I was hoping to keep this mundane and somewhat embarrassing news (no, I hadn’t backed it up in a loong time) out of the blog, but the situation has disrupted my work and brought a few of my projects to a halt, and I’ve also lost some photos I had been planning on sharing on my blog. It’s taking long enough now that it seems like time to whine publicly.

In the meantime, I’ve started scrambling to replace stuff I’ve lost (only temporarily, hopefully). Among these things is a new top-secret pattern coming very very soon.

Disco Smurf was eager to make a Captain Capacitor for her dad for Father’s Day (it’s coming up soon in Australia, apparently), and she’s already finished!

Love his expressive eyes!

By the way, the pattern for Resisty the Resistor will be coming a bit later, so stay tuned!

Hey geek knitters! Get started on a knitted circuit board with Captain Capacitor! He’s ready to save the day with his superhuman energy storing capabilities.

You’ll need:
- Worsted-weight yarn, such as Cascade 220, in dark gray, light gray, and a small amount of white
- Set of size 6 US (4.0 mm) double-pointed needles
- Polyfil stuffing
- Tapestry needle
- Safety eyes

Gauge: N/A!

Abbreviations:
k = knit
st(s) = stitch(es)
rnd(s) = round(s)
dpn(s) = double-pointed needle(s)

—–Pattern starts here!—–

Body
With dark gray yarn, CO 4 sts onto one needle to work as i-cord
Rnd 1: [kfb] 4 times (8 sts)
Distribute sts onto 3 needles to continue to work in a rnd.
Rnd 2: [kfb] 8 times (16 sts)
Rnd 3: knit
Rnd 4: [kfb, k1] 8 times (24 sts)
Rnd 5: knit
Rnd 6: [kfb, k2] 8 times (32 sts)
Rnds 7-10: knit (4 rnds)
Rnd 11: [k2tog, k2] 8 times (24 sts)
Rnds 12-14: knit (3 rnds)
Rnd 15: [kfb, k2] 8 times (32 sts)
Rnds 16-31: knit (16 rnds)
Switch to light gray yarn.
Rnd 32: [k2tog, k2] 8 times (24 sts)
Rnd 33: knit
Rnd 34: [k2tog, k1] 8 times (16 sts)
Rnd 35: [k2tog] 8 times (8 sts)
Stuff body and attach eyes before closing up, then break yarn and draw tightly through sts.

Legs (make 2)
With light gray yarn, CO 8 sts onto 3 dpns, leaving a long tail for seaming, and join in a rnd.
Knit 6 rnds, break yarn, and draw tightly through sts.

Feet / aka blobs of solder (make 2)
With light gray yarn, CO 6 sts onto 3 dpns and join in a rnd.
Rnd 1: [kfb] 6 times (12 sts)
Rnd 2: knit
Rnd 3: k3, [kfb] 6 times, k3 (18 sts)
Rnds 4-9: knit (6 rnds)
Rnd 10: k3, [k2tog] 6 times, k3 (12 sts)
Rnd 11: knit
Rnd 12: [k2tog] 6 times (6 sts)
Stuff before closing up, then break yarn, leaving a long tail for seaming, and draw tightly through sts.

Making up
Weave in all loose ends, except for the long tails you left on the legs and feet.

Stuff legs, and with your tapestry needle, attach open ends to bottom side of body using mattress stitch.

Attach feet to legs using mattress stitch, referencing the below photo for placement.

Use tapestry needle to embroider a white dotted line down the side of the body, just to the right of the eyes.

Update: Thank you to Michelle at the Craft blog for featuring Cap’n C!

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.

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!

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

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

…and a $10 Mochimochi Land gift certificate.

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

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

…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

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

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!

We’re going to close the polls at midnight Wednesday night (Eastern Time), so if you haven’t voted yet, do so now!

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!

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

Chichone! by katecarlyle

Slug Checkers by denise.y.cheung

Devil Bob by stitchyandcrafty

Snails vs. Slugs Baseball by giolou

Three of Hearts in Heels by lisa-maria

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

Tubby (and Octopus) by PrettyCranium

Stackable Cats (Blue) by Bitter-Sweet-

Conga Line of Bobs by kayk

Clover the Butterfull by kathrynivy.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

Look Ma, No Hands! by mikkers!

Ta daa! Looper performs an amazing balancing act.

Slug Checkers by denise.y.cheung

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

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

Cat grass by The Knitwit

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

Tubby (and octopus) by PrettyCranium

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!

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-

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

chichone! by katecarlyle

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

Devil Bob by stitchyandcrafty

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

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

This degree of cuteness is bordering on obscene.

ninjabun vs. ninjabunzilla by giolou

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

Stackable Cat at the Vet by lesleyhyphenanne

We love this tiny cat waiting for its checkup.

three of hearts in heels by lisa-maria

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

Conga Line of Bobs by kayk.

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

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!