Month: November 2010

Instant hot cocoa and home-made coconut whipped cream!

How does anyone keep their space clean after packing up their orders!? AHHHHH I have little bits of paper and labels and stickers and those plastic strips you pull off self-adhesive envelopes ALL OVER THE PLACE!! My house needs to be film-crew-pretty on Wednesday morning! I’ll let you know why later, but I am kind of freaking out! Even if I get everything clean and hidden anyway, I’m just sad I haven’t invested time in decorating the place. I don’t even really know how. I am not really visual in that way. I know when something is ugly, but I don’t know how to make it pretty! Oh well! Hopefully the crew will just stay in the craft room, and the giant wall of yarn will distract from the fact that the opposite wall is completely BLANK. At least we got my yarn swift up! It’s that spindly wooden thing next to the banana fabric-painting. I’ll make a video of that in motion cuz it’s pretty darn cool. I wonder if I would ruin the swift by painting it!!! At first, instead of the banana painting, I put up the lid of an old, super cheezy and cheap Valentine’s candy box, but for some reason it reminded me of a funeral wreath and freaked me out, so I took it down. Bummer. I still kinda like it! I’m off to clean up my mess and do a little crocheting before I go to bed and wake up tomorrow to CLEAN THIS PLACE AHHHHHHHHHH. I wish I had some mini afghans to cover the tops of our chairs where Bunny likes to perch and turn the fabric BROWN. Yes, we have the chairs completely covered in blankets now, but it’s super ugly. I could maybe try to bust out something cute to cover the tops on my own, but I have like a kabillion other things to do. I’ll just put scarves over them! hahahha

click on the pic to get a signed copy! Some of you who live far away or who just can’t make it to any of my signings requested that I post a link to purchase a signed copy, so I put a listing up on Etsy after asking Etsy if I was allowed to sell my book on their first! Just let me know if you want it signed to someone and what the name should be in your Notes To Seller when you check out! 🙂

For Thanksgiving at my parents’ house, Hairy and I made a coconut custard pie! Hairy even whipped up some cream! My bff txtd me a pic of her and her brother and sister, so we txtd this photo right back to her! I have most of the leftovers from dinner in my fridge now! Just for kicks, Hairy and I went to Kohl’s at 3:30am, and also cruised by 2 Targets just to see, since I’d never been out shopping when the stores first open on Black Friday. The lines around Target were AMAZING and just like on the news!!! Crazy!! I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to actually wait in line and get in there…not mention…check out time! Intense super shopping! We obviously didn’t buy anything but just wanted to check out the scene. We ended up being the only nerds waiting outside the grocery store at 4:55am waiting for it to open! Anyhoo, fear not, shoppers, if you missed out on Ice Cream Hair pieces or mini books in my Etsy shop. I will bring all those things back! But I don’t know if I can do it before Xmas. I have to build stock for my booth at Renegade Holiday San Francisco (now at a new venue!) and I will also be traveling to Seattle and Portland in the next few weeks to promote my book! Come say hi! Also please note, that on Friday, Dec 3rd, I will be signing at the Ravenna location of Third Place Books at 7:00pm, and NOT the Lake Forest Park location (I still need to change that on my website)! I got pushed out by Rick Springfield!! 😛 But if you want to make BOTH signings, you’ll probably have time 😉

SHOP SHOP SHOP! So much new stuff! Some of it sold out already, like the strawberry ice cream scoop hair doodads! Happy Thanksgiving!!! I’m gonna pass out now, and then wake up, and feast, and pass out again. xoxoxo

Okay, who am I kidding? If I think I can get an Etsy update by Tuesday “night,” that probably means at 4 in the morning on Wednesday!!! I’m still finishing up crocheting stuff, and I still have to shoot all the photos, edit them, and write all the listings. This is looking more like a Wednesday afternoon Etsy update. Sorry about that! Things come up that I never expect!!! Something really funny and exciting might be happening next week. I’ll keep ya posted! In the meantime, don’t stay up tonight for the Etsy update!!!

Today’s workspace! I am hoping I can have my update up by Tuesday night :). I’m still crocheting items right now, and tomorrow hopefully will be photo day!

Don’t forget to come hang out with me at ImagiKnit in SF with me. I’ll do a cupcake crochet demo and help you with your crochet questions. Bring hooks and your yarn stash, or purchase new goodies at ImagiKnit, my most favoritest yarn store in the Bay Area! Also, if you buy a book at ImagiKnit on Sunday, you’ll be entered to win a free Yummy You scarf! :). Plus I still have some goodie bags including my mini book, a button, and a sticker! Click on the link for more infos! Can’t wait to see you! 4 o ‘clock!

