Category: Events

Sept 17th Talk and Book Signing at Lion Brand Yarn Studio, NYC

Posted on by Anna

I get to go to NYC next week! I’m always excited to visit the last place I called home, and this time the occasion is also exciting—a talk and book signing at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio!

lbys15

If you’re in the NYC area, please join me next Thursday, September 17th, at 6pm, when I’ll discuss the adventure that was the making of Adventures in Mochimochi Land with a slideshow talk. The studio always does other little giveaways in conjunction with their talks, so it’ll be a fun evening. RSVP here!

lbys_signing

Maybe I’ll also bring a few gnomes with me to leave in the city while I’m there for a couple of days. If you see a gnome roaming around the city, please give him or her a nice home!

nycgnomes4

We’re Returning to VK LIVE Chicago

Posted on by Anna

Vogue Knitting LIVE is coming up again in Chicago, and Mochimochi Land will be there once again!

rainbow

This time you’ll be able to visit Mochimochi Land itself in classic landscape form. Different every time it unfurls, it will be updated with new characters getting up to all kinds of mochi mischief. And if you have a tiny mochi that you’d like to contribute to live forever in Mochimochi Land, you’re welcome to do so!

You’ll be able to find it all weekend in the art gallery of the marketplace, where I’ll also be with books and kits (which will include secret new designs, all at a special event price).

Plus! There will be another tiny mochi scavenger hunt in the marketplace on Sunday, this time for…

tinyhotdog_vklive

Tiny hotdogs! Because Chicago hearts hotdogs hard. Finding a tiny hotdog will win you either a copy of my new book or one of these tiny kits.

giveawaykits_vkl

Plus! I’ll be giving a lecture on Sunday at 10:30am on the basics of toy knitting and designing. There is a fee to attend, or it also comes free with one of the packages available—check out the VK LIVE website for more info. (Early Bird pricing is still available as of now!)

Tiny Dolphin Class at String Theory September 26

Posted on by Anna

Learn tiny toy knitting techniques and knit a tiny dolphin in my upcoming class at String Theory in Glen Ellyn, IL!

dolphinclass_st

This is a project class in which everyone will finish (or nearly finish) a tiny dolphin from Adventures in Mochimochi Land to take home. We’ll cover techniques as we go, from joining two pieces into a round to wrap & turn to picking up stitches and simple embroidery. Experience with double-pointed needles is required.

Visit the String Theory website for more information and to sign up!

I’ll also be doing a book signing before the class at The Bookstore in Glen Ellyn on September 26th. Follow me on Facebook or Twitter to get updates about that.

August 19th Signing at The Book Cellar

Posted on by Anna

I’ve got another book signing coming up next week—this time at a real live local bookstore!

bookcellar

The Book Cellar in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood was nice enough to invite me for this month’s Local Author night. I’m a very local author, actually, since this is my neighborhood bookstore. I plan to show some animations and also put together a small Mochimochi landscape, since it’s always so much fun to show it in person.

mochimochilandscape

There will be copies of my new book, Adventures in Mochimochi Land, on hand too of course.

This all starts at 7pm at The Book Cellar, 4736-38 N Lincoln Ave in Chicago. I hope to see some of my neighbors there!

Tiny Dolphin Class at Sifu August 8th

Posted on by Anna

On August 8th I’m returning to Sifu Design Studio in Chicago for a tiny dolphin knitting class!

bubbles

This is a project class that will be perfect for intermediate knitters who are looking to pick up some new skills in the realm of toys. We’ll cover joining two rounds into one, short rows, and picking up and knitting stitches. Everyone will go home with a tiny dolphin, or at least a good start to one that they can finish at home in an hour or so.

Because this class is happening during the Chicago Yarn Crawl, I’m going to stick around after the class to sign copies of my new book, so even if you can’t make it to the class, I hope to see you afterward!

Get all the details and sign up on the Sifu website.

Project Gnome Diplomacy Update

Posted on by Anna

Update to this update: Diny at Everyday Mooonday sent me these photos of the gnomes on their diplomatic mission—some are being given away with cafe orders, and others are being mailed out to friends of the gallery!

gnomediplomat_cafe

gnomediplomat_mail

Time for an update on your tiny gnome diplomats!

The show at Seoul’s Everyday Mooonday gallery has now come down. I’m told that there were many visitors for the month that it was up, including plenty of cute kids.

gnomediplomats_baby

Now the diplomats are ready to go on their official mission! Diny, the director at Everyday Mooonday, tells me that they’ve started giving them away through the gallery’s cafe. Each one comes with a little tag like this:

gnomediplomat_tag

This one reads, “Hello I’m a gnome. Happy to meet you.”

There are several different requests on the tags, including:

“Please give me to a stranger.”

“Please give me to someone you meet today.”

“Please give me to someone who looks like they’re celebrating something!”

“Please give me to someone you really love.”

“Please give me someone who looks sad.”

“Please give me someone who says hello to you today for the first time!”

So with the help of the people who visit the gallery, your 333 little gnomes will spread smiles all over the city of Seoul—and probably beyond!

You can learn more about how this project got started here. Because of the great participation and the fun we’ve had, I’d love to do another similar project (whether with more gnome diplomats or something else) in the future!

Book Signing June 14th at Windy Knitty in Chicago

Posted on by Anna

Hey Chicagoland friends, I’m excited to announce that I’ll be doing a book signing at the lovely yarn shop Windy Knitty on Sunday, June 14th!

adventures_wk

The book is, of course, Adventures in Mochimochi Land, my new combination storybook and pattern book from Potter Craft. Come see samples from the book in person (displayed in fun diorama fashion), enjoy some refreshments, and bring some yarn and a set of double-pointed needles to make an easy project from the book right on the spot! (Any thickness yarn will do—pick a needle size 2-3 sizes smaller than usual for a tight gauge.)

I’ll be at Windy Knitty from 1 to 4pm on June 14th, so stop by anytime to say hi and check out the book. Hope to see you locals there!

Seoul Box of Fun Giveaway Time

Posted on by Anna

It’s time for one lucky contributor to Project Gnome Diplomacy to win a fabulous box of fun from Seoul!

Here’s what’s in store for the winner.

seoulboxofun

Highlights include:

— A cute bee + hive magnet set

— A Sticky Monster Lab Smoothy King banana figure

— Weird fox and ogre face peel masks

— Cute tooth-shaped toothbrush holders

— Fun cloth ribbon

— Individually wrapped caramel erasers

— Lotsa stickers and candy!

OK, selection time. I’ve got a big bag of names to draw from, and it’s hard to choose just one…. but… the winner… is…

John, who contributed Lief Gnomenson and his younger brother Sprout! Congratulations, John! I’m emailing you right now for your mailing address.

Big thanks again to all of you who contributed to Project Gnome Diplomacy. As generous gnome makers savvy enough to participate in an online call for gnomes, you are all winners in life. We’ve been talking about the gnomes’ ultimate destiny with Everyday Mooonday (and generating some fun ideas!), and I’ll be sure to share an update on this project as it developes.