Author: Anna

Hugs + Blythe

Posted on by Anna

This may be my favorite Hugs photo yet!

hugs_taffyyarn

This sweet guy was made by Emily, aka Taffyyarn on Ravelry. Blythe doesn’t seem so impressed by the attention, but those color schemes were just meant to be together.

This cute photo reminds me to remind YOU to keep adding your photos of Mochimochi toys to the Mochimochi Friends group on Flickr—anything added to the group pool is automatically in the running for the 2010 Mochimochi Photo Contest (official deadline TBA).

If you haven’t entered the photo contest before, check out the guidelines for the 2009 contest.

All Wound Up

Posted on by Anna

I am way too excited about my new swift and yarn winder that I got only recently. (I didn’t even know the wooden contraption was called a swift, that’s how clueless I can be about knitting-related stuff.)

winder

See all that pretty green Cascade yarn in the bottom drawer over there? I wound all of it into neat balls the other night, and I could have kept going for hours! Winding yarn seems like the kind of thing that people in the 19th century did for fun at county fairs.

Anyway, the yarn is for a very exciting project that should, with any luck, take shape this fall. For now it just looks like a big thick blanket.

greenblanket

By the way, a big thank-you to Brooklyn General for being host to a great Mochimochi class and trunk show yesterday!

Not-so-tiny Elephant

Posted on by Anna

Since seeing Oiyi’s fun-size versions of my Tiny Things Collection 1 patterns done in worsted yarn, I’ve been meaning to try out one of my Tiny patterns using bulky yarn to see just how much bigger the toy could get. I finally tried it, and it really worked!

notsotinyelephant1

I made this not-so-tiny orange elephant yesterday using Lamb’s Pride bulky yarn and size 6 needles. (The pattern is written for fingering-weight yarn and size 1 needles.) I didn’t have to do a single thing differently—the pattern scaled up perfectly! I love how toy patterns are so flexible in this way, don’t you?

notsotinyelephant2

Speaking of Tiny Elephants, my Tiny Elephant class is happening tomorrow (Sunday 3/7) at Brooklyn General! I’m really excited about it. If you’re in the area and are not taking the class, I hope you’ll swing by the store after noon, when I’ll be hanging out there with a bunch of knitted friends.

My Book Cover!

Posted on by Anna

I’m so excited to reveal the cover of my forthcoming book!

knittingmochimochi_cover

You may have noticed it there on the right sidebar of my blog – if you click on that link, you can pre-order it and get it when it’s released in late June. (It’s also great if you want to wait until the summer and buy it from your favorite LYS.)

There are more projects than shown on the inside, and there are also lots of beautiful on-location photos taken by the amazing Brandi Simons inside. (I can’t share those right now, but I’ll definitely give an inside peek when I can!)

If you’re wondering, the big-mouthed guy featured on the cover is a wearable slipper called a Feet Eater! In addition to animals and inanimate objects, the book contains patterns for a number of extremely silly wearable toys. I’ll be sharing more details about the book, including some photos from Brandi’s shoots, in the coming months, so stay tuned!

Tiny Things at Saffron

Posted on by Anna

After visiting Brooklyn Flea on Saturday I stopped by Saffron down the street, and I was delighted to see this wonderful display of my Tiny Things that they have for sale.

tinysaffron

It’s been lots of fun to finally have designed projects that are quick enough to justify selling a few. And they’ve been selling!

If you’re ever in Brooklyn, please stop by this shop! They have fresh flowers, vintage clothing, jewelry, and a few other little things handmade by locals. (I also blogged about Saffron when my friend Kana opened it last year.)

Tiny Telephone

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tinytelephone1

This one won’t take messages, or look up a phone number, or find you directions. What does she look like, your secretary?

tinytelephone2

Many people have requested a Tiny Telephone in the comments, but Harper was the first to do so, back in July of last year. Free pattern coming your way, Harper!