Blog

Droplets

Droplets by JamFactory, which debuted earlier this year, are a great example of a reversible toy.

Right side up, they’re happy little guys (well, all but one of them are)…

…and upside down, they’re vury vury sad.

Either way, cute! You can get them as blind boxes at Crazy Label or at your local vinyl toy store.

Coming Soon: Captain Capacitor and Resisty the Resistor

Two new free patterns are on their way!

circuitry

We’ll start with Captain Capacitor later this week, and little Resisty will follow soon after. Get ready with your knitted circuit boards!

While I’m on the topic of geeky knitted toys inspired by my husband, I want to take the opportunity to plug his blog, Geek Out New York. John’s been working hard on it, and though I’m pretty foreign to his world of gaming and gadgets, I always enjoy reading his smart and witty writing. If you like what you see, please tell your friends!

Photo Contest 08 Winners!

The votes are in for the 2008 Mochimochi Photo contest!

It was clear from the way the votes came in over the last two days that each of the 10 finalists had their fans. In all, we received almost 1,000 votes! The results are exciting, too.

But first, John and I want to thank everyone who entered the contest and everyone who voted. It’s so much fun to see that other people are as excited about this contest as we are, and the creativity of your photos is endlessly inspiring! If you missed the contest this year, we will be holding it again next year too, with a few changes: we will be adding a “series” category, as well as a “judges’ choice” award.

And now for the results!

We actually had a TIE for third place, between Stackable Cats (Blue) by Bitter-Sweet- and Conga Line of Bobs by kayk. To break the tie, we had to look back to the comments in the semifinalist round, and the winner of third place is…

Conga Line of Bobs by kayk

win08_conga

Yay, kayk! You get some cute goodies from Japan…

pc08_prize3

…and a $10 Mochimochi Land gift certificate.

Second place goes to Tubby (and octopus) by PrettyCranium.

win08_tubby

Hooray PrettyCranium! You will also receive cute goodies from Japan…

pc08_prize2

…and a $15 Mochimochi Land gift certificate.

And finally, with over 250 votes, first place in the 2008 Mochimochi Photo Contest goes to…

Slug Checkers by denise.y.cheung

win08_checkers

Congratulations, Denise!! You win a box stuffed with craft supplies, kits, books, and toys from Japan!

pc08_prize1

You’ll also receive a $20 Mochimochi Land gift certificate.

Thus concludes the second Mochimochi Photo Contest! Thank you again to all who participated. And remember it’s not too early to get started on your entries for next year’s contest!

The Big VOTE!

Update: The polls are now closed! Stay tuned for the winners!

The polls are now open for the 2008 Mochimochi Photo Contest!! Thanks to your help in the semifinals round, we have narrowed the 20 semifinalist photos down to 10 outstanding finalists.

Like last year’s vote, you can vote for as many photos as you want: vote for your favorite three, top four, or more if you like! However, we ask that you only vote one time. (No ballot stuffing!)

Simply check the box next to each photo you’d like to cast a vote for, and then click the “Submit Your Votes!” button at the bottom of this post. Then, check back in a few days to see the winners!

Update: Hi, Mochimochi friends! Official husband and web guru John here. I am loving the enthusiasm for the 2008 photo contest; the votes are really pouring in!

We’re asking readers to be on the honor system and only vote once, and the vast majority of readers do just that. That said, we have a few ballot-stuffers in our midst. It’s easy to tell from the activity log on my end when somebody is voting “early and often,” and I will be deleting all ballot-stuffing votes. So don’t worry, the final tally will be fair and square.

It’s a tight race, so if you haven’t marked your ballot yet, make your voice heard!

Chichone! by katecarlyle
pc08_sf2

Slug Checkers by denise.y.cheung
pc08_sf17

Devil Bob by stitchyandcrafty
pc08_sf3

Snails vs. Slugs Baseball by giolou
pc08_sf11

Three of Hearts in Heels by lisa-maria
pc08_sf5

Stackable Cats (Red, White and Blue) by Amy Hammond
pc08_sf13

Tubby (and Octopus) by PrettyCranium
pc08_sf20

Stackable Cats (Blue) by Bitter-Sweet-
pc08_sf1

Conga Line of Bobs by kayk
pc08_sf6

Clover the Butterfull by kathrynivy.com
pc08_sf4

Photo Contest 08: Semifinalists, Round Two

Now for the final 10 of our 20 semifinalists! We are super-impressed by all of these amazingly cute and funny photos.

Based on the comments you leave on this post and yesterday’s post, we’ll narrow the 20 down to 10 finalists for the official vote next week.

slugs vs. snails (baseball) by giolou

pc08_sf11

For this incredible photo, the knitter put together an entire miniature baseball game, complete with diamond, tiny bats and balls, and itty-bitty snail and slug players. Then Rainycloud had to come and ruin it all. (Check out the entire play-by-play series of photos in the Mochimochi Friends Flickr group.)

Uh-oh’s! by KnitXcorE

pc08_sf12

We love the storybook look of this photo, and those Uh-Ohs are REALLY surprised about something.

