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Rush Hour on the Mochi Train

Posted on by Anna

The mochi count is now at… 320! So in August, the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in NYC will be home to at least that many mochis, all stuck together into one very colorful art piece. I started sewing them together recently, and I’ve been having a blast.

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I want to keep the final piece under wraps until August, but that’s a little peek at how part of it is looking. It’s a good thing that everybody showered just before things got cozy! 320 quickly starts to seem like a very small number when they’re all squooshed together like this, so I’ll keep making as many as I can and keep adding more to the piece.

The finished piece will be on display at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio August 1st through October 31st. Much of the yarn that I’m using came courtesy of Koigu, so once again, big thank-yous are in order for both Lion Brand and Koigu!

No Dolls Allowed

Posted on by Anna

Yesterday I went to the Museum of the City of New York with my mom, who was visiting for a few days. Unfortunately much of the museum’s permanent collection was not on view because of renovations, but we got to see the Stettheimer dollhouse, which was pretty fascinating.

Here’s an image of some of the dollhouse rooms from the museum’s website:

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I didn’t have my camera with me and there aren’t many good photos of it online. Made by the New Yorker Carrie Stettheimer in the early 20th century, it’s charming as a dollhouse, but the most fascinating thing about it is the miniature artwork that decorates many of its walls. These tiny pieces were created by some well-known artists, including Marcel Duchamp and Gaston Lachaise, friends of the Stettheimer family.

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I’ve never been a dollhouse hobbyist, but like train sets, there’s something irresistibly charming about the miniature possibilities they offer. After leaving the museum, I recalled seeing a very unusual dollhouse at the Museum of Arts and Design last fall made by Jennifer Angus. Her highly decorative piece, which was part of the “Dead or Alive” exhibit, was an enclosed dollhouse (viewable only through peep holes) inhabited by hundreds of posed insects.

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It was my favorite piece in a very fun and unusual exhibition.

So now I’m thinking I need to make a dollhouse! Knitted of course. Knitted color work walls, knitted grizzly bear rugs, knitted gnomes in the garden, and gargoyles on the roof. This would be a big project, but so much fun, right? Surely I’ll find the time to get started on it one of these days…

Tiny Popsicles are Budding Entrepreneurs

Posted on by Anna

So what do a pair of twin popsicles talk about while they’re biding their time in the freezer? The world never knew… until now!

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“We should have our own clothing line, like the Olsen twins.”
“But clear plastic is sooooo last season.”

That awesome caption was suggested by Heather, who wins a free pattern for Flapjack Frogs. Yay!

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Many of you came up with super cute and funny captions—you can read them all in comments to this post.

Tiny Popsicles

Posted on by Anna

Winning caption by Heather:
“We should have our own clothing line, like the Olsen twins.”
“But clear plastic is sooooo last season.”

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Twins have a special kind of bond that most of us will never understand. Tiny twin popsicles probably have an even more unique relationship, what with their conjoined-ness and the threat that either one could be eaten at any moment.

Add your Tiny Popsicles caption in the comments (one per person, please), and John and I will pick our favorite on Monday. The winner this time will get a free PDF pattern for… Flapjack Frogs, of course!

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Two Days of TNNA

Posted on by Anna

I spent last weekend in Columbus, OH, discovering what TNNA was all about. It was very exciting to be among the movers and shakers in the knitting world! It was also an extra-exciting weekend because I got my first look at my upcoming book, Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi.

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Here I am with the lovely Brett Bara, who is the host of Knit and Crochet Now! on PBS, among many other things (author, blogger, and on and on). Brett interviewed me for a segment about my new book. I was not really prepared to be on-camera, but I think it went OK! The video should be up on the web soon, then it will air on TV this fall.

On Sunday I got to do a book signing!

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It was a blast because I got to meet local yarn shop owners from all over and also many designers and yarn company owners. It’s definitely surreal to see a long line of people just waiting to have a book signed by you. (I bet it didn’t hurt that they were all getting free copies.)

Despite that big stack of books you can see in the photo above, I didn’t get to take a copy home—this was a very limited batch strictly for promotion! I’m hoping to get my copy soon, at least before the August 17th release date.

I spent most of my time at TNNA not promoting, but just catching up with friends and putting faces to the names of many people with whom I’d only had online communication until now.

Like Rhichard and Taiu from Koigu!

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They were super nice and funny people.

And Stacey from Knit Picks. Like the Koigu folks, she has been great about sending me yarn to use for my designs.

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I had met Debbie Bliss before at VK Live, and it was so much fun to see her again and hang out with her and her daughter Nell.

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I also met Shannon Okey and, at the very last minute, Amy Singer of Knitty!

Sadly, I forgot to get a picture with the Potter Craft people who were helping to promote my new book all weekend. But here’s a bit of the display that they used front and center at their booth.

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(This is what I’ll have with me on Saturday at WWKIP Day in Brooklyn, so you can see it in person if you come out.)

So that was a whirlwind two days for me. I can’t wait to go back next year!

WWKIP Day in Brooklyn this Saturday

Posted on by Anna

It looks like we’re going to have some beautiful weather in Brooklyn this weekend. Why not join me for some outdoor knitting for World Wide Knit in Public Day?

I’ll be at Grand Army Plaza at Prospect Park from 11 to 3 with the Brooklyn Fiber Arts Guild this Saturday, June 18th. There will be lots of fiber-y stuff going on, including raffles, knitting instruction, and live music. And I’ll be there with some friends from Knitting Mochimochi and a sneak preview of my forthcoming book, Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi!

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If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll stop by and say hi!