They actually prefer the word “flapjacks” (except for the one in the middle—he’s from the UK).
Tiffany suggested tiny pancakes in the comments, so she gets a free pattern. Thanks, Tiffany!
Year: 2009
Power Owlets
Check out these Oscillating Owlets made by the fabulous testers who gave the pattern a trial run last month!
Rikke made a pair of pretty, neutral Owlets. I like their subtle cuteness!
And after testing the pattern as written, Jennifer made a whole menagerie of Owlets hanging out on a tree of her own design. Wow!
Apparently she’s added even more Owlets to the tree since she sent me that photo.
Jennifer’s project was particularly interesting to me because my original concept for the pattern somewhat resembled what she ended up with. Oscillating or not, they sure are cute!
Thank you to Rikke, Jennifer, and Jessica for the testing help!
Ossu! Shugeibu Opening Tonight
Isn’t that umbrella bird the cutest? You can see it and tons of other unusual creations by Shoichi Ishizawa and Ossu! Shugeibu at tonight’s opening of “Before and After,” at gallery hanahou in NYC! Stop by the gallery from 7-9 pm tonight (10/14) for the opening party with a surprise participatory event.
There’s also a workshop this Saturday at the gallery where you can make your own walking and barking robo-dog for $29.99. Email info@galleryhanahou.com to sign up!
Before and After: hijacking everyday stuff to craft incredible creations
with Ossu! Shugeibu, the macho crafting club from Japan
October 14 – November 13
611 Broadway, Suite 730, NYC
M-F noon – 6 pm
Sat by appt only
Ossu! Shugeibu, translated into English as Yo! Crafting Club, is fueled by a mix of testosterone and pure creativity uninhibited by rules or conventions. Using repurposed materials and freestyle techniques, founder and president Shoichi Ishizawa inspires his myriad club members – men and women who have participated in his workshops – to create surprising craft art without any prior experience in the traditional crafts.
“Before and After” will feature unusual creations handmade by Ishizawa himself, but the guerrilla crafting guru is passionate about recruiting new members to his club and has plans to get everyone involved!
Visitors to the October 14th opening will be encouraged to join in on a participatory handmade “happening,” then Ishizawa will lead a workshop on October 17th in which participants will each make a hand-sewn robotic dog. Come join the Yo! Crafting Club!
Opening party (with surprise participatory event!) – October 14 (Wed) 7 – 9 p.m.
Robogurumi robot dog workshop (only $29.99!) – October 17 (Sat) 1 – 4 p.m.
Email info@galleryhanahou.com to sign up!
It’s Time for Another Mochimochi Photo Contest!
Get your needles and camera at the ready for the 3rd annual Mochimochi Photo Contest!
Once again, we’re looking for the cutest, funniest, most interesting photo of a Mochimochi Land toy. All you have to do to enter is upload your photo(s) to the Mochimochi Friends group on Flickr by November 16th.
Like previous years, winners will receive cute goodies from Japan and gift certificates from Mochimochi Land, PLUS this year they will also get gift certificates from Knit Picks!
Eligibility
To be eligible, your photo must contain at least one knitted toy made from a Mochimochi Land pattern. This can either be a pattern from the Mochimochi Shop or one of the free patterns on the Mochimochi Blog. The pattern may be modified, but not beyond recognition from the original design.
How to enter
Simply upload your photo(s) to the Mochimochi Friends Flickr group. If you don’t have a Flickr account, it is free and easy to register (though we recommend signing up as soon as possible, because it takes a little time for your account to be approved for sharing photos in a group). You can upload as many photos as you want, within reason.
Deadline
The last day to enter the contest is November 16th, 2009. We’ll be announcing the semi-finalists shortly thereafter here on the Mochimochi Blog, then everyone will be able to vote for their favorites! So be sure to check the blog in November.
Prizes!
First place prize will be a bunch of cute goodies from Japan, a $25 gift certificate to the Mochimochi Shop, and a $50 gift certificate to Knit Picks (thank you Knit Picks!).
Second place prize will be a handful of cute goodies from Japan, a $15 gift certificate to Mochimochi Land, and a $10 gift certificate to Knit Picks.
Third place prize will be a $10 gift certificate to Mochimochi Land and a $10 gift certificate to Knit Picks.
Update: Thank you to the Craft blog for helping to spread the word!
Tiny Chicken
SHHH Don’t anyone tell her what happened to that tiny egg she laid a few months ago…
~Plu~ suggested a tiny chicken in the comments back in July, so another free pattern is coming you way, ~Plu~! (I don’t think you claimed the first one that you got, come to think of it…)
Oscillating Owlets!
Autumn is now well underway, and that means it’s time for a new pattern in the Mochimochi Shop!
Oscillating Owlets are the latest in both toy knitting and interior decorating! Make a pair of swinging birdies to hang on a wall in your home or office, or make the nesting Owlets on their own as little tokens of fall.
Techniques for this surprisingly simple pattern include knitting in the round on double-pointed needles, picking up and knitting stitches, I-cord, and mattress stitch.
You can buy the pattern as a download for $5 here.
Sunday at the Fair
John and I squeezed in a couple of hours at the Tulsa State Fair on Sunday before returning to New York. Despite some cool and cloudy weather, it was a lot of fun.
We saw cute chickens!
I rediscovered Pineapple Whip!
There was a big display of fancy cakes!
Including a clock cake…
a wind-up “chattering teeth” cake…
and this cake shaped like a can of chewing tobacco.
There were also these mysterious barrels sitting around outside the pavilion, which I found to be almost as intriguing as the cakes.
I hope we get to go to a fair next year too!
Dangling Rilakkumas
John just returned from a trip to Japan, and he brought back with him cute prizes for the 2009 Mochimochi Photo Contest—including these adorable dangling “Relax Bears!”
There are lots more prizes in store for the winners of the contest, of course. I’ll announce the official details soon, but you can already enter by uploading photos of your Mochimochi Land toys to the Mochimochi Friends Flickr group.