An update on our project raising funds for Arctic conservation!
We’ve done our research and decided to donate funds raised this month from sales of the Tiny Frozen patterns to Oceana, a nonprofit that’s doing a lot to support the Arctic.
Learn about their work here. (And please consider supporting them regularly!)
Through the end of July, $1 of each sale of the Tiny Frozen patterns and the related knitting kits will go to Oceana. Thanks to everyone who’s already gotten them!
I think I forgot to mention this already, but the mystery kit from May was the Tiny Narwhal!
It was fun shipping the kits out to people all over, knowing (or at least feeling pretty sure) that they would be well received. (And from the happy feedback I got, it seems I was right!)
Now the tiny narwhals are enjoying their official debut in the summer.
You can now get the pattern as a kit or as part of the new Tiny Frozen collection—and $1 of each sale of those this July is going to support Arctic conservation.
A couple of people have asked why I included a tiny penguin in a set of patterns that is connected to a little fundraiser for Arctic conservation. Penguins don’t live in the Arctic, duh! I think the Arctic will take all the help it can get, but for those who need more of an acknowledgement/explanation, I thought I would further clarify.
This is not the first tiny penguin that I’ve designed—if you take a close look at the tiny patterns available in my shop, you’ll see a little blue penguin included in the Tiny Mochis Collection 5. I designed this guy a number of years ago, and he’s still close to my heart. He even appeared in a Nickelodeon network ID in 2013!
But a couple of years back I decided I wanted to update the tiny penguin kit that I offer on my site and to retailers to be a black and white type—more of a classic, black-tie penguin. But black eyes don’t show up so well on a black body, so I made the face all white, altering the design quite a bit in the process.
So that was that, but of course some people liked the new penguin design but didn’t want to purchase a kit, so I’ve been looking for a pattern collection that I could include it in. I certainly could have offered the new penguin as a pattern on its own, but I try not to do that with too many tiny patterns, because hundreds of additional shop listings would be a lot to handle (but that doesn’t mean I won’t try it sometime).
So, when I decided to make a collection of Arctic creatures, I was all set with four designs—the glacier, polar bear, walrus, and narwhal. But that little penguin just begged to be included! I couldn’t resist giving the pattern a home so that more people could knit him, and I had a hunch that those who are interested in knitting a polar bear, etc. might also like to knit a penguin. And that’s why the pattern collection is called Tiny Frozen Friends, and not Tiny Arctic Animals.
That’s more of an inside scoop than I think most of you would need, but I thought I’d chat about it for anyone who’s interested. Either way, I hope those of you who get the patterns enjoy the knitting and the teeny new friends and can open your hearts to a tiny black and white penguin (or whatever colors you choose to make yours). I haven’t decided for sure which organization we’ll be supporting with the July sales, but that’s something else that I’m thinking hard on and want to make the best decision about. I’ll certainly share that information here once it’s settled.
Thanks, always, to all of you who knit, comment, share, and like!
It’s the hottest month of the year for many of us, so why not knit some cool little creatures? Patterns for Tiny Frozen Friends—including a penguin, walrus, polar bear, narwhal, and even a glacier—are now available in the Mochimochi Shop!
And because even these guys need help beating the heat, through the end of July $1 of each sale will go to Arctic conservation efforts.
The freezer isn’t really a long-term solution, but it’s a start.
Three of these characters—penguin, walrus, and narwhal—are also available as a kit, perfect for gifting and knitting on the go. $1 of each kit sale in July will also go to supporting Arctic conservation.
Who wants a hot doggie?
Opening tonight (6/22) is Sweet ‘n Low, An International Show of Cute at Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek, CA.
Here’s a peek at my piece, a community of global gnomes.
From the previews I’ve seen, this will be an exciting exhibition. And cute!
The show runs through August 23rd. Details at the Bedford Gallery website.
People of Ann Arbor, come take a stop-motion animation workshop with me on July 1st at the Ann Arbor District Library!
The workshop is 2-5pm and is open to everyone from 6th graders to adults. I’m going to talk about a bit of my animation work, and then we’ll all try our hand at making fun animations together as teams. We’re going to use a free mobile app, so that means you can take your skills home with you and continue making more animations on your own if you like.
Get the details at addl.org.
Hope to see you there!
Tomorrow (June 10th) is World Wide Knit in Public Day, an opportunity to show the world what actual knitters look like. (And maybe also teach a few people how it’s done!) You can go knit somewhere on your own, with a group of friends, or you can find a more organized happening near you via the WWKIPDAY website.
Of course, every day can be WWKIP Day. Just yesterday I was knitting at a coffee shop as a result met the sweetest older lady who’s been knitting and crocheting since she was 12. Everybody knows somebody who does a yarn craft, so it’s cool to see who will approach you with a story.