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jessrock.bsky.social
jessrock
@jessrock.bsky.social
290 followers 240 following 1.6K posts
Birds, books, crafts, cats, and tea / pro trans joy / against prisons / Chicago / any pronouns ok / you might know me from Glitter or MeFi
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jessrock.bsky.social
I finished making my leather-bound book! Made the spine too tight though so it doesn’t open as well as I wanted, but at least I know what I did wrong and how to fix it next time.
A hardcover book, bound in red leather, rests on a plaid tablecloth. Top-down view of the leather-bound hardcover book. Another view of the leather-bound book resting on the plaid tablecloth. The hardcover leather-bound book stands partially open on a plaid tablecloth. The pages are fanned out. A black cat is sleeping on a window shelf in the background.
November 24, 2025 at 2:19 AM
jessrock.bsky.social
I took a leather bookbinding class at the leather arts school and now I’m making books at home again

I think this was my first time using my punching cradle, it makes things much easier!

I’ll make and attach a cover tomorrow
A signature (group of folded sheets of paper) in an orange plastic punching cradle. A white hand is holding a blue piece of card stock against the paper. The card stock has markings for where to punch holes. Part of an awl is visible to the right of the cradle. A book block stitched together. There are two linen tapes running perpendicular to the spine that have been stitched down with looping X shapes. In the background, a black cat sleeps on a window shelf.
November 23, 2025 at 4:33 AM
jessrock.bsky.social
Thanks for doing this & encouraging everyone to give!
Donation receipt for $100 to Midwest Immigration Bond Fund
November 14, 2025 at 12:46 AM
jessrock.bsky.social
My work sent a short plain text all-staff email invitation to a holiday party, and at the end of the email was a picture of the Glitch Winter Wingding Party Pack?

Verifying the name of the party pack is how I found out that glitchthegame dot com just redirects to slack dot com now 😭
A picture of the Winter Wingding Party Pack from the game Glitch. It looks like a board game box with the word PARTY in large letters above a simple snowy landscape with a snowman and some evergreen trees.
November 13, 2025 at 1:42 AM
jessrock.bsky.social
They also, briefly, dressed up
A black and white cat wears a yellow rain poncho while sitting in a purple washtub inside a white bathtub. He is staring up inside the faucet. A black cat is wearing a blue wizard’s robe.
October 31, 2025 at 6:22 PM
jessrock.bsky.social
Happy Halloween
Two cats stare at the camera. The black and white cat is sitting inside a plastic cauldron exactly big enough to hold him. The black cat is seated on the ground behind him.
October 31, 2025 at 5:57 PM
jessrock.bsky.social
Took a class on dyeing leather and it was mostly a skill-building class but on the last day (today) we made a glasses case
A leather glasses case, closed, viewed from the front. It is dyed in a gradient that shifts from purple at the left and right edges to bright pink to yellow at the center. It closes with a small gold sphere. A leather glasses case, closed, viewed from the back. It is dyed in a gradient that shifts from purple at the left and right edges to bright pink to yellow at the center. A leather glasses case, open, viewed from the front. The outside is dyed in a gradient that shifts from purple at the left and right edges to bright pink to yellow at the center. The inside is dyed yellow.
October 9, 2025 at 3:09 AM
jessrock.bsky.social
We watched Flow and the kittens LOVED it
Two cats are watching a large-screen tv in a messy living room. The tv is displaying an extreme close-up image of an animated black cat’s face with huge yellow eyes. A black and white cat is standing on his hind legs, front paws on the soundbar, face an inch from the screen. A black cat sits behind him on the floor, also watching the screen. Two cats in the same positions as before, but now a different scene in the movie, with the animated cat in profile against a blue sky with pink clouds. Two cats still in the same positions as before. The tv is now displaying a an image of an animated black cat standing on a rock surrounded by water. Two cats are watching a large-screen tv in a messy living room. They are both sitting on the floor now. The tv is displaying an image of an animated black cat sitting inside a boat.
September 1, 2025 at 10:05 PM
jessrock.bsky.social
Did absolutely nothing all week for my week off, but I did spend 10 hours last night and today making a bag at the leather school
A tote bag made of distressed brown leather rests on a gridded cutting mat. The body is made of three panels. The center panel is narrow at the top and angles outward to the bottom, and the side panels look like inverted triangles on either side of the center panel. The same leather tote bag hangs sideways on a wooden door, showing the shape of the side panels, which are like inverted triangles that are rounded at the bottom.
August 24, 2025 at 12:44 AM
jessrock.bsky.social
The tummy pets enjoyer, wondering why I stopped briefly (it was to take this photo)
A black and white cat is laying on his back, tummy exposed, arms stretched up above his head
August 19, 2025 at 8:00 PM
jessrock.bsky.social
Vacation day 1: found some cool bugs
Cicada shell clinging to some mossy tree bark Ailanthus webworm moth and honeybee on a yellow coneflower. The moth looks almost like a beetle and is bright orange with stripes of black with white spots. Monarch butterfly viewed from the side on a yellow flower. Small brown and cream colored butterfly (Peck’s skipper?) with a long proboscis extended into a bright pink clover flower.
August 18, 2025 at 10:50 PM
jessrock.bsky.social
This week in Cats Sitting In Things
A black and white cat is curled up inside a bright green shopping bag. Only his head and feet are visible. The bag is on its side on a tiled floor. One of the bag’s handles is looped over one of the cat’s ears. A black cat is sitting up inside a bright green shopping bag. The bag is upright on a tiled floor. There’s a stuffed moose on a low shelf behind the bag. A black cat is curled up inside a bright purple washtub that is resting inside a white bathtub. A black and white cat is inside an aqua colored shopping bag. The bag is on its side on a wooden floor. The cat has his head inside one of the bag handles.
August 17, 2025 at 2:37 PM
jessrock.bsky.social
Meanwhile, here’s a status update from the other cat
A black cat is sleeping on his back, eyes tightly closed and all four legs in the air. He’s on top of a fuzzy white fake sheepskin pad on a window perch.
August 11, 2025 at 12:34 AM
jessrock.bsky.social
Today I finished my book club book, went to a farmers market, and ran a couple neighborhood errands. Can’t fill my pens though because there’s a cat in the sink.
A black and white cat is relaxing in a white sink basin. He is looking lazily at the camera. His tail and front and back feet are all in a little pile.
August 11, 2025 at 12:19 AM
jessrock.bsky.social
Babby katydid!

