Update: It seems that Amy was the first to leave a comment suggesting that I knit a tiny bee. Thanks, Amy!
Here’s a tip: don’t call him “Honey”—bees hate that!
I tried figuring out who might have suggested that I make a Tiny Bee, but I’m having trouble finding anyone! If you think you suggested it, let me know!
Check out this awesome stop-motion animation that Leila made with her Luvgun (and requisite adorable ammo)!
Luvgun from Leila Mays on Vimeo.
She has really inspired me with this! I really truly want to make a stop-motion animation with some knitted toys… as soon as I find the time.
Are you in the NYC area? If so, please come to Brooklyn General on July 11th for the Knitting Mochimochi release party!
I’ll be at the store from 2 to 6 pm along with the full cast of characters from the book, so you can pat them and hug them and decide which you’re going to knit first.
Bring some yarn and double-pointed needles (worsted-weight yarn and size 5 or 6 dpns are recommended), and you can make a Bite-Free Bed Bug from the book!
The pattern will be available to anyone who comes, and you will be welcome to get knitting on it right there. Of course I’ll be there to answer any questions about the book and give tips on toy knitting. Should be fun!
It would mean a lot to me to see people there. PLUS two days later is my birthday, and having a fun little release party would be the best present ever.
If you haven’t been to Brooklyn General before, it’s about time that you did! They are housed in an old general store (hence the name), and they carry yarn, fabric, and other cool crafty stuff. The closest subway station is Carroll St in Brooklyn—just a short trip from Manhattan on the F line.
No signup or RSVP is needed—just come anytime between 2 and 6 pm. Hope to see you on July 11th!
I just wanted to write up a quick post about Liberty. It’s likely that you’ve heard of the famous department store in London, but I didn’t really know much about it before visiting the other day. I can now confirm that it’s an incredible store, both in architecture and stock!
For one thing, I knew they had printed fabrics, but I didn’t know that they had an entire floor of craft supplies, including yarn.
I could say a lot more about the store, but I’ll just point out one fun find: plates and cups with designs by Donna Wilson, an artist and toy knitter.
I blogged about Donna Wilson’s pattern book The Knitted Odd-bod Bunch last year. I love her style!
Update: The Tiny Perching Pigeon Party was featured in Londonist! (Thanks, m@!)
I just had the best time making Tiny Perching Pigeons with Stitch London!
About 40 London knitters turned out to this evening’s Tiny Perching Pigeon Party at St James’ Park. I was wowed by how many brought multiple pigeons already finished, and all the many variations were a riot to see.
After a couple of hours of knitting and chatting, we all paraded over to Trafalgar Square with our feathered friends to replace the pigeons that were chased out a few years ago. (Feeding them is now banned in the square and surrounding areas.) No one seemed to object to our temporary flock of cuties, fortunately—although we certainly got the attention of some tourists.
Once in place, the pigeons all got their picture taken by the group.
After the photo shoot, most knitters took their birds home to cozy captivity. I’m planning to set a few of my own free in the city and in other parts of England that my mom and I travel to this week.
Thank you to everyone who made pigeons and contributed to this fun display of knitted cuteness in all shapes and sizes. And a HUGE thank-you to Deadly Knitshade and Stitch London for arranging the pigeon-perfect party!
Wow, London has been so much fun! It helps that we’ve had great weather so far—I’ve even gotten a tiny bit sunburned, which I wasn’t expecting. My mom and I have packed an unbelievable amount of sights and shops and food into one weekend, so I’ll share a bit of that here on the blog when I can!
One of the highlights so far has been my visit to All the Fun of the Fair, a knitting shop just off Carnaby Street in Soho.
It’s a darling little shop, with very pretty yarn and lots of fun buttons and other goodies. The neatest thing about All the Fun of the Fair is the way that they specialize in silly knitted foods, tea cozies, and other cute and more or less impractical stuff. Right up my alley!
Sarah was behind the counter there and I chatted with her a while about the shop and knitters in London. I was happy to learn that she had seen my Tiny Perching Pigeons from the Stitch London newsletter!
… Speaking of which, today is the Tiny Perching Pigeon Party at St James’ Park! I can’t wait!
Check out the perched-upon logo that Stitch London used in their latest newsletter.
Totally squee-worthy!
If you haven’t seen it yet, Knit Picks is giving away two copies of Knitting Mochimochi on their blog! To enter, just leave a comment on their post about it.
Knit Picks staffer Stacey wrote up the nicest post about the book and my designs. It’s so great to have the enthusiasm of a yarn company, and the comments that people have been leaving are just amazing—as of my writing this, there exactly 700 comments! I can hardly believe it, but you CAN believe that I’ve read every one of them. I’m so touched (and a bit bewildered) by the response!
Sick of the rain, she’s hoping someone will mistake her for a parasol one of these days.
A Tiny Umbrella seems fitting (thanks Lauren!) because I’m off to London and beyond right now on a trip with my mom! I’m looking forward to real vacation, but I’ll still be more or less available if you need to get in touch, and I plan to keep blogging from the UK whenever I have wifi. I am anticipating cute accents, cobbled streets, and eating ice cream with Camera Obscura. (That last one is unlikely.) I don’t think I’ll do much knitting there EXCEPT for the Tiny Perching Pigeon Party in London on Monday (6/21)!
By the way, Tiffany was the first to suggest that I make a Tiny Umbrella back in July of last year, so she gets a free pattern!