Tubby is finally ready to make a splash in the Mochimochi Shop!

This knitted bathtub is the first Mochimochi Land pattern created by popular demand. (He was originally meant to be a one-of-a-kind, but his loyal fans insisted that he receive pattern status.)

So because you asked for Tubby, now you can make your own Tubby! This fun pattern consists of simple techniques of knitting in the round and mattress stitch.

Buy the pattern as a PDF download here!

UPDATE 2/5/08: By the way, for those who are on my mailing list and received a mysterious announcement email with no subject, I apologize. My Mail program is doing strange things to my emails once they leave my outbox. Hopefully the next one will have a subject line!

I’m excited to talk about an event last Friday that by design I couldn’t mention until it was all over!

A few months ago I was contacted by Sile (pronounced Sheila) at knit-one-one, a California knitting studio that specializes in knitting lessons and events. They were interested in making Hayden the Haystack at their next Magical Mystery Knitting Party, an event where instructor Kate reads a pattern aloud for the attendees to knit up, and everyone tries to guess what they’re making throughout the process.

Though I couldn’t be there in person as I would have liked to, hiding behind a plant to watch the evening unfold, Sile was nice enough to send me the play-by-play and great photos right away!

Apparently there was a little confusion over the color of yarn to bring, but I think red makes a nice fall haystack, don’t you think?

Some of the guesses throughout the evening were: leg warmers for dogs, a banana cover, and a chew toy.

Even after the Haydens got stuffed, Sile says, people were still guessing. Then she offered up a clue about European painters, and Ellen, one of the guests, shouted out “Haystack!”

The haystacks look like they were having a little party themselves!

I was so thrilled to have my Hayden be a mystery knit for one night. Thank you Sile!

It’s time for another installment of funny/bizarre occurrences in the life of Bonney, my mother-in-law!

In this episode, Bonney relates a Sunday trip to the grocery store.

I went to the grocery store on Sunday. On my way out of the store I saw 2 loaves of bread from the store bakery on the ground. They were in cellophane bags and just sitting there. An older woman was standing by them and I started to stoop over to pick them up for her when she said “How about that” and she looked at me. I figured they must have fallen from someone’s cart and looked around the parking lot for someone loading their car. Nothing. So this lady says to me “Take one. If they’re here when I come out, I’m going to.” Instead, I picked them up and took them to the courtesy counter and handed them over.

The whole thing hit me on several different levels. Here was this very respectable looking woman very anxious to steal a loaf of bread.

I value my karma more than to risk it stealing a loaf of bread.

Last (and this is the part that makes me laugh) she told me to take ONE!! Like the other one would be waiting for her when her shopping was done.

Maybe this doesn’t sound so strange but it was!!

Thanks for sharing, Bonney!

As I’ve mentioned here before, I’m a complete pushover for the Legend of Zelda games. Though each game that comes out seems to temporarily turn into my favorite one, this time I believe the Nintendo people have outdone themselves with their latest DS offering, Phantom Hourglass.

I had to wait for Christmas to get the game, because it was basically the only consumer product I’d really wanted last holiday season, and so it remained the only thing on my Amazon wish list for several long months. But worth the wait!

I’m a little too worn out from playing it all 3-day-weekend long to go into much detail, but Phantom Hourglass is a continuation of the Windwaker story, with its adorable cartoon-y design and seafaring theme. Interspersed with the gorgeous graphics are some wonderful “wooden” cut-out sequences, which have been my favorite moments in the game.

The play is challenging, but not overly so, making it a great traveling companion. And this is the first game I’ve played on the DS that made perfect use of the stylus. It’s almost Wii-like in its fluidity, only on a smaller scale. If you don’t have a DS, I would say that it’s worth getting one just for Phantom Hourglass.

OK, back to playing now.