Winning caption by Karen:
I am 16mm going on 17 mm…
A Tiny Nun occurred to me this week because I realized that I didn’t have a tiny something that started with an N yet. (Nearly all of the letters in the alphabet are covered now!)
How about a caption contest for this little sister? I’m curious to see how many people can refrain from using a “habit” pun… Our favorite caption writer (one per person please) will get a free PDF pattern from the Mochimochi Shop on Monday!
My sister-in-law Jenna is the sweetest—as a Chrismas present to her brother (and also to me by default), she took some gorgeous photos of Soupy and Nipsey. We had a difficult time narrowing them down, so we will soon look like weirdos with a wall full of cat photos in an otherwise photo-less apartment. Here are some of my favorites.
(You gotta love a man-with-a-miffed-cat shot.)
As you can probably tell (and as I’ve mentioned here recently), Jenna is a professional photographer. Can you believe this was her first time photographing cats? We’re going to treasure these forever.
Great news! I will be exhibiting an installation at Vogue Knitting Live in NYC later this month.
The installation will be comprised of a big chunk of my 2010 show at gallery hanahou, but a bit reconfigured and with a few new surprises. I’m excited to have this opportunity to share this crazy knitted world with a crowd exclusively made up of knitters.
You’ll be able to find me along with some other exciting fiber artists (including Hannah Haworth and Ben Cuevas) in the gallery area of VK Live, which will be located in the Americas Hall II on the 4th Floor of the the New York Hilton.
I’ll also be doing a book signing at the Knitty City booth on Sunday, January 23rd, at 1 pm.
Hope to see some of you there!
Let’s start this year off with some inspiration! Here are a few things that are making me want to do new and exciting stuff…
Digital Textile Design by Melanie Bowles and Ceri Issac
I’d had my eye on this book since it came out in 2009, and just got it for Christmas! (Thanks Mom and Dad!) I haven’t yet delved into the technical stuff, but I’m determined to be designing myself some textiles by year’s end. How cool would it be to make a stuffed toy out of your own fabric? I know Spoonflower has been around for a while, but I’m interested in seeing what other possibilities there might be. And then actually doing it!
Ninon is an Italian plush artist living in Berlin, and she totally has my heart right now with her fun fabric combos and lovely embroidery. I bought this beautiful creature by her at Schmancy on my Seattle trip, and she has plenty more in her Etsy shop and also in the current plush show at gallery hanahou! (Read an interview with her on the gallery blog.)
The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design by Shannon Okey
I ordered Shannon’s book several months back, and finally had a chance to read through it toward the end of the year. Just reading about her experiences being a professional designer (along with her interviews with many other designers) gave me some much-needed motivation to take a step back and think about where I would like to go with my work and life in general. It’s definitely not just for design professionals, either—if you have any interest in designing, or blogging, or some other kind of crafty enterprise, this book will give you some good ideas and a starting point.
CRAFT featured one of this knitter’s amazing designs a little while ago, and it was the most inspiring knitting I had seen in a while. I had to send her fan mail right away! She has patterns and gorgeous finished items and available in her Etsy shop. (And I would be lying if I said her designs didn’t make me want to make insane color work toys…)
This 2009 documentary popped up on Netflix Saturday night, and it turned out to be a good way to ease into the year. It was a bit slow for John, but I appreciated its low-key, reflective tone, and I enjoyed hearing about the processes of various people working in industrial design and how they each define “good design.”
Crazy Rhythms by The Feelies
I am constantly plugged into music and podcasts while I knit and do everything else, so I get excited when I come across a new album that I can obsess over. In the case of The Feelies (thanks, Leah!), this is not a new album at all (it was originally released in 1980), but that’s almost better—it’s somehow reassuring to think that there are great things from the past waiting to be re-appreciated. New music helps stimulate new ideas, is what I’m thinking!
Tiny Walrus wishes everyone a happy new year! His resolution is to put on some extra walrus weight. What’s yours?
I wanted to wrap up 2010 with a thank-you to all of you who have visited the Mochimochi Blog this past year. Whether you’ve let your presence known or not, I’ve enjoyed sharing my projects with you!
So much happened in this busy year. How about a quick review?
– A new website design
– 10 new patterns in the shop
– 3 new free patterns on the blog
– Knitting pigeons with Stitch London
– Knitting Mochimochi came out
– My first solo show opened in NYC
– 52 weekly Tiny Things (assuming I can squeeze one more in by Friday)
– and the best ever Mochimochi Photo Contest!
I feel so lucky to get to do all of this and have you all along with me, and I’m planning and wishing for more exciting stuff in 2011. See you then!
Betcha can’t guess what I’m working on for 2011!
I’m at that stage in the design process when I’m daring to hope that it will turn out just how I want, but at the back of my mind I’m fearing that I may need to rethink it entirely…
Either way, I’m looking forward to finding out what the new year will bring.
Now that Christmas is over, I can post my knitted Nipsey and Soupy! They were a gift to my mother-in-law Bonney, finished just a few days before the 25th.
As you can see, Nipsey doesn’t seem to agree that his cat looks like him, but he appreciates the effort and the added touch of a fish.
And Soupy is wondering when this rude intruder will get out of his personal space!