One of the fun things about New York is the tradition of holiday shop displays, which range from the sublime to the charming to the thoroughly creepy.

I’m planning on reviewing some notable holiday displays throughout the next month, and so I thought I’d start with the one I see almost every day.

The Shops at Columbus Circle are an upscale mall of sorts connected to the Time Warner Center. (I’m usually there for the Whole Foods in the basement, not the Swarovski boutique.)

Every holiday season, or at least for the past three that I’ve been here for, they haul out these enormous spiky stars and hang them from the ceiling.

The stars change color along with atmospheric holiday music. It’s quite beautiful. My husband’s CNN friend says that the Time Warner people are proud of their elegant, interfaith display.

One star hangs lower than the rest, though, and its sharp metal tip points directly at the people riding up from Whole Foods on the escalator.

Every time I get groceries in November and December, I think about the cable breaking and this pointy steel and glass object plunging through my right shoulder. My hands are full of grocery bags, so I’m helplessly immobile as the star of death comes crashing down, ripping my flesh asunder.

Here is the view, looking up, right as I’m about to pass under it.

At least it would be a festive way to go!

Our little haystack has attracted some unwanted attention from a hungry sheep!

After the sheep satisfies his appetite and gets a name, he’s hoping to become a pattern in the shop along with his haystack friend.

A few more sheepish views:

I just got an email from someone who wanted some clarification on how to join the feet in the Mochimochi Reindeer pattern. It’s a very simple method, but not so simple to explain in words. Since I also use the same basic method for the Ninjabun and the Woodins patterns, it occurred to me that others might like a quick visual guide. Here goes!

I’m starting at the point at which you have two finished feet, and you’re ready to join them together. I find it easiest to first divide the stitches of each foot onto two needles.

Next, work across the first half of stitches in the foot that has the yarn attached to it. Once you’ve worked these stitches, cast on additional stitches, if the pattern calls for any, using backward loop method.

Now pick up the other foot, and begin knitting across it, starting with what would be the first stitch in the round if the yarn were still attached to that foot.

Below is a top view, showing the working strand of yarn on the right and the cut yarn (held up) attached to the last stitch on the foot.

Continue to knit all the way around the foot, ending with the stitch with the cut yarn. You can twist the cut yarn around your working yarn or weave it into the stitches later.

Now you’re on the “back” side of the feet. Cast on additional stitches, if required, in the same way as on the front side.

Finally, continue to work across the remaining stitches—the second half of the stitches from the foot you started with.

You’re now ready to continue working the stitches in one big round. You will end up with a gap between the feet, which you can stitch up at the finishing stage of the toy.

I hope this mini-tutorial is helpful to some people. I just wrote this up quickly, so if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments!

Just 15 more days to enter the Mochimochi Photo Contest! That’s more than enough time for you to knit up a Mochimochi Land toy and get creative with your camera.

For inspiration, let’s take a peek at some of the fabulous (and completely randomly selected) entries in the Mochimochi Friends group on Flickr:

A gorgeously striped snake and mouse just uploaded by katecarlyle.

This albino grass from cspooks tries being a tooth!

This little carrot rules over the fridge! from flowers.leaves.

Bob as roadkill? from lizzie j b.

Sweet little multicolored Woodins from staveitoff.

Check out the full contest info to find out how to enter!