Is it really September already? One can never start too early on Halloween costumes.  This is the scene on my ironing board right now.

The Girl has chosen to be a fairy, and did we ever have fun choosing the fabric for this one.  She wanted pink, of course.

No matter how many times I tell myself that we have plenty of costumes in our dress up trunk, I am a sucker for making new ones.  I just can’t help myself.

I thought I might finish this dress this weekend because I had some alone sewing time.  All I wanted was a classic summer sun dress.  And I really love that fabric.  I’m starting to wonder about pattern envelopes that show sketches rather than photographs of the finished clothes…

This pattern got pretty good reviews (it’s Butterick 5351), but it turns out I had the same problem fitting the bust as I did on the silk dress.  My bosoms just ain’t what they used to be, I guess.  I tried and tried and tried to make the top of this dress fit, but I just can’t get it to work.  So frustrating, and so disappointing.  So as I do with misbehaving knitting, I sent it away.  Officially.  You win some, you lose some.  I’ve made plenty of dresses in my day, but I cannot for the life of me find the pattern I used to sew.  I cannot believe I would have gotten rid of it, but I can’t find it anywhere.  Sigh.

I sulked for a while yesterday, so aggravated at that dress.  Mad at myself for not getting it to work.  Then I decided to switch gears, and do some knitting.  And I managed to finish The Girl’s sweater, and I recaptured my Crafting Mojo.

This will always in my head be thought of as The New York Sweater because I made it to bring with us on our trip this summer.  It’s Lion Brand Yarn’s Eyelet Yoke Sweater.  It’s a nice lightweight cotton.  Perfect for air-conditioned museums and cool evenings. (It hasn’t been washed and blocked yet, so it’s still a bit wonky.)

I put the ultra-girly flower button on it because I knew The Girl would love it, and I thought it had a slight vintage feel to it that went well with the sweater. And the best part is that the yarn, the knitting needles, and the button were all from my stash.  Awesome.

I recently cast on a new summer sweater for The Girl.  It’s the Eyelet Yoke Cardigan by Lion Brand Yarn.  I actually found enough Rowan All Seasons Cotton in the stash I picked up at the thrift shop a few months back.  The yarn feels really great and knits up like a dream.  Three cheers for stashbustin’!

The spring bunting became happy birthday bunting with the addition of a few new letters.

The bendy dolls I made for The Girl’s new dollhouse.  These took So. Long. To. Make.

Beautiful thrifted oak caddy for her art supplies.  When she wants to use it she says, “can I paint my heart?”  So sweet.

When I was pregnant with The Girl, I bought this wooden doll cradle at the Goodwill for $5, because I was so convinced that she was a girl.  This month, I finally pulled it out of storage and it was a mess.  It had nails sticking out of it, and it was spotted with paint and dirt.   I sanded and scrubbed it, then polished it with some nice beeswax polish.

I made a little mattress and quilt, and to my delight, this doll fit perfectly inside.  That is the doll I made for The Boy years ago, which he never played with.  I gave the baby a good bath and made a new little gown and diaper for it.

I love the little cloth diaper.  It’s details like that which made me totally fall in love with certain dollies when I was a little girl.

I put a lot of time and love into this gift.  It makes me so happy to see this old doll (and cradle) get a new life.

A star for The Boy.

A heart for The Girl.

I am so thrilled with how both costumes look, and I am really happy that I got them done in time for us to to go to our local garden’s Halloween celebration for children.  They both had a great time, and I’m glad to get as much use out of these costumes as we can.  I know they’ll end up in the dress-up trunk after Halloween, so I can feel good about all the time and money I spent on these.

Here is the The Boy, dressed as a ranger.  This costume was my inspiration.  Look at that serious expression.  He is so fierce.

And here is The Girl, dressed as Little Red Riding Hood.  I also had the idea to dress her as Carmen Miranda, but I thought the odds on her keeping all that fruit on her head were pretty small.  She wouldn’t even keep the hood up.

