Friday, January 23, 2015

Dashing through the snow

I'm in the process of drafting my blog post all about Christmas, etc., but I came to this portion and decided it needed its own post, and that it needed to happen immediately.

Because Dash, that's why.






Let's take a closer look at that last one, there.


I thought it would be hard to pick my favorite, but it wasn't.



Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Projects in Review: 2014

Oh hi, blog. I haven't forgotten that I still need to write about Christmas, but first I'm posting this, the only "year in review"-type thing I plan on doing: My favorite crochet projects from 2014!! These were mostly gifts and are ordered strictly by the amount of time it took me to make each one, WHICH DOESN'T MAKE ANYONE'S MORE SPECIAL THAN ANYONE ELSE'S, it just means that some projects take longer than others.

Some of these images will seem quite large, because they are. But that's because I made all this stuff with mine own two hands, and it's my blog, plus I want my mom to be able to look at it all in detail without having to zoom in on each picture individually. So.

Non-crocheters/knitters: Ignore references to Ravelry (a knitting/crochet website). The link takes you to my project notes where you can also view the pattern, but you wouldn't be into that sort of thing, plus you'd need an account to view it all, anyway.

Starting on the lower end, timewise:

[Ravelry] I've made a pile of these bonnets for nieces et al., but this subtly variegated purple one, commissioned by my sister-in-law for her photography studio, ended up being my absolute favorite of the bunch.
 
 
[Ravelry] Penny wanted to be an ewok for Halloween, and I happily obliged. This was my first time totally inventing a pattern from scratch, and also my first attempt at surface crochet. The surface crochet result was very, very bad, but good enough for a dog. Also, this (make sure your volume is on).
 
 
 
[Ravelry] I DIE. I had to make this little lamb hat. Luckily Caylee bought it off me then took beautiful pictures of a beautiful child wearing it. I love it when that happens.
 
 
[Ravelry] I made two sets of this little bloomer/hat combo. The one intended for my friend Kellie got lost in the mail for three months and her baby was way too big for it all by the time it showed up. *fog horn*
 
 
[Ravelry] Penny's dog cozy. She loves it. Jon, demonstrating to Annie how to put it on: "You hold it like this....then she walks into it..." (as Penny walked into it)
 
 
[Ravelry] The blankets have begun! When I first started to crochet I thought I would NEVER make something as big as a blanket. It took me over a year to work up the courage, and then I made a half-dozen. This first one was for Kellie's baby. Luckily I sent it in a different box than the other stuff. The color was hard to photograph - a very pale lilac color and a deep violet.
 
 
[Ravelry] This one was for my sister-in-law Mackenzie. She didn't know the sex (turned out to be a baby girl). I loved this pattern so much and I couldn't believe how fast it worked up.
 
 
[Ravelry] This one (for Christa's baby Owen) proved impossible to photograph. It looks much better in person. The second picture is more representative of color (neon yellow and silvery grey).
 

 
 
[Ravelry] Annie commissioned me to make this for her friend. I hadn't finished my mom's Christmas present before I agreed to do this one, and only had five days to do it all. Plus, for Reasons, I really really wanted this one to turn out perfect. It came pretty close, despite the time crunch. This was my second time using this pattern, but in a totally different color scheme/stripe pattern.
 
 
 
[Ravelry] Big blanket (but also a small couch, so probably not as big of a blanket as it seems). This was a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law. I'm enamored of that green and purple combination.
 
 
 Looks so pretty all folded up.
 
 
[Ravelry] A blanket for baby Charlie. This was the same pattern as the pink and grey blanket, but since the colorwork was so much more intricate (and since I've gotten faster at crochet in general), this one took twice as long. Thanks, Kels, for sending me such beautiful photos!

 

 
[Ravelry] A little disappointing that my favorite and most time-consuming project to date doesn't have any good pictures (or even any pictures of the entire thing), but oh well. This was my mom's Christmas present, and I'm utterly obsessed with it. No lie, there were a couple of times while I was making it that I would stop, admire my work, and tear up because it was so beautiful and I just couldn't wait to give it to her (we both cried when I finally did. I think Annie might have cried, too).
 

Penny was feeling a little neglected with all the crochet I was doing toward the end of the year.
 
kthxbai
 

Saturday, January 03, 2015

Christmas 2014 (the movie)


A Very Sweet Christmas from Jessie Jensen on Vimeo.


First song:
Label: Asthmatic Kitty
Lumberjack Christmas/No One Can Save You from Christmases Past by Sufjan Stevens

Second song:
Label: Universal Republic Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc
Deck the Halls by The Last Bison

----------------------------------------------------

You'll notice I have a single formula for creating movies. Lots more recap (including GIFs of Dash's backyard shenanigans) to come. Eventually.

Poppie died shortly after we got home from this trip. I'll talk more about it later, it just felt weird not to mention it alongside the video (which turned out to be the last footage of him taken). We're going back to Utah next week for the funeral.

I hope you had very merry holidays. Mine were happy and sad.