A Work in Progress

I guess it was kind of a productive summer...

2011-09-15T23:19:00.000-05:00

I don't have pictures of everything, but here's what I've been up to since May:
I'll start with these guys, mostly because I want to get them out of the way.

They stand for my procrastinating ways like no other. I promised to have these finished by the time I left Vantage and I've been with Millipore for almost a year and a half. They were so simple and I hope the little girl that gets them loves them as much as her aunt loved the pattern. Maybe she'll even share with her new cousin...
This guy is the second half of a commission from a coworker.

It was her idea (pre-Bob's Burgers episode), so she's a pretty awesome coworker. I completely forgot to take pictures other than a webcam picture to send to Catty Kitchen members, but his colors are neon, not pastel.
I debated whether to post this picture.

It's one of two (the second, larger one is not photo-ready) for a dear friend who just had a baby and also has an older son I've never made anything for. It's a simple pattern but it's my own, so I'm kinda proud. I can't wait for them to be back in the country so I can give them the little buggers.

This was my non-crochet project that was just "finished" tonight.

I still need to complete my more esthetic solution for necklaces, but it's close enough for pictures. Including pictures of the earrings (with a matching, non-pictured necklace) I made.

The original windows from our house were left in our garage when Justin bought the house, so we've been starting some projects with them. Justin and Octavia also got some burlap sacks from Ronnoco for yard purposes and I stole one for my new jewelry holder. Unfortunately, the one of the glass panes took its frustration out on Justin's finger, but it looks like the finger's going to pull through.

Whew. It seems the thought of going back to school really kicked my creativity into high gear. If this is how non-school times are going to be, I can't wait for winter break.

Dino's Revenge!

2011-01-30T15:40:00.000-06:00

Finally! I started a project mid-September, and it came to a close mid-January, just under a month behind schedule. I say revenge simply because there's a chance I messed my thumb up crocheting so frequently, but I would have done that anyway, so there are no hard feelings towards these little buggers. There are, however, feelings of sadness. I grew pretty attached to them, and it was hard to see them go. So, without further ado, my biggest crochet undertaking since ever.

This was the one I was most hesitant to make, but he ended up being my favorite. Even with his enormous teeth.

Triceratops ended up being the most frustrating. His mouth and hood never looked quite right, so I settled for pretty darn cute.

Brontosaurus steals the show as most adorable. He was so simple, but ended up having quite a bit of character. I don't usually like mouths on creatures, but I'm really glad I kept it.

This is the stegosaurus' best angle by far. I love his ridges and the brown for his spikes worked out really well. His front is pictured below, but again, still not 100% happy with his mouth.

So here they are.

I'm really proud of them. Mostly because I followed someone else's pattern almost 100%, which I have NEVER done before. While I love them very much, it just showed me that my instinct with patterns is usually correct as I am more creative than most. =) But coming up with 4 dinosaur patterns and actually finishing them by ~~Christmas~~ January 21st was not likely. I'm really glad to have had the opportunity for something like this, and I hope the little beau that received them enjoys them as much as I enjoyed my time with them.

*Interested in your own J-fer's Creation? Drop me a line and I'll let you let you know what I can work out.*

Jenn + Amy = Coolest!

2010-09-07T21:50:00.002-05:00

During my time at St. Louis College of Pharmacy, I didn't accomplish much. One thing I am very proud of is my ability to sniff out a pretty spectacular friend. Luckily, she was right across the hall and probably had a feeling that I was pretty awesome too because it didn't take much to make her a really close friend. We went through all kinds of shenanigans together. Some of which I will post here in picture form, if blogger allows me to.


I realize this is just me, but this is one of two pictures I still have from a photo shoot for someone long forgotten. It was a celebration, our favorite show was about to start, The Monkey Dolphin Show, starring Frog.


Oh, man. This is an old one. We were some wild and crazy girls? boys?


We had a brief period of time when Amy was embarrassed to go in public, I mean Aldi's with me. I have since returned to my natural hair color.

We are fantastic dancers. For being white girls.

We are also very beautiful women. Who would have thought those two short-haired weirdos from the 3rd floor would turn out so easy on the eyes?

I am now happy to say, she is no longer my Amy Basler, but my Amy Schmidt (or Schmasler, if they take my advice). In the midst of our years together, James came along and won my friend's heart.

I'm so glad they've found each other and wish them a lifetime of happiness together, as long as they include me. =)


No matter what your name is, Fishes Fo Life!

Holy cow, she's at it again!

2010-08-13T13:55:00.000-05:00

I woke up at the crack of dawn today because my horribly needy cat won't shut her face. So, what else would I do other than attempt a broomstick bracelet.

It turned out more like a wristband than an elegant bracelet, but I'm really happy with the results. Plus, I'm a genius, so I was able to figure out what type of yarn I would need and what size to make future bracelets. Look out Catty Kitchen birthday season. =)

Off to Memphis!

Found?

2010-08-11T14:03:00.000-05:00

I suppose I found some inspiration (not wanting to pay over $100 for a dress can be pretty inspirational). St. Amy is getting married! And after a long, hard journey (mostly for Amy, I just enjoyed the drama from aside), I am a bridesmaid. So, naturally, I decided to make my dress. Not because that's the kind of thing I do, because I am absolutely insane.
I also found this pattern, thank you McCall's and thank you Hancock for putting it on sale for $1-ish.

