Oh Christmas Tree, I Shall Knit Thee!

Whenever I'm around my sisters at the holidays, I like to sing a version of O Tennenbaum in which all the words are "Oh Christmas Tree." Try it some time. It's fun.

The freshest latest in the Molting Yeti Shop is not one, not two, but three Christmas Trees to knit and adore. They knit up simply and quickly, and they'll make a great centerpiece, stocking stuffer, or huggable softie for anyone on your naughty or nice list this season. Plus there's three of them, so you can knit yourself a triumvirate of tactile tannenbaums, or a veritable tree trifecta! I hope you'll have as much fun making them as I did!

Fun Stuff to Do on Thursday

I'm totally psyched for the opening of Luvable and Huggable over at Gallery Hanahou this Thursday. It promises to be a plush-tastic wonderland, with work by super-awesome softie makers from all over the world. I'm especially excited to see Katie Park (aka Caffaknitted)'s knitted Henry the 8th and his umpteen wives dolls in person. If you haven't seen it yet, check this out:

Here's the details:

Opening party: December 4, 6-9 pm RSVP info@galleryhanahou.com
611 Broadway, Suite 730, NYC
(7th floor of the Cable Building, NW corner of Broadway + Houston)
Hours: Mon-Sat 12-6 pm.

If you can't make the opening, get there as soon as you can. Since it's a toy show, stuff leaves the gallery as it sells, and you'll miss out on seeing stuff! I made it to last year's show too late to see Anna (aka Mochimochiland)'s knitted lemmings in the flesh. Or in the fluff, rather.

There's also a super awesome zine release party Thursday night. My friend Amanda wrote a sweet little zine called I (heart) NYC, well, not really, but I'm trying. Her writing is really great and it's got everything you'd ever want from a zine about the city with the world's gummiest sidewalks - cotton candy, Coney Island and even Jim Croce.

Here's the skinny:

Amanda Plumb understands that it takes a year before anyone likes living in New York, but after over 2.5 years, New York still does not feel like home to her. And frankly, she's not sure if she wants it to. Amanda's zine, I HEART NYC, well, not really, but I'm trying, is part visitor guide and part perzine. While it's geared towards other transplants who are similarly struggling in the city, she's confident that even New York natives will learn a thing or two about their fair city by reading her zine. This is Amanda's first zine. In 2007, she wrote an article about work zines,"Zines from the Shop Floor," for the journal New Labor Forum. Amanda hails from the Palmetto State and is really happy that she used her own images in the zine.

Thursday, Dec. 4
7-9pm
Angels and Kings
500 East 11th St. between Ave A and B

Starfish!

The starfish pattern that's published in the new One-Skein Wonders is now available as a download in the shop, too! So head on over.

Phineas!

I'm thrilled to announce a new pattern in the Molting Yeti shop - a scarf called Phineas. A whole new take on the meaning of "tube scarf," Phineas makes a perfect last-minute gift. Even if your gift give-ee sees what you're up to, she'll never guess what it'll look like when you're done. The pattern is named for Phineas Balk, inventor of the pneumatic tube.





Thanks again to Connie for photographing and Heather for modeling!

Albino Fauna in a Tote Bag

Here's the batch of toy samples preparing for a long journey. Join me in wishing them bon voyage!

I'm working on a gigantimon shop update today - new patterns galore are coming this week!

100th Post Give-Away!

This spring went by without me marking my blog-i-versary, but here I am with 100 posts! What started out mostly as a place for me to organize my creative-ness has grown so much. I started writing down and sharing my knitting patterns, after Ariadne dared me to, then made my "website website" to sell my patterns and (soon!) toys. In the meantime, I went on two gigantical bike rides and lots of littler ones, told some goofy stories, drew you some pictures, and got some of my work published in pixels and in print. And I decided I love exclamation points after all. They're great! Yay!

Since I started counting last fall, my wee little blog has gotten 35,000 hits from 28,000 visitors, and about 50 of you are subscribed to my feed - so who are all of you? Say hi and you might win a prize!
I'm giving away my extra copy of Luxury One Skein Wonders with my starfish pattern in it. (Because of course I ran out and bought myself a copy before my free one came in the mail). I'll mail it anywhere, and I'll even sign my page for you if you want. To be eligible to win, leave me a comment - tell me what you like about my blog, or what I should knit next, or just say hi! Make sure you use a valid email address so I can contact you if you win. I'll pick a random commenter on December 1, so get those comments in by midnight EST November 30. Good luck, and happy delurking!

I Was a Ball of Yarn for Halloween, and Here's the Photo

I like being nouns for halloween. The year I moved to NYC I was a beaded curtain. One of these years I'm going to be a doormat. (A boy can dream, right?) This year I was a ball of yarn.

It was a super fun costume, tho in retrospect I should have put styrofoam or a balloon in the middle - there's about 15 pounds of yarn on my head, which made dancing at party we went to totally difficult. My favorite part was Amanda (who's rocking the closest thing I could find to a kitten hand-puppet) unraveling me on the subway home.

Election Glee

This Photo by Brad Aaron of Streetsblog kind of sums up how last night felt:

The neighbors got the news before the party I was at did - we could hear people in the next building whooping it up. When I was walking home around 1 a.m. there were still people on the streets honking their horns and generally being jubilant, and a totally boisterous crowd walked past my first floor window as I was nodding off to sleep. Needless to say, Flatbush loves Obama. Voting never felt like this before. Yay!

DIY Salon Tomorrow Night at the new MAD Museum

Hey y'all - If you're in NYC tomorrow night, stop by the newly-covered-with-porcelain-tiles Museum of Art and Design (formerly the Craft Museum). The show upstairs, Second Lives, is all about creative re-use. And Church of Craft (aka my friends and me) will be doing a hands-on Salon from 7 to 10:00. There'll be sweater unraveling, plastic fusing, notebook making, and zippered dymaxion pod-homes will be built for oddly crocheted mustachioed creatures. Plus there's delicious eats and homemade beer. It'll be fun.

The museum is pay-what-you-will Thursday nights, and the Church of Craft part costs ten bucks. It will be worth it.

The Museum of Art and Design is at 2 Columbus Circle (the south side of the big circle at the intersection of 8th Avenue.) Take the A,B,C,D, or 1 right there, or the N, R, Q, W, or F to nearby.