I snapped these pics on the night of my first book signing here in SF! Unfortunately, I no longer use the popcorn boxes because they took up a lot of space to transport! I also failed to take a picture of the various candy rings and brooches I included in the gift bags as well! Pictured are my mini book (which I do plan to put up for sale on Etsy), a thank-you card (that looks a lot like the thank-you stickers I use when I ship goodies to people…I considered writing messages inside of them, but then decided to leave them blank so you could re-use them as your own thank-youcards!), a sticker (these were supposed to be temp tattoos, but my temp tattoos did not arrive in time…I also plan to turn this design into a tshirt), a button (it’s a cupcake made of yarn … this is a small part of a drawing I made of a yarn banana split and I’m not sure yet what to do with that art), and a juicy ball of handspun yarn! I had a lot of fun shopping for yummy handspun for my gift bags, but unfortunately, I have run out and have to stop including them in the bags because it gets really expensive! 😛 Hope you liked the peek into my gift bags! I will keep trying to make them for my Seattle and Portland signings but since I’m flying and need to stuff them in my suitcase, don’t be mad if I run out! 😛 Locals have one more chance to pick up a gift bag this Sunday at my signing and crochet class/hang-out at ImagiKnit from 4:30-5:30pm. I’ll be doing a cupcake demo and helping you with any questions with your projects or any basic crochet questions! Then at 5:30pm I’ll be signing books. If you buy a book on Sunday at ImagiKnit, you’ll be entered into a raffle to win a Yummy You scarf :). Should be fun. Please come out! I’ve never given a class or a workshop before! Eep!

So last weekend, Hairy and I trekked to L.A. to celebrate Sanrio’s 50th Anniversary! The party/exhibition took place in a giant airplane hangar and included an art gallery, pop-up shop, mini golf course, verris wheel, photobooths, and free food like Yogurtland fro yo, Pink’s Hot Dogs, and Beard Papa cream puffs. There was a really long line when Hairy and I arrived in the back, and when I asked a guy at the door where artists should line up, he just told us to go through the side door he was standing by. This was cool because we bypassed the line, but was a little uncool, as we discovered later that we didn’t get the chance to check-in and get tickets for for the food carts or a free gift bag! Doh! I’ll put the rest of the pics under a cut, so that I don’t blow up your blog readers with 30+ photos!

This Sunday, I will be at ImagiKnit from 4:00-5:00pm, giving a crochet cupcake demo/class/hangout times! Then at 5:00pm I’ll be signing books. Please come visit at my most favorite yarn shop in the Bay Area. I could sit there and stare at yarn for hours!! YARN NERD! Also, if you come in on Sunday and purchase a book from ImagiKnit, you will be automatically entered into a raffle to win a free Yummy You scarf! If you’d like to sit with us and make a cupcake, please bring your hooks and some different fun cupcakey yarns. Of course you can also purchase hooks and yarn at ImagiKnit as well! If you have basic crochet questions, I am happy to answer those if I can as well! Hope to see you there!!!

I need to upload photos from my epic (Ok, I need to start using an alternative to the word “epic” … how about “bitchin”?) L.A. week/weekend, but in the meantime, please check out my contribution to Gala Darling’s “I want to be …” series about people with interesting/unique occupations! This is probably one of the most detailed articles you’ll ever read about my adventures in turning a hobby into a career. Click on the pic of me biting a blinged out crochet hook to see the article! p.s. I am signing books tomorrow/this Tuesday at Books, Inc. in Berkeley at 7pm. Come say hi, East Bay! Free gift baggies while they last! 🙂

I made an awesome scarf for the Sanrio 50th Anniversary celebration! I also made 3 copies of a simpler version with only 5 characters, and everything sold out already. The venue/event was AMAZING. I don’t have my camera cable with me, so I will post more photos when I get home! And here’s what I made the night before in the hotel to wear: I was going to make a whole top and wear it with black bloomers, but I didn’t realize how much yarn a top takes! I only make scarves! HAHa!! So I could only make this weird boob cover, and then I wore it over an I’m Your Present dress. I feel like I look 50 years old in this picture. Tonight is my last LA book signing. It’s at Stories in Echo Park on Sunset. We rented a projector and a screen so we could run my Power Point presentation :).

Tomorrow morning, Hairy and I are driving to L.A. to make it in time for my reading at the Urban Craft Center in Santa Monica at 7:00pm! Then I’ll be at Stories on Sunset Blvd at 8:00 on Friday! Neither of these signings will include crocheting a project together, so if you are a non-crocheter: don’t be shy! We’ll just be chattin’ and watchin’ videos and lookin’ at peektures! So you might have heard me talk about the gift baggies I’m giving away at my signings. I’m not sure if I’ll run out : / but I’ll still at least have some free stickers and buttons for those interested! I’ve been trying to include mini books in all my packages. I always wanted to print a little mini book filled with tiny patterns, and I managed to write it and draw it this week, and I started putting it together late last night!!! I’m gonna try to make a few more before I go to bed, too. They were fun! I FINALLY used this little paper cutter I bought like a year ago! The mini book is called “Sugar On Top: 5 cute ways to crochet frosting and whipped cream.” If people are interested, I will also put them up on Etsy when I get home. I think they are pretty darn cute! The finished gift baggie! It included a pretty ball of handspun yarn that I shopped around for on Etsy, my mini book, a sticker, a little thank you card for people to use, a 2 inch with a new design I drew on it, and also a little candy ring or candy brooch. I hope people had fun tonight in SF. Can’t wait to see you all in L.A.!

