Author: Anna

The cat’s OUT of the bag šŸ˜ŗ

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Catside Up, Catside Down is now on sale everywhere! To get my new book of cats and prepositions, just ask or it AT your local bookstore, or order it FROM your favorite website. If you placed a preorder, check INSIDE your mailbox!

This is my first-ever picture book. It’s a slightly scary thrill to finally have it out in the world. There’s a lot of me in this bookā€”my goofy rhymes, my photographyā€”and, of course, my more than 50 knitted cats! I hope the cute kitties will engage kids and charm grownups, and maybe inspire some people to make something with yarn.

Speaking of yarn, the yarns I used in this book came from all different makers and dyers, both big and small. Some of my favorites to work with were Madelinetosh (especially Tosh Vintage in GG Loves Speckles), Knit Picks Chroma, Sister Ananse Yarnā€™s mohair/silk blend, and quite a few selections from Hand Dyed Diva and Gnome Depot Fiber. They didn’t give me anything to mention them here—I just really like these yarns, and I’m so happy to have them be part of the book, too.

One of the best things about working on Catside Up, Catside Down was collaborating with people who made my ideas so much better. I’m grateful to incisive editor Anna Roberto, astute designer Mike Burroughs, and to my agent, Ammi-Joan Paquette, for believing in my whole deal and turning me into a children’s book author!

Finally, thank YOU for joining me on the Mochimochi Land adventure, where knitted toys have ended up doing all sorts of things. Your support makes a moment like this possible. (Now, keep it up and go buy my book please! šŸ˜ø)

Oh, and watch out for a FREE Catside Up, Catside Down-themed pattern coming soon…

p.s. Local yarn stores can order Catside Up, Catside Down through Sommer Street Associates!

New “Hang in There” Cat kit!

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Exciting cat news: It’s a new ā€œHang in Thereā€ Cat kit! šŸ˜ŗ

Iā€™m thrilled to offer a limited number of these kits featuring custom yarn hand-dyed by Grace at Gnome Depot Fiber right here in Chicago. Grace and I worked together to come up with four sweet kitty colors to choose from: Orangey, Gray-y, Light Brown-y, and Party!

The kit comes with an advaced-beginner-level pattern (written in both flat and circular versions), lovely yarn to knit a cat, lovely yarn to cover a stick for your cat to hang from (and knit a leaf of two), polyester stuffing, plastic safety eyes, andā€¦ an authentic Chicago stick!

I recently taught a workshop using this cat kit at the Ann Arbor district library, and so many dangling cuties came out of it. It never ceases to delight me to see the same pattern (and even the same yarn) turn into such individual creatures in different knittersā€™ hands.

After all, we’re all ā€œhang in thereā€ cat sometimes, even though we may be grasping for different stuff.

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“Hang in there” cat workshop in Ann Arbor August 12th!

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We’re hangingā€™ in there in this hazy midwestern air this week šŸ˜¶ā€šŸŒ«ļø

On a less miserable note, Iā€™ve got a pattern update and an upcoming ā€œhang in thereā€ workshop to share!

Iā€™m planning to make kits for this persistent little guy in different cat colors. More on that soon!

And if youā€™re in the Ann Arbor area, Iā€™ll be doing a workshop around this project later this summer! Please join me for a ā€œhang in thereā€ cat knitting event at the Ann Arbor District Library on August 12th! Iā€™ve done quite a few workshops at this wonderful library over the years, and Iā€™m thrilled for my post-covid return.

Plus! If youā€™re in the area and happen to be into classic Simpsons and/or pop culture trivia, you can join my husband, John, for a fun evening of trivia later in the day on August 12th.

One more thing—If you find yourself walking around Ann Arbor this summer, you might happen upon one of my Huge & Huggable friends, which are hanging out at various establishments around town as part of the libraryā€™s summer game. Say hi to Omelet if you run into him!

The Wooly Woods was a while ago!

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The Wooly Woods happened TEN YEARS AGO this spring!

This was a project that started when Superstorm Sandy came through Brooklyn, where I was living at the time, and among its milder effects were lots and lots of downed trees and branches in nearby Prospect Park. I saw a lot of beauty in the scattered wood, and started taking pieces home to use as little landscapes for my creatures to play in.

It was a meditative pleasure covering the twigs with colorful stripes of yarn, and I loved finding nearly endless ways to use the happy twists and bends in the wood as places for perching, nesting, and play.

The pieces were displayed at smallspace gallery in Berlin, where the show was part of the character walk accompanying the Pictoplasma festival. (The gallery is no more, but Pictoplasma is still going strong!)

I still love this concept, and Iā€™ve come back to it a couple times over the years. (I also still have several pieces hanging in my house.) And I still feel like thereā€™s lots more to with wool and woods! How fun would it be to fill a space with more branches and creatures hanging every which way around you? There could also be adorable stumps with little scenes happening on them šŸ˜€

The only tricky thing is shipping, but after this show I felt like if I could figure out how to ship delicate twigs from NYC to Berlin, I can ship anything šŸ˜¤

Thank you to Jenna Teti for many of these images! More after the jump.

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New Fumin’ Womb kits

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Update: You’ve helped us raise $980 for abortion funds so farā€”thank you! The money has gone to Chicago Abortion Fund and Roe Fund in Oklahoma. We’ll continue to send all proceeds from sales of the kit to these and other abortion funds.

We’ve got new Fumin’ Womb kits featuring Hand Dyed Diva yarn!

Show your unflagging support for reproductive rights by knitting a tiny angry uterus šŸ˜”

ā¤ļø Half of the proceeds from sales go to abortion funds ā¤ļø

The pattern was originally published (and still available for free!) in the Fall 2022 issue of Knitty. The HDD Homegrown Sock is the recommended yarn in the Knitty patternā€”I love the bright, organic verve of this hand-dyed Pink Petunia!

We debuted these kits at YarnCon, where they sold out quickly! We sent half the proceeds to the Chicago Abortion Fund—along with proceeds from our Fumin’ Womb sticker, we raised $210 that weekend.

Weā€™ve got a limited supply for now—get yours in the Mochimochi Shop!

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Join me for a virtual Fiberside Chat!

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As you can see, I’m elated to have been invited by Longmont Yarn Shop to be a part of their virtual Fiberside Chat series later this month!

I’ll be chatting about how Mochimochi Land came to be, why it’s good for even the most serious knitters to knit toys, and how you can create any little person or creature you want with some toy knitting basics. I’ll also demonstrate my top tiny toy knitting techniques and will even get into some animation tips. Plus, your questions!

You can register for this event via the Longmont Yarn Shop website. See you on April 30th!

YarnCon recap

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I just had a fabulous weekend at YarnCon!

I love this event—the friendliest people turn out, and itā€™s full of the DIY spirit thanks to all the lovely indie yarn dyers. And I did buy a whole lot of yarnā€¦ like, the most yarn Iā€™ve ever bought at one time šŸ˜¬

It was a blast putting together Mochimochi Land for the first time in 3+ years.šŸŒ³

Thank you to YarnCon, to my booth babe (and so much more) Kristine Brandel, and to everyone who came out šŸ„°

More photos after the jump!

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