Category: Events

A Super-Scary Yarn Crawl

I had big ambitions this past weekend to hit up all of the yarn stores in the NYC Yarn Crawl, each of which was hosted a spooky toy from Super-Scary Mochimochi! Well, I didn’t quite get to all 11 stores, but I made it to four, which is more than my monthly average of yarn store visits at least!

Shoppers at Knitty City were greeted by a tall monster who’s more goofy than scary…
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Argyle had a Mama Bear Cave in store for visitors brave enough to check out the back of the store…
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Brooklyn General housed a weird box monster who was keeping watch over their sewing machines…
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And Purl Soho had a Sarcophacat lurking at the bottom of a display table!
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I hope participants in the yarn crawl had fun finding these guys and all the others!

My thanks to Phyllis for making this a Super-Scary weekend for NYC knitters, and also to Pearl at Knitty City for hosting a book signing on Saturday!

Book Signing at Knitty City Oct 6 + NYC Yarn Crawl

The Super-Scary events continue as Mochimochi Land’s creepiest new creatures try to take over New York City! This Saturday (October 6th) we’ll be at Knitty City.

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I’ll be there from 3-5 pm with my Super-Scary display and plenty of books, so please stop by if you’re in the city! This is not a formal event, so I’m just looking forward to hanging out at one of my favorite yarn stores and chatting with knitters about knitting tiny zombies, mummy cats, and dead toasters. And even if it’s a little far for you, I still hope to see you there because this weekend is also the NYC Yarn Crawl!

The characters from Super-Scary Mochimochi are playing a key role in this year’s crawl: they have the honor of being the must-find items for the scavenger hunt.

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These guys will be hiding in the 10 participating local yarn stores around the city, and it’s up to you to find them! Find out more about it all on the NYC Yarn Crawl website.

Lion Brand Yarn Studio Got Super-Scary!

I had the best time debuting my new book at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in NYC last week!

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Thursday evening the Studio hosted me for a Super-Scary Mochimochi talk, in which I shared some of the inspiration behind the book and behind-the-scenes details from my favorite projects. It was so nice to get a warm welcome from the staff and a great crowd of toy knitters!

Before the talk we squeezed in a video interview with studio director Patty Lyons:

I think I’m gradually getting less nervous when you put me in front of a video camera… progress!

Then on Sunday I was back at the Studio to teach a zombie knitting class. Look at the adorable mix of scary zombies that we ended up with!

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I love a class in which everyone can finish a project and take it home.

A bit thank-you to everyone at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio for a great event and class!

Mochimochi at NYC Maker Faire

UPDATE: We’ve decided to extend our Maker Faire stay through Sunday, Sept 30, so you can find me and Mochimochi goodies in the BUST Craftacular area both days!

I’m excited to have a bunch more local events coming up this fall—the next one is the NYC Maker Faire coming up next weekend! On Saturday only (September 29th) I’ll be at the BUST Craftacular area with books and kits and a few hand knitted tiny mochis.

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I’ll be sharing a table with the adorable hoodie designer Helene Park of Toasty Time. Please come by and say hi if you’ll be there! All info can be found at the Maker Faire website.

Super-Scary Event at Lion Brand Yarn Studio

NYC knitters: please join me on September 20th for a Super-Scary Mochimochi talk and Q&A at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio!

I am thrilled to return to the studio, this time with all the cute and spooky creatures from my new book. (I’ll also be signing copies, of course!) Space is limited, so please RSVP at the Lion Brand Studio website for this free event.

And I think there are still a few open spots in the Tiny Zombie class I’ll be teaching on September 23rd at the studio. If you’re new to knitting tiny mochis, this is the class for you!

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The Great Gnome-Snowman Battle of VK Live

This past weekend was so much fun! I got to spend three days meeting knitters and sharing my Gnomes vs Snowmen with them at Vogue Knitting Live here in NYC.

I love that the awesome people who organize VK Live set aside a generous space for fiber art. This year they had more artists than ever, and also more visitors than ever to the marketplace, where we were set up to show our work.

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Some of my original 45 pieces have been sold since the November show, and I pared down the remaining pieces to 24 so that they would fit two tables put end-to-end. It was a super-easy setup (way better than hand-stitching my past display together all over again), and I loved how simply it all fit together in this configuration.

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Initially I wasn’t sure how all the knitters would react to the crazy cartoonish violence going on in the scenes, but the response was really awesome! All ages of people were walking slowly around the tables, laughing and cooing over the snowman stranglings and gnome stabbings. And those who were a little less inclined to love gnome-on-snowman fighting just passed by quickly saying, “oh, a little village, how cute!” So everyone was happy.

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The hotel lighting, combined with my cell phone-only photos, did not make for great images of the other artwork in the room, but there was also beautiful work by Rania Hassan, who makes paintings with delicate knitted pieces emerging from them, Julia Ramsey, who designs amazing knitted gowns, and Carol E. S. MacDonald, who creates knitting-themed prints. There was also the knitted ceramic work of Alyssa Ettinger, beautiful t-shirts by Angela Spencer, and an impressive yarnbombing by Suzanne Tidwell.

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It was a pleasure sharing the space with these talented people. A big thank-you to Carol and everyone else at VK Live for inviting me to be a part of it again! And more thank-yous to Lion Brand and Knitty City for inviting me to their booths (for a Q&A and a book signing, respectively).

By the way, VK Live is coming to Chicago in October, so those of your in the midwest should seriously consider it! (Who knows, some warring gnomes and snowmen might even make the journey too…)

Gnomes and Snowmen (and me!) Headed for VK Live

Vogue Knitting Live is coming to NYC again next weekend!! I’ll be there, and I’m even bringing a couple of armies with me…

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You’ll be able to find me and my Gnomes vs Snowmen in the Art Gallery area of the Marketplace, which is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday, January 14th and 15th (with a preview for VK Live attendees on the evening of the 13th). I’ll also have books and kits for sale there, including a super-secret new kit! You’ll have to stop by to find out what it is.

Aside from my own display, you’ll be able to find me at the Lion Brand booth at 6 pm on Friday, January 13th, where I’ll be doing a Q&A. Then on Sunday the 15th I’ll be doing a book signing at the Knitty City booth at 11 am.

I can’t wait to see lots of familiar faces and meet many more knitters too. Please stop by and say hi if you’ll be there!

Talk at the American Folk Art Museum in NYC

Thank you so much to everyone who came out last night for the opening of Gnomes vs Snowmen!! I had such a great time and I hope you all enjoyed the cute chaos and adorable violence. Photos are coming soon!

makeitthursdayFor anyone who might be in the NYC area and interested in learning a bit more about what it is that I do, I’m giving a presentation at the American Folk Art Museum next Thursday as part of their new Make it Thursday series!

I feel so honored to have the opportunity to give a talk there. I’ll be showing some photos and talking about how I got started knitted toys and how they turned into the big crazy projects I’ve been doing in the past couple of years.

The talk starts at 6 pm on November 10th. Tickets are $10 for non-members, and can be purchased at the museum website.