first to find fabrics suitable for boys. I now realize I have way more fabric for sewing than time for sewing.

Fortunately, some shorts and pants we made last summer look like they’re going to fit another season. The pants are now clam diggers, of course, because Asher has grown so much taller.

I’m kind of waiting to see if this summer Lucas will grab for the shorts grandma sewed for him in the past, or if he’ll gravitate to the more conventional, mass-produced shorts instead. He is probably just on the cusp of not wanting to wear sewn garments anymore. Although, if Lucas wants some for himself, I’ll probably have him pick out the fabric, and most likely it will be much more subdued than these.

I made another thing—one that you can hold in your hand. Before, it wasn’t there. Then I made it and now it is! This making stuff is quite miraculous to me still.

Ever since I read Amanda Soule’s book The Creative Family, I had it stuck in my head that I wanted to make Asher a birthday crown. I tried talking myself out of doing it a dozen times—after all, Asher’s really picky about what he’ll wear on his body and we have had more than enough fights tantrums disagreements over clothing during the past six months. Honestly, I thought he would never wear a birthday crown, and I try hard not to set myself up for disappointments of the kind that might come with hand-sewing a special gift for the birthday boy to wear and then finding that he won’t wear it.

But, two days before Asher’s birthday, I still couldn’t stop thinking about making him a crown. And so I started. I had the felt at home already.

I drew several designs before settling on flying birds. Then I noodled around with the birds till I liked their arrangement. I dragged the kids to the fabric store to find the right kind of stars and some pretty thread.

And I worked diligently with my rainbow stitches. And Lucas helped with some, but not many because Mama is a control freak.

I used silver thread to make the stars sparkle. And the Gingher embroidery scissors my boys bought me for Christmas sure came in handy!

I made the inside lining green like the leaves, hand-sewed the two pieces together, and attached the elastic to the back. And I finished in time.

And Asher wore it! I’m so proud of this! This photo is one I took the day after his birthday party because I wasn’t satisfied with my shots from the party—he just wouldn’t sit still that day! Doesn’t he look regal?

(Lucas wants a crown for his birthday, too.)

I guess now I pack the crown away to use again on his next birthday, but I kind of hate to do that. I think I have to for it to be a special, though. What would you do?