Month: December 2012

2012 Mochimochi Favorites

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Anna

It’s been another great year here in Mochimochi Land! If you can believe it, 2012 was the sixth year of this blog and the sixth year of Mochimochi knits. The time has gone so quickly!

I’d like to wrap up 2012 with a quick look back at some of my favorite happenings on the blog. Here we go!

Favorite New Patterns

Jumbo Gnome

After two-plus years of knitting teeny-tiny stuff, I was excited to try designing something with a little more heft. I just love how he turned out!

Plinky & Plunky

Knitting a piano had been a lofty dream of mine for a long time, so it felt like a real accomplishment to finally figure out how to get the design just right. Now my holy grail of knitting is a refrigerator. Maybe someday….

Favorite Mochimochi Mods

Soyaspade’s Flower and Buddy (modified from the Pocket Protectors pattern in Knitting Mochimochi)

This pair is an adorable mod with its elegant horticultural twists!

Zephrbabe’s Tiny Napoleon, modified from the Tiny Gnome pattern.

I’m in love with this little guy! This knitter added just the right details to make him unmistakably Napoleon.

Favorite Crazy Fun Project

Gnome Infestation!

I had way too much fun taking photos of the naughty gnomes who had moved into my apartment in the night…

Favorite Animated GIF

Free Unicorn Rides

This one was hard to choose (I’ve made over 20 GIFs this year), but I’m going with this one because it included the first scene change that I’ve done. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but I think it made a coherent story, and I love it.

Favorite Tiny Mochi

Tiny Turtle

I didn’t make as many tiny mochis this year as I have in the past, but I know I’ll never be tired of them. This guy turned out pretty cute, and you can expect a pattern sometime in 2013!

Favorite Cat Photo

Happy Valenfeline’s Day!

I love how my boys snuggle up so close one minute and then are duking it out for the top of the scratching post the next.

Favorite Interview

Hine Mizushima

Hine has been a huge inspiration to me for a long time, and it was a pleasure to interview her and learn more about her story and her creative process.

Favorite Random Cute Thing

Sweet Dreams animation by Kirsten Lepore

I can only dream of making an animated short like this someday!

Those were just a few things I’m excited about as I look back on this year. But more than anything, getting to know all of you through your comments and tweets and photos of your own Mochimochi knits, and especially by meeting you at events throughout the year, is really the best part for me. Thank you for being there and helping to spread hand-knitted happiness throughout the world! See you in 2013…

What I’m Knitting to (and Running to): Lots of Music

Posted on December 28, 2012December 28, 2012 by Anna

December is such a hectic month up until the end, and so I’ve found myself choosing music more often over podcasts and TV when I’m knitting. The right album for my mood lets me get into a groove of extended concentration on what’s taking shape in my hands, which is particularly helpful when I’m in the process of designing something.

Here are the albums I’m enjoying lately, some old and some new.

12.12music1

New music (2012 favorites):
Put Your Back N 2 It by Perfume Genius
America by Dan Deacon
Ekstasis by Julia Holter

12.12music2

Older favorites:
Horses by Patti Smith
Crazy Rhythms by The Feelies (I’ve blogged about this one before)
Fabulous Muscles by Xiu Xiu (explicit)
Privilege EPs by Parenthetical Girls

On another note, the beginning of the year seems like a great time to refresh my running mix. These are some recent (single track) additions that I’ve made, and I would love more suggestions:

Gangrimes Style by Dan Deacon
Honey Bunny by Girls
Handsome Devil by The Smiths
Stay Useless by Cloud Nothings
Came Out of a Lady by Rubblebucket

What are you going to exercise to in the new year? And what music, podcasts, TV, etc. are you knitting to as 2012 winds down? Please share in the comments!

Merry Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Anna

santachimneyxmas

Merry Christmas everybody! Don’t forget to check your chimney for stuck Santas.

The First Snowman

Posted on December 19, 2012December 19, 2012 by Anna

Ever wonder how there came to be so many tiny snowmen in Mochimochi Land? Probably not, but today we’re going to find out anyway.

It all began with a couple of bored gnomes.

snowmanbuild

After the first snowstorm of the year, they thought it would be fun to build a snowman, like the ones they’d seen on TV. They had no idea what they were starting.

snowmanbuildgif

They gnomes really should have known better, because of course everything comes to life in Mochimochi Land.

This snowman went on to build 10 snowmen of his own, each of which built 10 more snowmen, and on and on. And that’s why we now have a snowman overpopulation crisis in Mochimochi Land. The end!

By the way, this animated GIF along with seven others of mine are currently being screened at a real-live film festival! It’s the Laterna Magica festival in Marseille, France, put on by Fotokino, December 5th through the 23rd. My animations are being presented (on what I have to assume is a very small screen) at La Crié, the Marseille National Theater. More info here!

Winners of the 2012 Mochimochi Photo Contest

Posted on December 17, 2012November 15, 2013 by Anna

The poll has now closed, more than 1800 votes have been tallied, and the results are in for this year’s Mochimochi Photo Contest!

