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To Japan!

Posted on by Anna

Did I mention I’m going to Japan? I’m leaving in about 12 hours!

Husband John and I will be taking his mom and big brother on a 10-day tour of Tokyo and Kyoto, with a stopover in Nagoya to see friends. Yay!

I wasn’t necessarily expecting to return so soon (it was just about a year ago that John and I went for our last vacation), but the timing just worked out for all four of us. I think it’s going to be a riot to go with two people who’ve never been and don’t speak the language. We’re planning on lots of sightseeing, shopping, eating, and other fun activities that are so much more exciting there than here for some reason. Like crane games!

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Like last year, I might be a tad bit slow to respond to emails, but I’ll be online when I can, and still posting to the blog.

I’m also hoping to find tons of toy inspiration and the prizes for this year’s Mochimochi Photo contest!

Speaking of the photo contest, it’s not too early to start working on your entries! The contest will probably be a bit earlier this year—I’m thinking summertime or thereabouts. Here’s an amazing photo already from Giolou.

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Ninjabunzilla! I hope I get to meet him in person in Tokyo.

We Have a Winner!

Posted on by Anna

Yay, Jess of Knitten Purl is the randomly selected winner of the $15 Mochimochi Land gift certificate, for leaving a comment on the interview I did with Kristen Rask at Plush You.

Thank you so much again to everyone who left such nice comments. It was the most gratifying thing just reading through them all. And thank you again to Kristen for arranging the interview and giveaway!

Pat and Tap and Bit and Tib

Posted on by Anna

This is Pat and Tap, and their pets Bit and Tib.

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These little guys have a secret. Can you tell what it is?

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Pat and Tap are made from the same pattern, but flipped!

Of course, Bit and Tib have the same thing in common.

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This acrobatic family has a long history of performing in circuses. They’re making me dizzy just watching them do backflips.

Rubbercat

Posted on by Anna

Saturday was gorgeous in New York, a perfect day for the Hell’s Kitchen flea market. There were fewer vendors than the last time I went, but I still found a treasure: a rubber cat!

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It’s approximately the size of a real cat, so I’m keeping it on the floor until I get a real cat. (Someday I will have a real cat.)

As a bonus, it has creepy dolly eyes that blink when you tilt the cat.

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According to the imprint on his underside, Rubbercat was made in 1960. He has a small tear also on his belly, and he could use a washing, but I think he looks pretty good for 48 years old and ten bucks!

Chicken Legs

Posted on by Anna

I came across the most incredible blog the other day. Gardienne, who made the happy snails and slugs I posted here a little while ago, has been documenting the adventures of a pair of knitted chicken legs that came from the Which Came First pattern. In her first post, she says, “a pair of chicken legs stitched into my life and demanded attention.”

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So far, we’ve seen the Chicken Legs make friends with Gardienne’s cats, attend a hockey tournament, and enjoy a cup of coffee.

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I love this blog! The chicken legs are so silly, but it also seems almost perfectly normal that they would get up and walk around on their own. Why shouldn’t they have their own blog? I’m now a regular reader, so here’s hoping Gardienne keeps it up!

Update: CRAFT magazine just featured the Chicken Legs blog on the CRAFT blog! How cool is that? These are some famous chicken legs!

Blythe Installation by ALFORT at gallery hanahou

Posted on by Anna

I suspect that many of you are fans of Blythe, the ’70s-toy-turned-indie-fashion-icon who’s so popular with the scissor set these days. I’m not so much of a doll person, but even I’m charmed by her enormous color-changing eyes.

If you’re a fan and in New York, you’ll want to check out the opening we’re having next Thursday at gallery hanahou, for “Lilliput ~ my little friends.” The exhibit is an installation by the Japanese avant-garde art collective ALFORT, who will use 60+ customized Blythes to create a dreamlike scene of little people who inhabit a landscape of unconscious memory.

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ALFORT are five women who create art around the concept of an imaginary ballet company whose productions all star Blythe dolls. (Can you get more Japanese than that?) Three of the members of Alfort will be at the opening on the 10th, and it’s even rumored that they might bring mochi!

The show will run April 10 – May 14, so if you can’t make it to the opening, you’ll have about a month to stop by. And if you live someplace besides New York, the dolls and other artwork from the show will also be available online at the gallery website starting around April 16th.

Hope to see you there on Thursday!

Lilliput ~ my little friends
Theatre ALFORT
April 10 – May 14
Opening reception Thursday April 10, 6-9 pm (RSVP info@galleryhanahou.com )
gallery hanahou
611 Broadway, Suite 730, NYC
[Seventh Floor of the Cable Building, NW corner of Broadway and Houston]
M-F 12-6 pm, Sat by appt. only

Goodies from Kristen Rask

Posted on by Anna

For those of you who kindly left comments on the interview I did with Kristen Rask of Plush You, we’ll be determining the winner of the Mochimochi Land gift certificate soon! Kristen has been traveling, and has been without much internet access, so as soon as things settle down for her we’ll be contacting the winner.

Kristen is actually in New York right now, and I had the privilege of sitting down with her on Monday for a cup of coffee and a chat about her Seattle store Schmancy and their huge annual plush show, among other things. It was so much fun! I had met Kristen only briefly before, so it was great to get to know her better. She’s even busier than I had thought, organizing all the shows and events that take place at Schmancy, in addition to running the store itself, and she’s working on a couple of books at the same time. And look—she brought me a present!

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This sweet little bag is a Schmancy original, made by Kristen herself. I don’t know how she squeezes in time to do her own crafts, but I feel lucky to benefit from her industriousness! The little bag is perfect for holding knitting notions, so I’ll be using it a lot. And the cute little cloudy thing is a pin! I really need to brighten up my workspace, so I think I’ll find a way to use it for decorating.

Thank you Kristen!!

Update: I just realized that the magnets in my laptop are perfect for hanging Little Cloudy. Yay!

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Anla’s JellyBean

Posted on by Anna

I recently received a sweet email from a girl named Anla, who has been knitting for four years and is now “almost 12.” That’s an awesomely young knitter!

Anla’s been knitting some Mochimochi Land patterns in her free time, and she recently finished her version of Butterfull, whom she named JellyBean!

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This chubby butterfly is sticking to hanging out with trees, so nobody gets hurt that way.

Anla tells me that she used yarn from an old sweater to knit JellyBean’s body, which is a great way to reuse. And instead of using duplicate stitch to embellish JellyBean’s wings, Anla embroidered some sparkly flowers with eyelash yarn. Very creative!

Next, Anla’s going to make some Sausage Dogs. I can’t wait! It’s so cool to hear from such a talented young knitter. Keep it up, Anla!