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Twinkie Chan Interview and Giveaway!

Posted on by Anna

Update: Congratulations to our giveaway winner!

Every now and then I interview someone who surprises and inspires me with what they do. Twinkie Chan, the crochet genius who specializes in kitschy food-themed creations, has been one of those people for years. I met her at Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle back in 2010, when we were scheduled for back-to-back book signings, and I’ve been following her ever since. (She’s impossible to forget with her candy-colored hair!)

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Twinkie Chan has a new book out that anyone who loves crochet and/or cute stuff will be excited about, and I took the opportunity to score an interview and offer a giveaway of the book. Enjoy our conversation, then see how to enter the giveaway in the comments below.

(As you can see, the tiny ninjas are hoping to pick up some tips on how to steal from a crocheted cookie jar….)

Continue reading “Twinkie Chan Interview and Giveaway!” →

Group Show: Hello Kitty & 99 Friends

Posted on by Anna

Sanrio has now created a total 100 adorable characters over the years, and to celebrate this achievement, PiQ has invited 100 artists to each re-create one of them in their style. I was thrilled to be invited to participate in this group show, and for my character I chose a little-remembered group called Polar Picnic.

There aren’t too many images of thee guys online, but it seems that there are always a few listings on Ebay, so that’s where I started.

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Penguins and Polar bears are right in my wheelhouse. Here’s the Mochimochi Land version.

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I couldn’t resist include Kitty Chan herself—she’s hiding toward the back of the piece, disguised as a snowman.

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I’ll add more photos of details soon! I can’t wait to see the other works in the show.

HELLO KITTY & 99 FRIENDS
APRIL 16TH-MAY 14TH
PIQ GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL
SHUTTLE PASSAGE

New Studio

Posted on by Anna

I cleaned up the new basement studio just enough for a lovely photo!

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This is the only angle you get, because all other views reveal unsightly cardboard boxes brimming with craft materials, props, stuffed animals, yarn, you name it.

It’s relatively bright for being in the basement, and now I get a nice view of people walking down the street. The cats love it because it’s carpeted, and they’ve never had carpet to scratch up before! (Fortunately it’s really durable carpet.)

Sheila’s 100 Monkeys

Posted on by Anna

How much fun are these ONE HUNDRED tiny monkeys that Sheila knitted?

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Sheila (QueenofSheeba on Ravelry) started with the Tiny Monkey pattern from Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi and added an itty-bitty mouth flap for the classic sock monkey look… 100 times over!

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I love the scenes she’s made with these little guys. Check out her Ravelry project page to zoom in and see exactly what they’re all up to.

Thank you to Sheila once again for the inspiration!

New Kits: Tiny Robot, Tiny Ninja, and Tiny Walrus!

Posted on by Anna

Update: We had a silly glitch in our shipping calculation for the robot and walrus kits, so if you’ve had trouble purchasing earlier, please try again now. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Finally, last year’s mystery kits are now revealed and available in the shop!

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What do robots, ninjas, and walruses have in common? I suppose they’re all creatures that are not to be trifled with. I know I wouldn’t want to get in a fight with any of them!

But really, these guys are just designs that I’d had in mind to make for a while—I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten a request for a tiny ninja pattern. I’m pretty charmed with how it turned out!

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And yes, there is a tiny robot pattern in Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi, but it was time for an upgrade. So this one is technically Tiny Robot 2.0. These resemble the evil robots that you may remember from Gnomes vs Snowmen, the show I did at gallery hanahou in 2011.

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As for tiny walruses, they’re just CUTE, don’t you think?

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It’s also thanks to Eat Sleep Knit that the tiny walrus design exists—they originally commissioned it as part of their 2015 Yarnathon giveaway patterns.

Each kit comes with a pattern, fingering-weight yarn (Cascade Heritage), and stuffing to make two robots or walruses or three ninjas in multiple colors. You’ll need to provide a set of US size 1 double-pointed needles and a small tapestry needle.

These three designs are only available as kits right now (sorry!), but YES, the digital patterns will be coming eventually.

Playful at Melbourne’s City Library

Posted on by Anna

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Now that I’m back from leave, I have a whole backlog of things to announce, but I wanted to get this one up quick: a group exhibition that I was invited to be a part of in Melbourne!

The work I’m contributing are gnomes from 2015’s Gnome Genome Project, but I also made these tiny eggs with legs to go in a capsule machine that the show will include.

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Here’s all the show info:

​PLAYFUL GROUP EXHIBITION

Celebrating National Youth Week 2016 at Melbourne Library Service

Opening: 7 April, 6-8 PM

Location: Gallery at City Library, 253 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000

Exhibition dates: April 2 – 29, 2016

Curated by: Sophia Cai

Artists: Anna Hrachovec (USA), Ashley Ronning, Beci Orpin, Christina Gordon, Cat Rabbit, Evie Barrow, Erica Fustero (Spain), Hiné Mizushima (Canada), Holly Leonardson, Isobel Knowles, Kenny Pittock, Luke Temby, Misako Mimoko (Spain), Philippa Rice (UK), Rosaleen Ryan, Soreureubear (Korea), Tessy King, Yiying Lee

PLAYFUL is a group exhibition that celebrates the power of play and imagination. Curated by Sophia Cai for National Youth Week 2016 at Melbourne Library Service, City of Melbourne, PLAYFUL features leading Australian and international artists with works in soft sculpture, ceramics, textiles, toy design, animation and illustration.

PLAYFUL is an exhibition that encourages fun and play. Come along to a series of four curated workshops during the month of April, and learn from artists Beci Orpin, Kenny Pittock, Luke Temby and Holly Leonardson to sew, sketch, make and cut your own works of art. (Workshops for ages 15+).

Local small press Helio Press and Sophia Cai are also producing limited edition catalogues for the exhibition that feature colouring pages by more than ten artists. Last but not least, the exhibition is also home to the exclusive PLAYFUL Gashapon toy vending machines, co-curated by Rosaleen Ryan. Bring $2 coins to join the fun!