Author: Anna

How Tiny can you Go?

Posted on by Anna

The Tiny obsession is still going strong here in Mochimochi Land, and the other day I attempted to take it to the next level by knitting with two strands of embroidery thread and sewing needles.

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It was a complete bust! I just couldn’t get the cotton thread to cooperate, and the needles were pretty slippery too. Very frustrating. I’m certain I’ve heard of people using this technique and succeeding, so I must have been doing something wrong.

So now I’m dying to ask all of you if anyone out there has tried and succeeded at knitting with embroidery thread on sewing needles. Or, if like me you’ve tried and failed, please share your story too!

Make Perching Pigeons with me in London!

Posted on by Anna

perchingpigeonpartyIf you’re in the London area, join me and Stitch London on June 21st for a super-fun Tiny Perching Pigeon Party!

I’m visiting the UK for the first time this month, and pigeons seemed like the perfect thing for me to bring from one city with a love/hate relationship with these little guys (New York) to another. I originally came up with the Tiny Perching Pigeons especially for this trip, so I hope to see lots of pigeon-makers there!

We’ll meet up in St. James’ Park (On the grass by the café called ‘Inn the Park’) at 6 pm, then after knitting some pigeons we’ll head over to Trafalgar Square for a crazy-cute photo op with our friendly flock. Bring your pigeons ready-made (find the pattern here) or make one with us! See more info on the Stitch London blog.

By the way, as this is my first time to London, I would love to get your suggestions of stuff to do and see while I’m there! The big landmarks are already on my list, but if you have a cool shop, neighborhood, or restaurant to recommend, I’m all ears.

I’m looking forward to seeing all you Brit knitters on the 21st!

Geometric Bamboo

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I just had my first real weekend in what seems like months! It included dinner with friends, a day-long scavenger hunt on Governor’s Island (organized by Metro Metro), a movie (part 1 of Angels in America),
and a visit to the Renegade Craft Fair yesterday. That’s where I got this cool necklace made by The Harbinger Co.

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The combination of geometric shapes and natural materials is a trend that I’m totally on board with, and I loved the laser-cut bamboo designs by Yvonne Hung.

I also saw Felix & Jayne from Tulsa (I still use a bag made by them for my knitting) and Diane of Cutesy but not Cutesy at Renegade.

My light sunburn that you can see in the photo is from the day running around Governor’s Island. I had never been there before, but I’m eager to go back. It’s pretty fascinating and a great place for biking and picnicking. Our team did pretty well in the hunt, by the way, though we didn’t place.

Tiny House

Posted on by Anna

tinyhouse

He likes to tell people he’s a summer home, but his neighbor houses in Queens know better. (At least he’s not foreclosed!)

Amber was the first to suggest that I make a Tiny House back in July of last year, so she gets the free pattern this time!

Free Pattern: Tiny Perching Pigeons

Posted on by Anna

This is a free and easy pattern for everyone to enjoy. Please check out the Mochimochi Shop for more patterns that you’ll love!

perchingpigeons1

These cuties are so fast to knit, a flock of them will be hopping off your needles in no time!

Unlike the real thing, everyone can love a knitted pigeon, so brighten up your local park or city block with some colorful new neighbors. Then snap a photo and add it to the Mochimochi Friends Flickr group! Continue reading “Free Pattern: Tiny Perching Pigeons” →

Knitting Mochimochi Preview: TV Guy

Posted on by Anna

The release date of Knitting Mochimochi is now less than a month away! (It will be on sale starting June 29th.) I’m so excited that the countdown is finally here. It’s time to start showing some previews, don’t you think?

The first pattern I want to preview for you is TV Guy, a snowy box with a lot of personality. The photo that Brandi Simons took of him is one of my favorites in the book.

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The shoot for TV Guy was really interesting—it was in my parents’ living room, and believe it or not, it was daytime, and very sunny! Brandi is an expert with lighting and camera settings and whatnot, so she figured out how to get it just right for that fake TV glow.

I chose the saddest-looking TV dinner I could find at the grocery store for him, and we had to heat it up in the microwave to get it looking authentic. (Brandi fluffed the potatoes to perfection.) We had a selection of beverages that TV Guy could be drinking, but my editor liked the beer bottle the best. (Unfortunately the beer went to waste since were shooting before noon. And needless to say, no one ate that TV dinner, either.)

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The pattern involves some techniques that would be best for intermediate knitters, but it knits up pretty quickly—you could easily finish one in two to three days. I think it would make a great gift for a pop-culture lover!

Mochimochi Land has a New Look!

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If you’re reading this, you likely have noticed that Mochimochi Land underwent a redesign over the weekend! I’ve been planning this new design for a looong time, so it’s exciting to finally go live with it!

newhomepage

Aside from getting a cute upgrade, the new website has a few new features and pages, so I hope you’ll take a look around. (and please let me know if anything seems not to be working properly). The homepage now features beautiful big banners, the gallery page now features YOUR photos of Mochimochi Land toys in addition to my own designs, and the new how-to page is now the place to go for tutorials, with more to come soon. I’ve also listed my available one-of-a-kind toys in the new Mochimochi Shop!

You might have also noticed that Mochimochi Land has a new tagline: Let’s Make Happy. This was inspired by all your great suggestions that I got a couple of months ago. Thank you for all the ideas! The final tagline was based on the concept that I wanted Mochimochi Land to be a welcoming place where everyone can participate, and the word “happy” can be taken literally or a bit more tongue in cheek (because almost none of my toys ever crack a smile).

The programming of the new site was done by James at Banjocreative, and my husband John also helped with getting it all set up and making it go live. Thanks, guys!