But first, let me take a moment to thank each of you who participated by adding your photos of Mochimochi knits to our Flickr group. The absolute best thing about Mochimochi Land is seeing all of you make the designs your own and bring them to life in endlessly creative ways. You never cease to surprise and inspire me!

Big thank-yous also go to Knit Picks and Potter Craft for their wonderful prizes this year!

We had the stiffest competition ever this year, with a number of photos that didn’t make the finals that easily could have. John and I would especially like to give a shout-out to Stephanie_055’s Cavemen living the prehistoric life and Ilana Marks’ Love in the Bakery, both of which made us giggle with delight when we first saw them.

And now for our official Judges’ Choice Award, which goes to our favorite photo that didn’t make the top three. It’s knitjvf’s Thriller!

We had a hard time even choosing which of this knitter’s entries to put in the semifinals. If you haven’t seen them, be sure to check out her Anne of Green Gables and her Frankenstein wedding too! We are consistently impressed with knitjvf’s (aka Joan’s) work.

And now for our top three winners this year!

In third place, it’s the hilariously spooky Knitted Sofa by JillWatt!

Amazing job! Jill wins a $10 gift certificate to Knit Picks, a $10 gift card to the Mochimochi Shop, and these goodies from Japan hand-picked by us!

pc12_japan3

The top two photos were neck and neck all through the time that voting was open. They were literally tied all day Saturday, with votes pouring in for both! By the time all the votes were in Sunday night, one came out on top, but it was a really close race the whole way.

In second place is the incredible Knitman’s Sampler by kls1004!

Hooray! Kimberly wins a $10 gift certificate to Knit Picks, a $15 gift certificate to the Mochimochi Shop, and these fabulous prizes from Japan!

pc12_japan2

And finally, our first-place winner is the adorable Teamwork by amyh1979!

Woohoo! Amy wins a $50 gift certificate to Knit Picks, a $20 gift card to the Mochimochi Shop, this collection of prizes from Japan…

pc12_japan1

AND this collection of books from Potter Craft!

Congratulations to our winners! Again, thank you to our sponsors, and to everyone who participated, both by submitting photos and by voting. You make Mochimochi Land the BEST place to live in!

And it’s not too early to enter next year’s contest! All photos added to the Mochimochi Friends Flickr group will be automatically entered in the 2013 Mochimochi Photo Contest. We already can’t wait for the next one!

Mochimochi Photo Contest ’12: The Big Vote!

Posted on December 13, 2012December 18, 2012 by Anna

UPDATE: Congratulations to our winners!

The FINAL VOTE is finally here! After much deliberation and lots of help from all of you, we’ve managed to narrow down our 20 semifinalist photos to 11 finalists in the 2012 Mochimochi Photo Contest. We usually have only 10 finalists, but this year there was a virtual tie for that last spot, and John and I just couldn’t eliminate one of them.

Presenting your very worthy candidates!

pc12_finals

Which of these, in your opinion, are the cutest, funniest, most original photos of mochimochi toys? Cast your official ballot below! Don’t worry if you can’t pick a single favorite: You can vote for as many photos as you like. The poll will be open through the weekend, and we’ll announce the top three winners on Monday. Stay tuned for the results!

Gift your Knitters!

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Anna

While we get ready for the final vote in the Mochimochi Photo Contest, I thought I’d post a little reminder about how the Mochimochi Shop can help you with your holiday gifts, especially for the fellow knitters on your list…

Signed copies of Knitting Mochimochi, Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi, and the new Super-Scary Mochimochi are available here and nowhere else!

Tiny mochi kits make great stocking stuffers, containing all the different colors of yarn—plus stuffing—that you need to knit multiple little characters.

And tiny mochi button packs are perfect for enclosing with holiday cards!

(I’m getting ready to send them out with a bunch of cards myself…)

For last-minute gifting, we have virtual Mochimochi Land gift cards that come in quantities of $20, $10, and $5, and I’ve been noticing lots of knitters gifting the $2 Tiny Snowman and Tiny Santa patterns to each other on Ravelry this month, which is such a quick and easy way to spread holiday cheer.

And of course, all $5 or more purchases made from the Mochimochi Shop through January 1st come with the Bundle-up Bears pattern for free!

(You’ll receive a download link for it within 24 hours of your purchase.)

Let’s talk shipping! The latest you can order tangible goods (books, kits, buttons, and hand-knitted mochis) and have them arrive by Christmas eve in the US is noon on December 20th with Priority shipping. We also ship internationally! (But we can’t be as precise about the arrival dates.) And we’ll be taking a holiday shipping break December 22-26th, so there will be a small delay in shipping during those dates.

So that’s our holiday informercial! Check back tomorrow for the exciting final vote in the photo contest…

Semifinalists ’12, Group Two

Posted on December 10, 2012December 9, 2012 by Anna

Are you ready for a cuteness high? It’s time for the second group of semifinalists in the 2012 Mochimochi Photo Contest!

Along with the first 10 semifinalists, these photos wowed us with their devastating adorableness and astounding creativity. But don’t just look at them—let us know which are your favorites! We will narrow down the 20 semifinalists into 10 finalists based on the comments that you leave on this post, so be sure to make your voice heard. Then check back later this week when we’ll post the 10 final photos and have our final vote!

In no particular order…