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Originally uploaded by SarabellaE

I’ve been wanting to do a project in Asher’s bedroom for a long time now, ever since he started sleeping there. And yesterday we started and finished it in a single day!

His bed is a twin matress on the floor, with no bed frame or headboard or anything. We want it low like this so that if he rolls out of bed he won’t hurt himself.

I noticed that Asher often sleeps right up against the wall, sometimes with his head wedged into the corner where the two walls come together. The wall is cold in the night.

So, I wanted to make an upholstered headboard/bumper that would line both walls, keep him warm, be soft and cushy, and look nice all at the same time.

We went to Home Depot where they obligingly cut our plywood for us. Yay! We bought a few L-shaped metal brackets and some screws. Then we headed over to Beverly’s because they have the widest selection of batik fabrics that I know of in town. I liked picking the fabric! There were several beautiful colors in the blue-green family.

We came home, glued the thermal fabric (which is supposed to keep heat or cold on one side of the fabric and not transfer it to the other side) onto the plywood. Then we stapled on the batting. We originally intended to staple the batik fabric over the batting, but then realized if we ever need to wash it, we’d be out of luck. So, we measured and calculated and jerry-rigged a pillowcase-like sleeve to slip over the top of the headboard and bumper board. It took a little longer to sew the sleeves than it would have taken to simply staple the fabric down, but now we have a lot more flexibility. And since my kids like to barf on stuff (well, they prefer to barf on me, but sometimes stuff gets hit, too), we figure it will be nice to be able to wash it in the washing machine. And it wasn’t so hard to sew them that I can’t make a new set in another color someday!

You might wonder why on earth I’d pick such a dark green to go next to the red wall. I dunno. I just kind of like it, and I really like the way the room is full of so many bright colors, but somehow still has plenty of white. The fabric was inspired by the quilt my mother made Asher: It contains ever color of batik cottons and is beautiful. You can see DIY photos on my flickr if you want, including some BEFORE and AFTER shots.

Another thing I love about this project was that it took ONE DAY, and not many, like so many projects tend to require when you have kids helping and needing stuff like food and water and diaper changes—even though you’re BUSY!

And I SEWED!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarabellae/3325362431/

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Originally uploaded by SarabellaE

There is a sweet little book (actually a series of them) called The Tales of Tiptoes Lightly, about a tree fairy and her friends Pine Cone and Pepper Pot, Jeremy Mouse, and other forest characters. We’re donating a copy to the school fundraiser auction along with these needle-felted character dolls that I made. My donation is one day late, but they promised to take it anyway. 😉

Oh, and it’s worth A MILLION DOLLARS!

I hope you both have a wonderful birthday, full of joy, sushi, and sweet loving. I think you’re awesome and I’m proud to be your friend.

February, 2008

October, 2006

Tonight, for a brief — but glorious — five minutes of rowdy singing and raucous laughter, I was a GOD to a 6-year-old boy:

"Pickle, pickle in a jar,
How I wonder what you are!
You swim in briny juice so sweet,
Like a little, purple beet.
Pickle, pickle in a jar,
How I wonder what you are!"

Asher now says "eat," “watch,” “clock,” “little,” “cookie,” "monster," "Cookie Monster," “Elmo,” “Elmo, la, la, la!” (which means "I want to see the Elmo song on YouTube"), “hippo,” “seal,” “whale,” “chips,” “yellow,” "blue," “purple” (though he does not correctly identify yellow, blue, or purple),  “snow,” “pow,” “pluggie,” "read," “blankie,” “pick up,” “tools,” “apple,” “pickle,” “butterfly,” “bee,” “moon,” “moo,” "baaa," "cluck," "honk," "peep," “oink,” “pig,” "fish," “juice,” "peeking," "peek-a-boo," "mine,"and “honey cake” (which is a honey flavored rice cake). He also runs around the house (when he’s feeling well) shouting "Gone cuckoo! Gone cuckoo!" in a sing-song voice. Today he said to my dad, "Papa gone cuckoo!" Perhaps my favorite new word is his plaintive "Why?"

That is approximately 45 new words in three weeks. Brains are neat.

Some people want the future to bring them flying cars.
Some want jet-powered backpacks.
Some want alternative energy to be abundant and cheap.
Some want world peace.

Me? Well, I want that stuff too. But right now, I’d be fucking ecstatic to have a vaccine against the common cold, and all its associated secondary infections.

Asher has a high fever, labored breathing, nasty cough, and lethargy from a bad ear infection, which is a bonus gift from last week’s cold virus. He feels awful.

(I know,  , it could be worse. He could be in a NICU incubator. I’m sending your nephews good, healthy vibes.)

I think tomorrowfrostee  and samayam  go to court to testify about what they know about stuff and nonsense and a long-ago time. I’m thinking of you guys and wishing you strength and good luck in facing a scary situation. I love you both. I hope the truth of Hestia goes with you.
 

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Originally uploaded by SarabellaE

This is what I made for the boys for Valentine’s Day, before our trip to the snow. They woke up last Saturday morning to a path of paper hearts on the floor leading to their gifts, wrapped in paper hearts with tissue coming out the top. They looked like little sacred flaming hearts! The boy gnome is for Lucas, the girl for Asher.

I bought the wood and rope doll bodies. Making them took three evening sewing sessions. I figured out the clothes myself, without a pattern. The blond hair is boucle yarn and the brunette is wool roving. The hats are glued on.