Yes, I could have bought costumes for much cheaper, and saved myself a lot of time,  but every time I look at these kids in the costumes I made, it seems all worthwhile.  I remember so well the costumes my mom sewed for me, and it’s a tradition I’m glad to continue with my own children.

When The Boy came home from school one day to find the house decorated for Halloween, he was so excited, he said, “this place is magic!”

Hopefully he feels the same way about the costume.

This was my toy box when I was a little girl.  My mother made it in a woodworking class when we lived in Kansas.  I was not known as a neat child by any means, and I found the toy box to be a great place to hide, rather than a great place to put toys.  Inevitably what I wanted was always at the bottom, which meant that everything was always on the floor, rather than in the toy box.

I held on to this toy box for probably about 30 years.  My mom always said it could be my hope chest someday.  Does anyone do that anymore?  I didn’t.  But I lugged it from place to place, always finding it handy for stashing something away.  It got painted a couple of times.  Once it was black.  (I know, what was I thinking?) But I stripped it down a few years back, and it sat, 95% done, for years.

I was on one of my get-rid-of-stuff kicks when I decided that this sad thing just had to go.  The front panel was loose, The Boy had scribbled on it with crayon, and it was dirty and dingy from not having any varnish or paint.  I sheepishly asked my mom if she wanted it before I sent it away.  She declined, not having anywhere to put it.

But I still couldn’t get rid of it.  It sat for another year.

I’m on a major fall-cleaning kick around here: cleaning up, clearing out, and organizing.  I decided to fix up this sad old thing and give it to my own children.  I scrubbed and sanded it, and removed the last of the black paint.  I made a homemade non-toxic furniture polish out of mineral oil and beeswax, and polished it up.  I repaired the loose front.  Then, to make it a comfy place to sit and curl up with a book, I made two cushions for the seat.  I can proudly say that the cushions didn’t cost me a cent.  It was all materials from my stash.  The foam, the batting, the fabric and thread were all from previous projects.

So now it sits in my own childrens’ room, holding all their dress-up gear.  There is alot of it.  And now my own boy likes to climb inside to hide.

The good news is that I finished The Girl’s pink sweater the night before it got cool.  It is Knitty’s Haiku, knit in Lily Sugar’n Cream.

I may not have any turning leaves, down comforters, or frosty nights, but I cling to what I do have: a breezy home, a backyard that’s not filled with mosquitos, and my girl wearing a sweater that I knit for her.

So I spent the first few weeks of school running around like a crazy person, getting stuff done, and taking care of The Girl.  Everyone was under tremendous stress because of school and the demands it has placed on our whole family.  (But let me add that I also find the small positive changes in The Boy amazing.)

In the midst of all of it, I began to get sick.  So sick that I wound up at the doctor, which I assure you, is a place I do not visit unless my kidneys are in peril.  I am now on antibiotics, and they leave me feeling awful.  And I should have slowed down.  I should have taken it easy and let my body heal.  But I kept right on barreling ahead and keeping up my usual pace.

One night, I had plans to get some sewing done after the kids were in bed.  After I finally got both kids to sleep, I was quietly tiptoeing out of their room with a rocking chair in my hands, and I heard an angry buzzzzz.  Then I stepped on a yellow jacket wasp.  I got out of the room without dropping the chair or making a peep, even though it hurt more than I ever remember an insect sting hurting.  I killed the offending bug, and tended my wound.  I then spent the evening sitting on the couch with my feet up on the table, with some knitting to keep my hands busy.

I finished the main body part of The Girl’s pink sweater.

Then a few days later, when the enormous bruise on the bottom of my foot finally healed, I came down with a fever and a splitting headache.  I have no idea if it’s related to my previous sickness, or something new altogether.  Whatever it is, it has slowed me down even more.

Sometimes we need a little reminder to take care of ourselves: a trip to the doctor, a nasty insect sting on the bottom of the foot, and a fever and headache.  Message received, thank you.  Now I think I had better sit on the couch some more before a safe falls on me.