So I REALLY REALLY REAAAAALLLLLLY wanted to make a short music video to promote my book. And thanks to good friends, this dream became reality. Behold. You will never be the same. Bay Area folks: please come to Booksmith in the Haight tomorrow/Tuesday night (Nov. 9) and celebrate the book with me! We’ll have cupcakes, free gift bags (while supplies last), a Yummy You pop-up shop, and a Yummy You raffle to giveaway three scarves! I am also creating a POWER POINT PRESENTATION including never-seen-before sketches of my work, embarrassing teenage photos, and more! Word. I am also signing books in LA, Portland, and Seattle, so please check out MY LIST OF TOUR DATES and come say hello!

Sorry these are pictures taken on my phone of my tv… hehe….but I had to share with you this awesome fluffy polka dot dress that Juliette Lewis wears in this little funky movie called Meet the Hollowheads. I was working while it was playing on TV so I didn’t fully pay attention to the plot, but what caught my eye was the cool aesthetic of the whole thing. It was shot in 1989, but it was supposed to be futuristic, so the clothes are TOTALLY BOSS. Today, I’ve been working on a cute mini-book/zine of short patterns to put in my book signing gift bags. Think about 3 inches x 4 inches. I’ve never made one before, so we’ll see if I number the pages correctly and am able to print them out cute-ly! I’m excited if they actually work, and I will probably sell them for like $3.00 on Etsy if they turn out ok!

I’m making mini yarn balls out of delicious handspun yarn to put in my goodie bags for my book signing on Tuesday at Booksmith in the Haight! Please come check it out at 7:30pm! Not only will I have goodie bags for everyone while supplies last, but I’ll have a mini slide show, a rare Yummy You pop-up shop if you want to purchase Yummy You goods, and also we’ll be raffling off three different Yummy You scarves! I think you will get a free raffle ticket with a purchase of my book from Booksmith. We’ll have lots and lots of fun! Come say hi! The next morning, Hairy and I will be driving to L.A. where I’ll have a signing on Wednesdsay in L.A. at Urban Craft Center on their Etsy night! And then Friday night I’ll be signing at Stories Cafe, also in L.A. Remember for all my book tour dates, please check out TwinkieChanBooks.com!

Celebrate Sanrio’s 50th Anniversary! One of the secret projects I’ve been working on are special scarves for the 10-day celebration in LA among a huge group of other awesome artists! Check out these parties that my pals at BubblePunch are hosting! Here’s info about the NERD PARTY on Saturday, November 13th in Santa Monica. I will be going to this! Here’s info about the Kitty In Pink retro 80s prom on Saturday, November 20th in Santa Monica. I REALLY want to go, but I have a book signing/workshop at ImagiKnit back here in San Francisco on Sunday afternoon 🙁 so I don’t know that I can make it back and forth in time to be perky and personable at ImagiKnit. Locals should check out my ImagiKnit event, though, Sunday November 21st, at 4:00pm. It’s my favorite yarn store in the Bay Area, and we’ll be working on making a cupcake patch together! But I digress!! Sanrio!

Elsie kindly asked if I might contribute to her “Tricks and Treats” guest-blogging series on her site, and of course I jumped at the chance to do anything having to do with that little lady! Check out TWO tutorials I created over at her blog! Sorry I posted it so late here. I’ve been out all day! At first I wanted to make Mummy Mitts… but then I thought it might be too complicated for crochet beginners, so then I wrote up a Daisy Headband project, and then I couldn’t decide between the two, so I sent both to Emma, and both got posted so you get double the fun! 🙂 Here are two extra mummyriffic photos: The flower head band looks like this and is SUPER EASY to make! I have actually been wearing it a lot, but I didn’t want to post any photos until the tutorial went up! Instead of doing anything Halloweeny today, my cousin, his bestie, Hairy, and I drove to Napa Valley to go sparkling wine tasting at Domaine Carneros and to eat dinner at Ubuntu, with a spontaneous stop at Chandon. It was a pretty delicious and decadent day. Hairy and I were going to see Saw 3D, and the boys were going to go clubbing, but everyone ended up kinda sleepy and there wasn’t a late enough movie for us to catch. Oh wells!