10th Anniversary of Gnomes vs Snowmen

Ten years ago today, the gnomes and snowmen of Mochimochi Land faced off in an epic battle. Snow heads rolled. Gnomes were squashed flat. Santa’s sleigh was commandeered for aerial snowball drops. It was not pretty, but it was pretty cute.

These events took place for a few weeks at the wonderful gallery hanahou (RIP!) in NYC in 2011, thanks to Koko Nakano and her team, but they live on in our memories. And in some photos!

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10 Years of Mochimochi Land: Gnomes vs. Snowmen

Mochimochi Land has now been a thing for 10 whole years! While I’m taking care of a newborn and not getting much knitting done for a little while, I thought I’d share some highlights from a decade of Mochimochi Land.

In 2011 the character art organization Pictoplasma asked me if I would like to be a part of their gallery walk for their upcoming NYC conference. My friends at gallery hanahou (which has since closed, sadly) graciously let me use their space, so about 5 months later the epic battle between gnomes and snowmen commenced!

The idea for this little knitted art exhibit began to germinate when I watched a documentary on British history that featured the Bayeux Tapestry, a truly epic weaving that tells the story of the 11th Century Norman invasion of Britain from start to finish in a linear fashion.

I remember watching that documentary and falling in love with this mode of tactile storytelling, and thinking to myself that it would be interesting to pit two much-beloved characters against each other, in ways both playful and also somewhat violent, and see how people felt about that.

There was a lot of knitting involved.

And a lot of mess in our small Brooklyn apartment.

Once I had about a 100 each of gnomes and snowmen (with knitting help for the snowmen provided by some awesome local knitters), I got to put together the scenes, which was great fun.

And it was the biggest thrill to have people show up at the opening and experience the cutest battle ever in Mochimochi Land!

If you missed it in the gallery, you may have seen a smaller version of Gnomes vs Snowmen at one of the Vogue Knitting LIVE shows over the past few years.

You can see more photos from the battle at my personal website.

Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi Snowmen Pattern

These teeny tiny guys are handy holiday helpers! Whip each up in less than an hour, then use them as present toppers, stocking stuffers, holiday jewelry or ornaments.

NOTE: The finished project is very small and is not suitable for small children.

A link to download the PDF pattern collection will arrive via email after purchase.

Gnomes vs Snowmen in Astounding 3D

In my last post I included a photo of the Gnomes vs Snowmen battle that I showed at VK Live last year, which was originally a larger installation at NYC’s gallery hanahou in 2011. if you missed seeing it in person, today I’m bringing it right into your living room or office, with lifelike 3D photos!

Put your red and blue glasses on now.

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Don’t have magic glasses? Well, it’s really worth a look if you can find some! Or just take my word for it that it’s like you’re in the midst of an epic gnome/snowman battle.

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Thank you to Jess Mireau, who also shared 3D photos of my previous Mochimochi Land installation!

You can see non-3D photos of the show at my art website.

Snowmen Win, Free Snow Cones for All

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The results are in, and Snowmen win! More than 600 of you voted in this very important election to determine which tiny mochi will represent Mochimochi Land for the next four years.

The gnomes shook the snowmen’s hands….

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But then they gave a very bitter concession speech, so we’re not even going to show it here.

The snowmen have already gotten to work increasing snowball production…

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Installing more icicles in underserved rural areas…

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And expanding ice cream distribution for the less fortunate citizens of Mochimochi Land.

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Big snowman government, here we come!

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Thanks to Jenna Leigh Teti for use of her photography of Gnomes vs Snowmen!

Gnomes vs Snowmen: The Vote

UPDATE: The results are in!

It’s time to vote! Get to the polls, Americans!

Today also happens to be election day in Mochimochi Land (purely by coincidence), and the decision is yours: Gnomes or Snowmen? Which party is best suited to represent tiny knitted toys for the next four years, or until they’re ousted by scandal?

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If you’re reading this, you’re an honorary citizen of Mochimochi Land, and the candidates want your vote!


Just in case you’re having trouble making a decision, the candidates have some negative campaigning to entertain you with.

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The poll closes at midnight tonight, and we’ll post the results tomorrow.

Thanks to Jenna Leigh Teti for use of her photography of Gnomes vs Snowmen!