Author: Anna

Pictoplasma Character Compendium

Posted on by Anna

I’m honored to have some of my recent artwork featured in The Character Compendium, a new book published by Pictoplasma. Just look how beautiful this thing is!

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It’s packed full of images from 200 artists who create the most original characters you’ve ever seen. So much cuteness, weirdness, and inspiration! Here’s a look at my pages:

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The spherical guys are from my 2011 show “Mochimochi Worlds,” which was part of the annual Pictoplasma Festival in Berlin. And the colorful piece in the lower left was an installation hung at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in 2011.

I am so in love with the other work in this book, which all way outshines my own contribution, in my opinion. A huge thank-you to the awesome people at Pictoplasma for including me!

Tiny Beaver by Knitjvf

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How adorable is this tiny beaver!

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He was made by Knitjvf, who used the Tiny Reindeer pattern (from Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi) as a base for her little wood muncher. And you see what she did with knitting needles for trees? So clever!

One of the awesome things about teeny-tiny knits is the way that just a few alterations can transform a small shape into a new creature. If you’ve made a fun Mochimochi mod, don’t forget to share a photo of it in our Flickr group!

By the way, for those of you waiting to see Tiny Sumo Wrestler in a fight: I thank you for your patience! It’s been a busy week. but he will be wrestling before long…

Thank them, Wish upon them, Catch a Falling one…

Posted on by Anna

I’m super-excited to announce a new pattern in the Mochimochi Shop!

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Lucky Stars have been in the works for a really long time. Back when I was first designing knitted toys, about five years ago, a star was one of my first ideas. But it took many failed attempts (and then a couple years in between tries, when I gave up on the idea for a while), before I figured out how to knit them the way that I pictured them in my head. It seems so simple now, but sometimes the simplest designs are the most difficult to work out!

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The pattern comes in two sizes—a 2-1/2″-tall little Lucky Star that can slip into your pocket and a 5″-tall big Lucky Star that you can cuddly up with—and both can be knitted up in a matter of hours.

Techniques include knitting in the round on double-pointed needles (or magic loop with a circular needle) and picking up stitches.

The PDF pattern is now available as a download for $5 in the Mochimochi Shop!

Tiny Sumo Wrestler

Posted on by Anna

Update: The matchup is Sumo v Sushi, as suggested by Linda! Check out the animation!

I’ve been knitting lots of really big stuff lately, but sadly I can’t share any of it here yet! Top-secret knitting stuff. But between my epic projects this week, I made time to knit a tiny version of something big: Tiny Sumo Wrestler!

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Now, I could make another sumo wrestler for this guy to fight, but I think it would be fun to see him in a match against another tiny mochi. Who should his opponent be? Leave a suggestion in the comments! If I use yours, I’ll mail this off to you:

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Why a Little Twin Stars Re-ment set? Because it’s a hint at the new pattern that I’m releasing next week!

K2tog Forever

Posted on by Anna

June is the big month for flowers and rings and adorable wedding things! It melts my heart a little bit when I hear about people using Mochimochi designs to make special wedding gifts and favors. Here are a few recent brides and grooms from the Flickr group!

Goblinqueen10 made an entire Mochi-fied wedding party for her sister’s big day. I especially like the salt-and-pepper hair of the father of the bride!

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gnomadknitter recently revisited the Las Vegas chapel where she was married 11 years ago, and brought along knitted versions of the happy couple for a photo op. So sweet!

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Sarahknits knitted a blue-eyed pair of lovebirds this month…

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And pbjam421 made her friends a plant-and-fiber gift for their botanic garden wedding!

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Many happy wishes to everyone who is celebrating a wedding or anniversary this month!

The patterns for the Tiny Bride and Groom can be found in Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi.

Super-Scary Mochimochi Coming in September

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Look what has a cover design!

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This is my next book of knitted toy patterns, due to be released on September 18th! I’ll have some previews and more info this summer as the release date nears, but for now I can say that it’s packed with weird, silly, colorful creatures that are guaranteed not to scare you at all really.

The cover photo was shot by my good friend Brandi Simons, and the cool lab location was thanks to Robert Sheaff at the University of Tulsa. (I was psyched that liquid nitrogen was on hand!)

You can pre-order Super-Scary Mochimochi from Amazon and Barnes & Noble right now, or you can get it from your local yarn store in the US in September. (The UK release date is October 7th.) I’ll also have signed copies available in the Mochimochi Shop (with worldwide shipping) once it’s released.

Hurry up, September!