Category: Events

Maker Faire was a Blast

Posted on by Anna

Saturday was my first Maker Faire, and I was honored to be there as an official maker! Rebecca Reitz, the librarian at the New York Hall of Science (where the faire was held in Queens) had invited me to have a table at her library for the day. It turned out to be a great spot—many people were heading indoors once the thermometer hit 80.

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Helping me out all day long was my great friend Jen. I could not have been there without her! She manned the table while I was out doing my toy knitting demo at the CRAFT stage (which went really well, much to my relief), and she was way better at talking up my book than I was.

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Librarian Rebecca is a fiber artist herself (check out her blog)—she had a display of her beautiful pieces that combine crochet with wood and other natural materials. Our mushrooms got to know each other a bit.

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And I got to meet Robyn Love and her beautifully covered rocket! Rebecca contributed to the squares throughout the day with some amazing crocheted squares that made me seriously consider giving the craft another try. (Maybe someday.)

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I had so much fun seeing everything else at Maker Faire too—I can’t wait to go to another one!

Thank you to Rebecca for inviting me and also for the photos!

Mochimochi at Maker Faire in Queens Sept 25

Posted on by Anna

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Maker Faire, which is produced by the supermen and women at MAKE and CRAFT, is coming to Queens this month! I’ve never been to a Maker Faire before, so I’m really excited. And I’m extra excited because I’ll be there with a display of my knitted toys!

You’ll be able to find me, my book, and my toys at the New York Hall of Science library all day on Saturday, September 25th. I’ll also be doing a demo at 2 pm at the CRAFT booth.

This should be a huge and very fun event, so I hope you’ll come out if you’re in the area!

Opening October 7: Greetings from Mochimochi

Posted on by Anna

Update! The gallery will be open 2-4 pm on Saturday, October 30th for a tea party and trunk show!

Here it is, the official info for my show this October in NYC!

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Greetings from Mochimochi

a weird world of fun and chaos hand-knitted by Anna Hrachovec

October 7 – 29, 2010
Opening reception: Thursday, October 7, 7-9 p.m. – RSVP info@galleryhanahou.com

gallery hanahou
611 Broadway, Suite 730, NYC

In her first solo show, craft artist Anna Hrachovec stretches the possibilities of knitting as a medium to create an expansive and wacky landscape installation. Crash-landed aliens, rat-infested skyscrapers, giant ants, and everything else that comprises the 8-foot installation is entirely hand-knitted by the artist, who used 200 balls of yarn and more than a million stitches to make it all come to life. And just for fun, the piece includes a working model train – converted into a silly knitted monster, of course!

Some of the elements in the piece are based on designs in Anna’s 2010 book of knitted toy patterns, Knitting Mochimochi.

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If you are in the NY area, please join me for the opening on October 7th!

Yarns provided by Cascade
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Naughty and Nicey Class at Purl Oct 16

Posted on by Anna

I’m excited to say that I’ll be teaching another toy knitting class in NYC in October—this time, at Purl in Soho!

Just in time for kooky homemade Halloween costumes, we’ll be knitting Naughty and Nicey on October 16th!

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Here’s the class description:

Knit Naughty or Nicey with Anna from Mochimochi Land

Saturday, October 16th, 2:00pm – 5:00pm

Learn basic toy knitting techniques to make a set of toys that can double as a quick Halloween costume! Anna Hrachovec of Mochimochi Land will show you how to use double-pointed needles to make Naughty and Nicey – an adorable devil and angel pair that you can be worn on the shoulders – from her book Knitting Mochimochi. Techniques covered will include knitting small circumferences on DPNs, stuffing, picking up stitches, and mattress stitch. You will just have to choose whether to start with the angel or the devil!

The cost for the class is $75 if you already have a copy of Knitting Mochimochi, and if you buy the book with the class, you get $5 off!

To sign up, call the store during business hours at 212-420-8796.

A Visit to the Lion Brand Yarn Studio

Posted on by Anna

I had such a great time yesterday at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio! The book signing was of course a lot of fun—I had a blast meeting knitters in person and seeing what they have to say about the sample toys from Knitting Mochimochi. Thank you to everyone who came out!

The staff at the store were all super welcoming. Before the signing, I was interviewed by Zontee for the Yarncraft podcast, which I think went well despite some nervousness on my part (I’ll let you know when it’s up), and then Patty, the Studio Director, gave me a tour of the store and told me all about how their amazing window displays come together. (It’s a big team effort!)

You may have already seen photos of the current Coney Island display that they have up this summer—it’s amazing to see in person.

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I hadn’t really noticed it on previous visits, but they also exhibit fiber art pieces on the back wall of the studio. I was really impressed by the studio’s commitment to creativity and experimentation with yarn.

Thank you to Patty, Zontee, and everyone at the Lion Brand Studio!

I’ll be returning to the Lion Brand Yarn Studio on August 29th to teach a Master Class, so if you are a toy knitting beginner or would like to see exactly how I do it (it also helps if you live in the NYC area), I hope you’ll sign up!