The Geekiest Baby: A Firefly-Themed Birthday Present

"Yes... yes. This is a fertile land, and we will thrive.
We will rule over all this land, and we will call it... This Land." 

"I think we should call it... your grave!" 

"Ah! Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"

"Hahaha! Mine is an evil laugh!"

I promise this is the last SHB-related sewing for a while! I'm tired of making tiny things and will go back to making Large Human Being items. But indulge me in this last project.

SHB's friend (okay, the child of my friend, because babies don't really have friends) turned one this last weekend and we were invited to his birthday party. I wanted to make a little something for him, and research shows that beanbags are a good item to make for a small human being. While I would ordinarily just go for cats like Gillian did, I realize that not everyone has seen the light is a cat person. Now, this kid's mom is a huge Firefly fan too, though, so I racked my brains trying to figure out what I could make that would be rated G. Reaver beanbags? Dead-body-that's-not-actually-dead beanbags? Stolen-drugs-from-an-Alliance-hospital-for-selling-on-the-black-market beanbags? Hmm, maybe not. But wait! Wash has dinosaurs on the dashboard! Only thing is, how can I make them specifically Firefly dinosaurs, and not just generic dinosaurs? And that's when I decided that a tiny grave plushie was appropriate. Further stash searching revealed that I still had fabric from this dress leftover, which was perfect for making a drawstring playmat "This Land" to go with the beanbags.

I think the little fabric tag on the drawstring makes it look more real.

With the beanbags for a size comparison.

Summary:
Pattern: None for the beanbags, I just freehanded them. As for the playmat, does one really need a pattern for a circle?
Fabric: Fleece scraps from the stash for the beangbags, thrifted cotton sheets for the playmat (one square yard each for the front and back)
Notions: Polyfil stuffing and beads for the beanbags, cotton cord for the playmat drawstring
Hours: An hour and half for the beanbags and an hour for the mat.
Will you make it again? I still have enough fabric to make a set for SHB when he gets older...
Final thoughts: Thankfully, my friend appreciated the humor of the set and didn't think it was morbid to give a grave to a one year old as a birthday present.

As far as I'm concerned, this is the only appropriate use of the Papyrus font, and only just barely. 

This is also the same friend who loaned us this Jayne hat so that SHB could take a picture with his Blue Sun shirt:

"You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with until you understand who's in ruttin' command here." Hmm, somehow plastic links don't seem that scary, although there's no doubt that it's his nap schedule that's in command of our lives over here. 

Okay, that's the end of geekcrafting for SHBs for a while. I've got a couple of unblogged fancy dresses to show off, just as soon as I sort through the photos!