Let’s knit toys
I’d almost forgotten about this odd poster, which we were seeing all over the Tokyo subway stations a couple of weeks ago.
The English is an accurate translation of the Japanese—it’s just…pretty strange. (Right?) If you look closely, you’ll see that it adds “please share your seat with others” at the bottom. Seems like they could have just stuck with that line.
Yes, the Stackable Cats are finally here! This simple pattern includes three sizes for maximum stacking fun. Techniques include provisional cast on, knitting in the round on double-pointed needles, short rows and mattress stitch.
Buy the pattern as a PDF download here!
Update: Thanks so much to both Kristen at Plush You and Michelle at CRAFT for announcing the Stackable Cats!
My jewelry-designer friend Audrey recently made the most beautiful pair of earrings out of handmade Japanese paper and sterling silver.
I love how they look so incredibly light—the use of the paper is just inspired. (Now if only I wore earrings…)
The earrings are part of her collection, which can be found in her Etsy shop. (I also blogged about her shop when she opened it last year.) Audrey specializes in mixing industrial and natural materials with traditional elements of fine jewelry. The result is beautiful designs that balance strength and delicacy.
I think her jewelry would make an awesome Mother’s Day gift for a hip kind of mom!
Check back soon, or sign up for the mailing list (email info@mochimochiland.com) to receive a notice as soon as the pattern is available!
One of the strange things about vacations is that stuff happens while you’re away! Much of it is just work piling up, of course, but sometimes there’s a pleasant surprise mixed in with the multiplying “to-dos.” Such is the case with a new profile of Mochimochi Land on Venuszine.com!
Venuszine.com is the website of the hip magazine Venus Zine, which covers a refreshing mix of women in music, art, film, fashion, and DIY culture. Contributor Sara Graham, who is an avid crocheter herself, just happened to be at the Martha Stewart taping that my toys and I attended in February, and she got in touch with me shortly after that.
I’m extremely flattered by Sara’s nicely written profile about my work, and it’s an honor to be presented on Venus Zine’s website along with so many other fascinating women in art and DIY culture. Thank you Sara!
Hello from New York! I was a little reluctant to leave Japan so soon, but the weather in NY is absolutely gorgeous, so I’ll take it. (I’ve been up since 3:30 this morning, so I got to see the beautiful morning light hit the buildings outside our window.) I also didn’t bring any knitting on the Japan trip, so I’m looking forward to picking up the needles after two weeks without.
I just finished downloading the last of my photos, and I realized I took more pics of Okinawa than I thought. So this will be the non-hermit crab Okinawa post.
First, something cute (of course!). An ad for Okinawan “snow salt” cookies at the Naha airport on the main island. (They’re really yummy.)
Iriomote-jima, where we stayed for three nights, has more than just beaches and crabs. It’s also known for its dense jungle and waterfalls. It’s not known so much for its goats, but this one was roaming around just looking to get into trouble.
John was careful not to touch him, so that he could avoid a customs nightmare when returning to the states. (It ended up being a nightmare anyway, but that’s another and not very interesting story.)
And here we have some mangrove roots.
Iriomote-jima was covered with dense mangrove forests, and the guide on the boat tour we took discussed the main three types of mangrove trees in detail, on and on, throughout the 25-minute trip. I now feel like I know all there is to know about mangroves, but only in Japanese.
After our boat tour, we took an hour-long hike to see a waterfall (sans tour guide, thankfully). On the way, I spotted this gorgeous bark.
I don’t recall what kind of tree it belongs to, but I loved its pattern.
Also this cool unfurling vine.
Here’s a shot of the waterfall we hiked to, plus a funny crow who was very interested in us.
And lastly, I found this ad at the airport at Ishigaki-jima to be pretty fascinating.
Never mind the fresh water gushing down the pristine waterfalls of a nearby island, give me the water of America! I have a feeling that this particular campaign wouldn’t do so well in its place of supposed origin.
The majority of my remaining pictures from Japan are of cute ads I found, so I’ll be posting those soon too.
I just spent the past two days on a beach! Not what we planned for when mapping out our trip to Japan, but no complaints here.
From Nagoya we took a plane to the main island of Okinawa, then another flight to Ishigaki-jima, then we hopped a ferry to Iriomote-jima, a remote jungle island where John and I did some snorkeling a year ago. Because I didn’t bother to bring my contacts to Japan, the snorkeling was a little blurry for me this time, but still a lot of fun. I spent more time lying in the sand (with plenty of shade and sunblock), reading my book and listening to the ocean. I also met some new friends!
This is Dwight. He was pretty shy, but I thought he had a lovely shell.
Next I met Fusako-san. She crawled around on John’s hand for a while, before falling off the edge. (She was fine.)
This is Goro, who wasn’t shy at all. I loved his beady little eyes.
Then we have Chibi, who was almost the tiniest crab we found. (Photographed on John’s index finger.)
And finally, Stripy-kun! Who was very stripy.
All of these guys were extremely friendly and graciously tolerated our poking them and turning them upside down, so I think I’m over my fear of hermit crabs. They’re just too cute to be afraid of.
Now we’re back in Tokyo for the night, and tomorrow we return to the states. I really feel like I just got here, but surely it won’t be so long before I’m back for another visit. I’ve also got plenty of more photos to share once I return!
One of the things I love about Japan is how personified everything is. It seems that every good or service (including government services) requires its own adorable mascot, and walking down the street you can quickly lose count of the cute faces greeting you on signs every five feet or so.
It was originally my plan to document every cute character I came across for a few days, but that task quickly proved too daunting. In any case, here are a few just from the past day or so in Nagoya.
A “card” character featured in the current promotions for the department store Parco
Also at Parco, this little deer has been my favorite so far.
These are some kind of plant I think? I’m not sure, but they’re cute.
This giraffe wants you to use Nanaco, which is some kind of “card service,” I think.
Of course, Toyota has its own cuddly animals hawking their cars.
And finally, the police get a mascot too!
Our travel plans have changed a bit, so we’re heading off for a few days in Okinawa tomorrow morning. (Yesterday I managed to buy a bathing suit in Japan, if you can believe it.) Probably no internet for real this time. So I’ll be back when I’m back!
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