Stackable cats (red, white, and blue) by Amy Hammond

pc08_sf13

What could be better than three Stackable Cats? Four Stackable Cats! The knitter modified the pattern for a tiny cat to top things off. Super!

Butterfull Working Out by mjernigan08

pc08_sf14

Poor Butterfull has good intentions, but his little arms are just to short to reach that barbell! (Well, reaching for it counts for something, right?)

Bobs in their natural habitat by VixHg

pc08_sf15

These colorful Bobs have made their home amongst thorny briars in this awesome nature shot.

Look Ma, No Hands! by mikkers!

pc08_sf16

Ta daa! Looper performs an amazing balancing act.

Slug Checkers by denise.y.cheung

pc08_sf17

Hee hee! I love how focused the cats look on their game. This is a great combination of two patterns.

Butterfull (in flowers) by NuttyIrishmanKnits

pc08_sf18

Uber-cute photo, and I love the one droopy antenna!

Cat grass by The Knitwit

pc08_sf19

Definitely a one-in-a-million photo of kitty and Grass at play!

Tubby (and octopus) by PrettyCranium

pc08_sf20

Tubby doesn’t seem all that thrilled to be hosting the octopus’s bath time, but the combo with hansigurumi’s pattern is genius!

Which of these do you LOVE? Let us know in the comments! Then check back next week (probably Monday) for the big vote!

Photo Contest 08: Semifinalists, Round One

It’s semifinals time! Today we’re posting the first 10 of 20 semifinalists in the 2008 Mochimochi Photo Contest. Like last year, John and I selected semifinalists based on originality of subject, creativity of knitting, and quality of photo. So many photos met these criteria, it was amazing!

We need to narrow the 20 semifinalists down to 10, and you can help by campaigning for your favorites in the comments of this post. Tomorrow we’ll post the next 10 semifinalists, and then we’ll post the selected 10 finalists and voting will officially begin!

Stackable Cats (blue) by Bitter-Sweet-

pc08_sf1

Love the colors, love the angle, love the cats!

chichone! by katecarlyle

pc08_sf2

How would you like to find this one in the dairy department? Cute!

Devil Bob by stitchyandcrafty

pc08_sf3

An eeevil Bob… is pretty adorable! (Check out the knitter’s blog for instructions on how to do the tail modification.)

Clover the Butterfull by kathrynivy.com

pc08_sf4

Butterfull couldn’t be cuter sitting in her tree. A great modification to the wings too!

Matt’s First (official) Valentine’s Day by Lamby Knits

pc08_sf8

This degree of cuteness is bordering on obscene.

ninjabun vs. ninjabunzilla by giolou

pc08_sf9

Argg! This amazingly giant Ninjabun demands your respect. And all your carrots!

Stackable Cat at the Vet by lesleyhyphenanne

pc08_sf7

We love this tiny cat waiting for its checkup.

three of hearts in heels by lisa-maria

pc08_sf5

This photo is so good it could be an ad for shoes. Or little knitted hearts!

Conga Line of Bobs by kayk.

pc08_sf6

Has anyone else noticed how much Bobs have been up to in our photo contest? So far we’ve had Bobs dressing up as bikers, Bobs building snowbobs, Bobs playing with chicken legs… I’m pretty convinced that these adorable Bobs are actually doing the conga!

Dust Bunny and Big Bunny by rfrmdsquirrel

pc08_sf10

Am I seeing double? You two must be sisters! (Check out other great bunny-and-bunny photos on the knitter’s photostream)

Which are your favorites? Let us know in the comments!

Honorable Mentions, Round Two

Today, the second batch of photos to receive honorable mention in the photo contest!

Gargle looks at his reflection by the_crobs

pc08_hm11

The unexamined giraffe life is not worth living.

Bobs build a Snowbob by Moominmama1

pc08_hm12

The Bobs seem proud of their work.

Butterfull and his pizza by Amy Hammond

pc08_hm13

Butterfull seems proud of his work too!

Woodins Escape! by kxlolson1

pc08_hm14

Apparently Woodins are attracted to light—who knew? (I like the one standing guard at the bottom.)

Snail Wash by knittedteacups

pc08_hm15

This elaborate scene includes a Bob disguising himself as a snail so that he can get washed. Ha!

Chicks by jennysong

pc08_hm20

Mama Chick nests with her five baby finger-puppet chicks. Awww.

Vintage Reindeer: Christmas in July by kountingsheep

pc08_hm16

This little guy can’t wait for the holidays! He thinks he’s found a Christmas tree.

How Tubby Got His Bubbles by cspooks

pc08_hm17

What a great fable!

Bob and The Chicken Legs by gardienne33

pc08_hm18

This little Bob is having fun with some chicken-less chicken legs he came across. (Check out Gardienne’s entire blog devoted to the adventures of Chicken Legs. It is genius!)

Who’s the father by muffychloe

pc08_hm19

The parrot wants to be the daddy. Love it!

Congrats to these super photographers! Next up: the first batch of semifinalists.