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Pics from Luv-able and Hug-able

The opening last Thursday was wonderful! The gallery was full throughout the evening, and many people went home with new hug-able friends. Thank you to those of you who turned out!

I was too busy to take too many photos, but here are a few from Thursday.

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I wanted to take home all of these, but I ended up picking the big blue furry guy with the candy cane legs!
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Katie Park, known to many of you as Caffaknitted, was there with her Henry VIII and his darling wives (who are less blurry in real life).
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Nicole Gastonguay was there too! Her creations were way cute.
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Blythe Church sent us some amazing objects.
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Love this tiny antlered creature by Ariana Marinelli.
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Ossu! Syugeibu came all the way from Tokyo with their Mr. Slim. Then they lead a fun workshop at the gallery on Friday.
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And of course Jenny Harada was there! She made the blue furry guy that I adopted. (And I just noticed her matching stockings!)
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Funny plushes by Rei Komurasaki:
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Eloole made their versions of Picasso and Dali.
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Here I am with the cities and a few rogue elves.
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More pics are up on the gallery hanahou flickr page. The show will be up and also online through January 7th!

Luv-able and Hug-able
Through January 7
gallery hanahou
611 Broadway, Suite 730, NYC [7th Floor of the Cable Building, NW corner of Broadway + Houston]

Luv-able and Hug-able Tonight!

If you’re in the NY area, please join me tonight (Dec. 4th) at “Luv-able and Hug-able,” the holiday plush show at gallery hanahou! Other plush-makers will be there too, including The Ossu! Syugeibu, Jenny Harada, Nicole Gastonguay, and Katie Park!

Luv-able and Hug-able
December 4 – January 7
Opening party: December 4, 6-9 pm rsvp info@galleryhanahou.com
gallery hanahou
611 Broadway, Suite 730, NYC
[7th floor, NW corner of Broadway + Houston]

If you can’t make it in person, you can also see all the plushes in the show at the gallery online shop, where they’ll be available for purchase starting December 5th:

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Hope to see you there tonight!

Loop of Magic

I’ve found myself using the “magic loop” method of circular knitting for my latest project.

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The circumference of the project is probably big enough to use a small circular, but I’d never used magic loop before and I thought it was about time to give it a try. I found that after casting on and figuring out what I’m doing, it was very easy, and it seems handy for avoiding gaps in your knitting if that’s a problem for you with dpns.

I have to thank Lesley at Knit New London for getting me started with it. You can see a video on how to knit with the “loop of magic” on knittinghelp.com.

Sweet Memories

I was browsing through iTunes the other day and came across a mention of Matthew Sweet’s 1995 album 100% Fun, which happened to be one of the first CDs I bought as a teenager. To my frustration, I no longer seemed to have the album anywhere, but I really wanted to hear it again, so I broke down and bought the digital copy after a few days of vacillating. It’s so great!

matthewsweetThe “power pop” sound of this album didn’t really fit in with the alterna-grunge vibe of the mid-’90s, and that might be one reason that I didn’t give it the credit it deserved at the time, and it didn’t make the cut of CDs to take with me when I went to college a few years later. But the classic, super-catchy tunes of 100% Fun are even better than I remember as I listen to them 13 years later, even though I’m finding again that this album doesn’t really fit in with the music that fills most of my life (this time, indies, experimental rock, folk, and other oddities). The first track, “Sick of Myself,” has quickly become a rediscovered favorite, for its bittersweet lyrics over a memorable melody.

It makes me a little sad to think about how Matthew Sweet has never became a huge name, even though his sound is perfectly suited for mainstream mega-hits. At the same time, there’s no way that he’ll ever go away. (And I hear that “Girlfriend,” from his earlier breakout album, is on Guitar Hero II, so there’s that.)

Mochimochi Elves Are Here!

While we’re stuffing our turkeys and tofurkeys this week, I bet many of us are trying to come up with the ultimate holiday gift. Well, some assistants have just been added to the Mochimochi Shop

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These holiday helpers think they have come up with the ultimate gift: little knitted elves!

Techniques for this simple pattern include knitting in the round on double-pointed needles and mattress stitch.

You can buy the pattern as a PDF download for just $5 here.

Plus, visit the shop by the end of the year and you can download a free sheet of funny Mochimochi Elves gift tags!

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Click here for the download page. Then download, print, cut, and tag!

Update: Thank you to Craft for posting the Mochimochi Elves on their blog!

Luv-able and Hug-able at gallery hanahou

Luv-able and Hug-able, our holiday plush show coming up at gallery hanahou in NYC, is just around the corner, opening December 4th! If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll join us, or stop by sometime while the show is up through January 7th. (Full show info is at the bottom of the post.)

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As promised, here are some photos of the amazing plush toys artists have created for the show.

Sardines by Nicole Gastonguay
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We love fashion! by Kup Kup Land
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Tweed Bear by Yuko Hara
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Beheadable Anne Boleyn by Katie Park
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Large Rag Doll by Christina Gordon
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Beast by Blythe Church (I bought one by her last year and I love it!)
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Luv-able and Hug-able
December 4 – January 7
Opening party: December 4, 6-9 pm RSVP info@galleryhanahou.com
gallery hanahou
611 Broadway, Suite 730, NYC
[7th floor of the Cable Building, NW corner of Broadway + Houston]
Hours: Mon-Sat 12-6 pm

Also don’t forget about Jenny Harada’s workshop on the 13th!