“I thought it’d be neat to have these huge insects staring at you while you eat,” explains Fremont artist Hansi Singh about her praying mantises hovering at Joe Bar. “Mantidae” (through September 30) features her hand-knitted, foot-long wool bugs crawling across the cafe walls. Oddly enough, they’re sort of cute. So are the rest of Singh’s unconventional knitted creations, which include squid, snails, and jackalopes. Singh creates all of her own patterns—try finding a design for a praying mantis at Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts—and adds stuffing and wire to make them three-dimensional. You can see, and purchase, more of her new work at her online store (“hansigurumi” is Japanese for “Hansi’s stuffed animals”). Your grandmother never knitted anything like it. Joe Bar, 810 E. Roy St., 324-0407, www.joebar.org, www.hansigurumi.etsy.com. Free. 8:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m. ERIKA HOBART

Mondays-Sundays, 8:30 a.m. Starts: Sept. 7. Continues through Sept. 30, 2008