Jemima the Girl Giraffe

Remember Jimmy? How could you forget such a unique giraffe, right? Well, Jimmy ended up going to a good home, and although I've missed him, I know he's being loved in ways that I am incapable of loving him.


So a good friend of mine just had a healthy baby girl. And we are so happy for her. So happy, in fact, that I decided to make Jimmy's little sister, Jemima.

Jemima has a few more details than Jimmy did.



She has cute little horn-nub-thingies.

An actual mane (she apparently got all of the hair genes in the giraffe family).

She has colored paws/hooves. And there are little bells inside her paw/hooves. Now the bells are all tightly packed, so there's no jingling. She does rattle however. So, that's cool, right?

She also has colored ears. She does not have eyelashes like Jimmy.

Overall, I think Jemima is lovely. She lacks the rugged appearance of Jimmy, but she'll make a fine "Welcome to the world" gift for a baby girl.

Harry Elefante & Boyz II Men

This is Harry Elefante, another creation from Simplicity 2613. He's a gift for a co-worker. While he is cute, I'm just not all that in love with his face, but I AM in love with his name. He enjoys calypso music, piña coladas, and getting caught in the rain. Just wanted to introduce you all. Shake hands, say nice to meet you, all that jazz.





Next: Boyz II Men, baby. TC and I were just minding our own business on Friday evening, having dinner with Kacy, when we got a phone call from the Bauers, our super awesome friends. They had exactly three extra tickets for the Boyz II Men concert at the Utah State Fair. We snatched them up and made our way to the fairgrounds (got flipped off over a parking spot by the way, but it was worth it because the parking spot was da shiz).


Look at those Boyz. I was surprised at how many of their songs I didn't know, but also surprised that if I remembered the song I knew every word. We danced and sang and screamed and cheered and clapped.

Kacy and me.

TC and me.

By the end of the evening we were so thirsty that we* thought we might die from dehydration. So we found ourselves with a jumbo Powerade, sucking it down so fast that we got a stomach ache. It was a seriously great evening, so thanks to the Bauers for the tickets and invitation, and for not laughing at our goofy dances. (Well, you laughed, yes, but it was more like a "Ha ha, I wish I could dance like that cuz it's so super cool and stuff," rather than a "Ha ha, you guys are crazy and I wish you weren't standing near me." That's what I'd like to think.)

What a great day!




*We = Gordita

Giraffe comb over

Have you ever seen a giraffe with a comb over? I hadn't either until I created one.


Meet Jimmy the Giraffe. Other contenders for his name were Jimmy "In Denial" the Giraffe, Jimmy "Receeding Hairline" Giraffe, or Jimmy "Cueball" the Giraffe.

Using a reproduction vintage pattern from Simplicity, I made Jimmy.


For his little eyes I used turquoise fabric I had leftover from the last project, cut into teensy circles and sewn on using a zigzag stitch. Then using embroidery floss, I sewed little eyelashes.

So here's where Jimmy gets interesting: I should have used fringe for his mane, but I didn't have any, so I decided to improvise using more embroidery floss. Yeah. That wasn't the best idea I've ever had. Look.


The floss doesn't hang well, and sticks to his back and each strand is kind of far apart. Poor Jimmy looks like he's balding. I like to tell him it gives him character.


This is his backside. I think it's cute.


More of his little backside.


Here's Jimmy posing with the pattern.

So here's the deal. Jimmy was supposed to be a consolation gift for one of the gals I visit teach who just had a baby (four months ago). I say consolation gift because I'm pretty much the world's worst visiting teacher, especially since my favorite companion ever moved. So I feel like I need to console her.

But Jimmy's kind of a mess. And I'm a horrible VT and I don't want to make things worse by gifting a deformed, follicly challenged stuffed giraffe. So Jimmy stays in my closet for unsuspecting young visitors to play with.

In all truthfulness, I'm in love with Jimmy, despite his challenges. Maybe I'll try making another little Jimmy as a consolation gift.