So far, I'm right about $60 with all of my materials and pleased with my work. Even if I only wear it once, I still beat David's Bridal.

I had some great help from my mom, she actually did the entire top, which I don't think I could have done as well or as quickly. She also gave me some confidence to tackle the rest of the dress. (P.S. This woman is pretty much where I get my sense of humor from, and I could not love her more for it.)

Side bar- This little lady gave me some confidence as well. If she can do one a day, I surely can do one a summer.

Can't forget this little guy! Holy cow, how adorable is this? Faith's mom made this for her and she has since passed it on to me.

Anyway, back to the dress. I'm not completely finished, but I actually have a spare moment to post these, so I took advantage of it. I'll post a finished set asswell. But! Here is what I've done so far.

That cream with purple detail in the back is going to be the sash.

Annnnnnnnnnnd..... all together now...sort of.

Circus Kitty

2010-05-01T14:36:00.003-05:00

Gamora and I have a new exercise routine. It consists of running from the back of the back yard up to the back door. As soon as she reaches the door, I turn around and run to the back of the yard with camera in hand. She then turns to follow me again and finishes the routine with this pretty spectacular move. I need to trim her nails, but this is just too funny to take away from her.

A promise is a promise, even if it's drunk.

2010-04-22T17:58:00.002-05:00

So, it's been awhile. I've been busy.

I was up really late last night because I just couldn't get to sleep. While sitting on my couch reading The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan and listening to my neighbors have one of the longest, loudest screaming matches I've heard outside of my family, I considered dusting off the ol' work in progress. But last night was not the time. It would have just been a long rant about how I hate liars, cheats, and (most of all) people who refuse to accept their personal responsibilities. I don't really want to do that here, not for my first entry back in the saddle.

Instead, I have pictures of my yard. Most of these beauts can be attributed to the hard work of my chicken, since I can't get within 10 feet of poison ivy without feeling itchy for weeks (I think this is going on week 4).

This guy just popped up today. It made me smile.This little lady was hiding underneath all its leafy friends. Trickster.Samson. Wasn't sure he survived the winter, but I think his hair is coming in quite nice. DelilahPig the Protector (Retired, although I wish he had told us he retired before July 29, 2009. It would have been nice to know.)

Our bamboo is sneaking up! Saturday, the straight guy in the front was about an inch tall!
I haven't named it though.

We have a lot of other goodies in the house, but that'll be for another post.

Welcome back me!

Chicken

2009-07-13T13:45:00.009-05:00

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.
- E E Cummings

Not one day with Justin is wasted. He makes me laugh even when it makes me hate him because all I want to do it pout.

And for that, I love him very much.

Ok, here we go!

2009-07-08T16:33:00.000-05:00

Owlright, here we go. Ha, just thought of that.
I have been semi-trying to start this thing since April or May, but I am a very busy girl.
Yesterday was a very productive day, so I decided that now is the time.
I have been putting off riding my bike for…well, almost two years, but really since I moved in with Justin on May 15th. Well, long story short, I got the bike, filled up the tires, and Greg fixed the crooked seat. So! I’m good to go! No excuses!
When I got home from work, I went for a ride. We live at the bottom of several hills, so I just rode around the area seeing which hills were doable at this time. I felt great other than some wobbly legs.
After I walked my bike back up the hill and into the garage, I was told that Gamora was running around playing with toys. This might seem like a normal thing for a cat to do, but up until this point, I believed she was crippled from a fight with another creature the night before (Justin’s fault…just throwing that out there). She had been limping the night before and earlier that day. Turns out, not only is she the toughest woman in the universe, she is the biggest drama feline around. When she was around me, she would limp, but while I was in the other room, she was just fine. What a bee. Although, I did give her bacon for lunch…maybe that had something to do with it.
Now that I have scorned my kitty, I started thinking about the mess I left in the garage earlier in the week. I bought a dresser from my neighbor awhile back and have been trying to strip the seven layers of paint off so it looks decent when I paint it to match my future bedroom. I was working on it Sunday night, but then Greg came over and I just never got back to finish or pick up the pounds of paint left on the garage floor. side bar: I got biodegradable stripper that worked great and smelled fantastic. The liquid just evaporates, so leaving it out actually helped clean up significantly. So, I got to work on getting the last 2 or 2.5 layers of paint off. Justin worked on his future herb garden, which was much easier than he thought it was going to be. It was nice to be working on two different projects, but still able to hang out. I got all the paint off except from the wood on the front and on the sides of the drawers, which I can just sand down. I can’t wait to get the paint on it. I got a nice green color with some brown for either the top or the drawers.
After working outside forEVER! We needed some nourishment. We just threw a pizza and some fries in the oven and showered off all the grime from the icky outside. After hanging out in the basement for a minute, I started on my dad’s birthday present. I was planning on buying him something, but I couldn’t think of anything I liked enough. My dad used to live in Antarctica, and somehow, that led to an adoration of penguins. Or maybe the two are completely unrelated. Anyway, I decided to crochet him a penguin. I made one for my little brother for Christmas and my dad really liked it. It took me about two hours to crochet the body, tummy, and wings. I made the eyes, beak, feet, and a base so he could stand up out of clay. I didn’t have a camera, but he turned out great. I dropped him off this morning on my way to work.
Wow. I guess I started with a bang. This is much longer than I anticipated. I really enjoy talking about myself, but geez! This is just one day, they had better not all be like this.
I will talk at you in the future!

J-Fer