(Idk what instar, it was nearly full size but the wings are so tiny)

(Sorry I guess this is just a bug photography account right now)
A bright green katydid with long legs and very short wings walks across a sidewalk.
August 6, 2025 at 12:16 AM
jessrock.bsky.social
Bugs bugs bugs
(pt 2/2: non-bees)
A bright orange and black large milkweed bug on a milkweed pod. The pod is very pale green and spiky. A small white butterfly with tattered wings sits on a column of tiny purple flowers above bright green leaves. A small orange and brown butterfly sticks its proboscis in the spiky orange center of a purple coneflower. The same orange and brown butterfly from a different angle, showing the outside of its closed wings.
August 2, 2025 at 10:15 PM
jessrock.bsky.social
Bugs bugs bugs
(pt 1/2: bees ft. another all-black bee!!)
A fuzzy yellow and black bumblebee sits on a pale purple wild bergamot flower. The background behind the bee and flower is green. An all-black bee (mason bee?) in the center of a cream-colored flower. The bee's back leg is absolutely covered in yellow pollen. A orange and black honeybee sits in a cluster of very small pink and white flowers. An orange and black honeybee sits in a cluster of small, bright orange flowers.
August 2, 2025 at 10:15 PM
jessrock.bsky.social
Go caterpillar go!

(Polyphemus moth caterpillar I think?)
July 27, 2025 at 7:15 PM
jessrock.bsky.social
The tummy is not a trap
A black and white cat, eyes closed, blissed out expression, lying on his back receiving tummy pets Same cat, different angle, reveling in having his tummy petted
July 27, 2025 at 1:14 AM
jessrock.bsky.social
What kind of bee is all black? (In Chicago; sorry for not great photos)
An all-black bee with absolutely loaded pollen pants hovers over a pale purple wild bergamot flower Same all-black bee viewed from its other side
July 26, 2025 at 11:05 PM
jessrock.bsky.social
The printer enjoyer is settling in for a nap
A black cat is making biscuits on a window seat A black cat is stretched out on a window seat
July 26, 2025 at 6:28 PM
jessrock.bsky.social
In Boston a million years ago I found the Metropolitan Rage Warehouse: Ire Proof
A large red brick building against a blue sky. One side of the building says Warehouse in white capital letters. The words on the other side are partially cut off by the angle of the photo and the visible letters say Metropolitan Rage Warehouse Ire Proof.
July 26, 2025 at 3:35 PM
jessrock.bsky.social
Here's pictures I took last year from right after I finished it, before I filled it with things.
A long, thin tool roll made of a series of different colored pockets, hand stitched with a variegated thread. Top to bottom the pockets are purple, dark blue, light blue, light green, and grey. The grey pocket has a black square of felt sewn to it for holding needles. The same tool roll, rolled up. The outside is all grey with a long strap that serves as a tie.
July 21, 2025 at 1:04 AM
jessrock.bsky.social
Finally went out with my macro lens for some bug photos!
An electric blue damselfly sits on a sidewalk. A fuzzy yellow bumblebee collects pollen from a pale purple wild bergamot flower. A fuzzy yellow bumblebee collects pollen from a bright yellow flower. A brown grasshopper sits on a green leaf.
July 19, 2025 at 1:04 AM
jessrock.bsky.social
They're different! Black raspberries are small and soft and very sweet. They're too delicate to travel well so they aren't normally available in stores. I grew up with a black raspberry patch & they're a particular favorite of mine.
Six black raspberries in a white person's hand.
July 18, 2025 at 2:52 AM