Arts and Crafts at Jumping Java

So I finally convinced my best friend that he needed to start painting again, and that we both needed to spend less time on the Internet and more time doing creative things.  So every night when we go to Jumping Java now, instead of bringing our laptops Joe brings his painting supplies and I bring my crochet supplies.  We work on our projects and visit with each other.  I have finished my first project which is this beautiful circles and waves scarf.

This scarf is actually two pieces sewn together.  It is another project that I got from Interweave Crochet magazine.  It was actually very fast to make, and a lot easier than it looks.

And Joe finished his first painting this week.  Here is the first painting that he has done in a while.

I just love it when he does winter scenes.  He does very good with winter scenes.  The cabin in this picture is the perfect size compared to the trees and the river.  Good job, Joe!  Now I am just trying to convince him that he needs to start his own painting blog.  I hope he does.  When I told him that he could blog about his painting technique he looked at me like I was crazy, so I don't know if I will succeed in this.

Fancy Collar and Fingerless Gloves

I found this pattern out of Interweave Crochet Magazine.  It was very easy and fast to make.  However, it is not a cheap thing to make.  The buttons cost around sixteen dollars for this project.  For this reason alone I am probably not going to sell this one on Etsy.com.  However, if someone falls in love with this and wants it I can still make it, it just won't be very cheap.

 The other thing that I found difficult about this pattern was finding something to wear with it.  A black turtle neck would look good with this also.  However, I found it looks better with a shirt that has a pattern on it.  The shirt must have a collar on it so that there's no skin showing.

Overall, this was still a fun project to make and I might even make the gloves in blue sometime when I get the money for more buttons.