holiday mart at centenniel high school!

sara & gunter hat and gunter

if you have a dog like this, you must also have a hat like this. here's sara wearing the custom gunter hat i made for her. and there's gunter. very nice.

the last of the 8th edition knitimals!

hello my hippity hoppity holiday shoppity friends! you may have noticed a snazy little badge up in the top left corner of my blog... the handmade pledge. i know you all know the value of buying (and selling) and supporting handmade, so i won't preach about it, but i will ask you, as you are finishing up the last of your holiday gift buying (or, if you're like me, um, not even thinking about it yet!), to keep the little guys in mind. handmade goods are made with love by people who are imbuing each item with love (you have to be making these things with love when you are bearly making a profit and running around like a crazy person trying to find organic wool stuffing... um, but i digress).

in a topsy turvy world where the big guys keep getting bigger and just keep getting richer, and yet, can't seem to "get it" that we don't want our kids chewing on lead based toys, or that we aren't thrilled about washing our hair with shampoo that blinded a bunny, or that we don't REALLY want to eat cookies (no matter how tasty) that may or may not have been made in a factory that may or may not have contained nuts... handmade equals "a real person", with whom you can communicate and custom order. handmade puts the consumer in charge and casts a vote for the little guy.

in this case, handmade casts a vote for the little wool knit guy.

that said, i am taking a very very very limited number of custom holiday orders so if you need something for someone, or if you remember a product from a show and want to know if i still have it, send me an email. Otherwise, there are only a handful of Knitimals remaining from the 8th edition (2006-07), and they'd like a new home.
the last available 8th edition knitimals™!

i'll complete the adoptions on a first come first serve basis, so speak up soon!
happy handmade holidays!
xoxo, danamarie

small stuff at Bear & Bird!

the small stuff show is up at Bear+Bird in florida (for you floridians). all the work in the show is 8x10 and smaller, and meant to be paid for and left with on the spot. a great idea for quick holiday shopping, no? there's tons of work... i submitted 5 drawings, at least one of which has already sold. if you're in the area, or want to shop online, please do! (my drawings are in the bottom right corner of the 2nd picture)
Bear and Bird Boutique + Gallery
inside/upstairs at
TATE'S Comics+Toys+Videos+More
4566 N. University Drive
Lauderhill, Florida 33351
Phone: 954-748-0181
www.bearandbird.com
www.tatescomics.com

bazaart at the visionary!

yay! another wonderfully successful Bazaart is behind us. (the "yay" refers to the fact that Bazaart exists and exists with me, not that it is behind us... its "over-ness" is actually super sad). I love bazaart for a number of reasons: 1.) you can set up all week long. 2.) you can come back the next day to break down. 3.) this year there was a preview night, wherein people paid money to come in and get first dibs, to drink and to buy stuff, 4.) everyone that comes to Bazaart is SO flippin cool. 5.) the knitimals are totally welcome and understood and appreciated, 5.) no one calls them "monsters" or says: "these are like the ugly dolls!" (not that there is anything wrong with ugly dolls... its just that, well, they're not like the ugly dolls at all), 6.) i always make great new friends here, 6.) they give us donuts and coffee, 7.) there's fun music, 8.) doesnt feel a thing like work, 9.) great lighting, 10.) clean floors!, 11.) blue felt to decorate instead of formal name tags, 12.) i wait all year for it.

i will happily drive 10 hours from portland to do this show in the future. thanks for inviting me, bazaart people!

ok. so these are pictures of my booth (enjoy it, because it might well be my last "booth" per se, for a while... the next two shows are table top only or 6x8 spaces marked by tape). i had a ton of fun getting set up... i've never had a corner booth before, so that was a fun challenge. i'm so glad i left the left side wall open. it took a little last minute ingenuity, but it was worth it. i loved the set up and how bright and cheery everything was. it's always my goal to envision my booth as a little store. i SO want a little (well, not so little) store, and for now, this is as close as i get.

the new work--- the ornaments (both knit and illustrated), the soap, the hats, the new zines... all the new stuff got such fabulous responses... the air in the booth was like cotton candy, only gas. wait. that was weird. i just meant that it smelled and felt good in there! please don't walk away... i didn't mean to use the "g" word.

that said, please come out to my last TWO shows of 2007! this coming saturday, Dec. 1 at Centenniel High School in Ellicott City, MD and then my birthday (yay) Sunday, Dec. 2 at the Creative Alliance in baltimore. If you didn't get me a gift, its ok. just buy something and i'll use the money to get myself something shiny. (or more likely, to get myself more yarn, so i can make something else for you).

after the shows, i will update the website with any little guys still looking for homes... and i will, knock wood, hopefully find the time to open my etsy shop, so you can shop with ease between now and whenever the next show is.
till then...xoxo danamarie

happy thanksgiving!

just a quick note from the road... happy thanksgiving every body! i spent the weeks leading up to our 12 hour drive knitting, packing, sewing, painting, stapling, glueing, baking, molding, matting, taping, wrapping, typing, organizing, and preparing for the upcoming shows. we'll get back in town just hours before set-up time for Bazaart. i'll be working off a highway buzz (driving in the dark, gas station coffee and a lot of candy), so expect a beautiful display and LOTS of new work for your enjoyment. so... enjoy! xoxo danamarie

ringo and holly

sweet little ringo, with his dangly long legs, went to live in minnesota with holly earlier this week. holly makes sweet little plush things which you can check out on her flickr page
ringo and friends on flickr, or on her etsy site:
beeperbebe, should you get tired of knit things or just want to add a little something different to your collection. i only know her in cyber space, but i feel confident saying she is quite sweet herself. xo danamarie, and yes, i'm sure ringo has "the accent" now, eh.

meet them in person!

i forgot to mention that if you want to meet the now famous Dr. Benedict (and his friend "its an honor to be nominated" Sebastiana) or, i dare say, TAKE THEM HOME WITH YOU... they will be re-emerging at Bazaart next next weekend. yes, next next. that's how i do things. xoxo danamarie

three cheers for TONSILITIS!!!

no... not the illness (though i am MORE familiar with it than i'd like to be... and it HAS gotten me out of work a number of times), no this time we're cheering for Dr. Benedict, the knitimal who took home first prize in the "Worst Gift I ever Got" category in the 2007 Softie Awards (yay!). he's thrilled and celebrating by laying low. the entries were all SO great and the winners? oh my gosh... i need to sell more knitimals so i can buy some of THEIR work! check out all the action here:
2007 Holiday Softie Awards

VOTE FOR ME!!!! the Holiday Softie Awards!

what a great day... i just found out i have been selected as a finalist in TWO categories in the Holiday Softie Awards!
the softies are an international plush competition, with thousands of entries, so to be one of 40 or so finalists is pretty awesome. i was a finalist in two categories, earlier in the year, during the "regular" Softie Awards. now all we need is a win!
to win, i need votes. for votes, i need you!

do you have a computer? more than one? USE THEM!!! below is the link to the voting site; please pass this along to your friends and co-workers. it only takes a minute to do. these are my two entries: sebastiana & tonsilitis... get to know their sweet little faces.

Sebastiana is the finalist in the "Animals dressed for the holidays" category
Tonsilitis is the finalist in the "Worst Gift I ever got" category (true story)
When you go to vote, those are categories 2 & 8... and be careful when you're clicking... the names aren't on the ballot in the same order as the images are posted, so make sure you double check the name you're clicking next to.

Thank you so much!
xoxo
danamarie

VOTE FOR ME!!!