He’s in the market for a tiny bento box to move into, if you have any leads!
Someone actually suggested that I knit a Tiny Onigiri back in July of last year! It was Amy, so she gets a free pattern. Thanks, Amy!
Author: Anna
It Even has a Back Cover
My editor said I could show the back cover of my book. Look—a barcode and everything!
The inside is filled with fun photos like the ones shown on the left. I’ll get to show some big images from the inside soon too, so stay tuned!
Merry Meadow Pillow!
My sweet mother-in-law tested the Merry Meadow pattern for me a little while ago, and not only did she whip it up super-fast, but she also made it into this cute pillow!
I would never have thought to do this myself. Amazing!
Thank you also to Angela and Tracy for testing this pattern!
Where Lawn Gnomes Are Born
I’m spending this week with my family in Oklahoma, for pleasure and also for a fun kind of business—more toy photography with the talented Brandi Simons!
Now that I live far away, it’s fun to return and discover new things in the Tulsa area that I’d never known about. Like the Skiatook Statuary, where I went with my dad the other day. It seems that if you have a lawn statue or fountain, it’s not unlikely that it came from this place. Even if you live in Russia, apparently!
It’s difficult to capture the size of the place or the number of statues on the grounds, but it is extensive. Cute, tacky, creepy, basket-y—they’ve got it all.
Gnomes abound, of course.
There was so much, and every type of statue came in so many different variations, that it was hard to focus on any particular one for long, and absolutely impossible to see them all. But my pick for most creepy-cute was this bunny bench.
And the ugliest thing I could find was this fountain, which might be specially designed to keep solicitors away.
I could have spent a couple of hours looking at everything, but there were Mother’s Day gifts to shop for. (Tragically, none of the Skiatook statues fit the bill.)
Tiny Goat
He is quite proud of himself for climbing up this most daunting mountain. Next he will conquer a big toe!
(And yes, I had the Gothic Archies song running around my head the whole time that I was making this guy.)
Setting up Lost at Sea
Yesterday was the big setup for “Lost at Sea,” which opens tonight (May 6) at gallery hanahou! I stopped by and watched as curator Kristen Rask, artist Jenny Harada, and Gabe from the gallery worked on it.
Kristen is in good spirits despite her lack of sleep:
Jenny looks up at her adorable hairy Plankton (I have my eye on that yellow and red one!):
Gabe cradles a big cutie by Cotton Monster:
They did such a nice job displaying everything—it’s going to be a great show. Please stop by if you’re in NYC!
Becky at CRAFT also blogged a preview of more of the pieces in the show yesterday, so check that out too!
The Definitive Botan Rice Candy Sticker
Today I randomly came upon Botan Rice Candy at Sunrise Mart, and so I had to buy a box. It turned out to contain what just might be the best-ever Botan sticker. Ever!
Let us take a moment to reflect on what makes this sticker so perfect. Weird anthropomorphic animal: check. Almost-normal-but-really-quite-baffling activity: double check. This bunny (who does not seem to be related to the ice cream-vendor bunny who showed up on the last Botan sticker I got) is using a computer, and giant doughnuts and candy are spewing out of the screen. What’s going on here? Is the bunny ordering doughnuts and candy online, or just enjoying some food porn? We don’t know. But the bunny is clearly DELIGHTED by the activity. Now that I think about it, maybe the sweets are meant to be a metaphor for how personal computer use is addictive and fun and terrible for you. Poor bunny has a problem.
It seems that I’m not the only person who enjoys obsessing over the stickers that come with Botan Rice Candy. I got an email the other day from someone who has a blog dedicated to them called The BRC Gallery. Go Internet!
Craft Spaces
Yesterday was an exciting day for me! First, my advance copy of Knitting Mochimochi arrived!
This is me hugging it. (Please excuse the messy hair. To be honest, I was too excited to take a shower.)
It’s so surreal to see the real thing, bound and with that new book smell and everything. I reeeally want to share some pictures of the inside. I will as soon as I can!
But that’s not all that happened yesterday. My chaotic workspace also appeared on the CRAFT blog for all the world to see!
Natalie at CRAFT invited me to be interviewed for their “Make Space for Crafting” series. The above photo was actually taken last year, and the feature shows a comparison to what my desk looks like now that I have yarn-obsessed cats in my life. And basically the interview is just me blathering on about cats cats cats. Thank you Natalie! 