Category: Crafted Things

Pics from Luv-able and Hug-able

Posted on by Anna

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 at gallery hanahou

Posted on by Anna

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!

Make an Elf Chum with Jenny Harada!

Posted on by Anna

Plush queen Jenny Harada will be teaching a workshop at gallery hanahou in NYC on Saturday, December 13th, at 1-3 pm. She’ll show the group how to use hand-sewing techniques to make an adorable ornament-size Elf Chum, like these!

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or these!

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(I am very taken with the furry brown ones, myself.)

The workshop is just $20, which includes all the supplies you need. Space is very limited, so email info@galleryhanahou.com now to sign up!

amineko no iru seikatsu

Posted on by Anna

I don’t buy so many craft books but I picked this one up earlier this year and it’s become a new favorite.

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Not sure if it’s been discussed much among Western crafters, but amineko no iru seikatsu (Life with Amugurumi Cat, I believe) deserves some love. The book contains only one amigurumi pattern, plus a few sewing patterns for small accessories for your amineko, but the highlight of the book are the wonderful photos of amigurumi cats doing various activities like eating, reading, and sleeping in various objects. In almost wordless, comic-strip-style vignettes, we see the simple crocheted cats come to life with distinct personalities and moods.

I got my copy at Kinokuniya, but you can also find it on Amazon Japan.

LittleBigPlanet

Posted on by Anna

Denise (winner of this year’s Mochimochi Photo Contest) alerted me a while back to the cute knitted main character in LittleBigPlanet, the new PlayStation 3 video game by Sony. Coincidentally, my husband just reviewed the game for The Onion A.V. Club.

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As John was working on his review, I got a sneak preview of the game (lucky me!), which is being released today. LittleBigPlanet has “craft” all over it—every character and object has a handmade look of something sewn, cut out of cardboard, or bolted together in the garage. Too fun!

The game’s biggest features are the tools that allow you to create your own levels for other players to try out. I haven’t attempted this myself yet, but it looks like a great challenge for crafty gamers.

Paper Pod Beads

Posted on by Anna

My super-crafty mother-in-law recently made these gorgeous boutique-worthy necklaces from unusual materials: mini cereal boxes (top left), a box containing sweets from Japan (top right), and postcards from the PIT improv theater in New York (bottom).

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(The cardboard recycling pile at the town dump is also great place to find colorful materials, as I learned this past weekend.)

Bonney got the idea from a tutorial on Folding Trees.

Plush You! Pics

Posted on by Anna

The opening party for Plush You! should be well underway right now in Seattle. Kristen, the curator of the show, has uploaded pics of the display on Flickr for those of us who aren’t there.

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It looks like so much fun!

(Also, I heard that one of my “Snails vs. Slugs” pieces already sold!)

Ikebana at the Met

Posted on by Anna

Last Wednesday I went to an ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement) demonstration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art here in New York. It was amazing.

Ikebana master Nori Noda did five arrangements, ranging from the extremely complex rikka to the anything-goes freestyle, explaining some of the basic principles as he worked. The best photo that I could get afterward with my phone camera was of the freestyle arrangement:

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I’d taken some lessons in the Ikenobo school the last time I was living in Japan, and was really hooked at the time, but I hadn’t found much going on in NY since coming here. It turns out that there are ongoing two-session lessons held at the Nippon Club, which I’m probably going to try out next month.

If you’re more interested in looking than doing, there will be an exhibition (again, of the Ikenobo school) this spring at the Met, from April 30 through May 3.

I have to thank Antonio for his research help!