Sewing for girls and babies is pure joy. Little boys, however, and even bigger ones, cannot be left high and dry when the girls and babies are showered with stitched delights.
Alastair is too little to care, so long as he has his blankie.  And it is still fun and satisfying to make things for him.
But I try, always, to keep things even between Robert and Laurel. Robert can count, add, subtract and compare amounts. He raced through the “more” and “fewer” work pages in his math curriculum as quickly as he rides his scooter down our sloped driveway. He would know right away that none for him is fewer than one for Laurel. He keeps score, like most children.
And so I sew for him, to reassure him that he is as important and well loved as his sister.
measuring up to his birthday tree
This rocket shirt has been one of his favorites. After adding the supplies and tools for hot fixed “jewels” to my sewing room, I knew that Robert would be as fascinated as eager as Laurel to try his hand at it. So each child added gems to a shirt.
Seeing him in the jeweled rocket shirt does not give me the warm glow I experience when I see Laurel in a dress I’ve made. But the memory spending that time with him is diamond studded.
