Author: Anna

Gnomes vs Snowmen: The Party Platforms

Posted on by Anna

UPDATE: The vote has happened, and the results are in!

Are you voting tomorrow? If you’re in the US, be sure to get to the polls! And then visit us here in Mochimochi Land, because we’re having an election of our own…

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It’s gnomes vs snowmen, of course! Which side has your support: the garden party or the frozen chosen? Today we’re outlining their respective platforms, because an informed electorate is essential for an effective democracy. Consider your options carefully, then come back tomorrow and vote for your favorite!

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The gnomes of Mochimochi Land hold liberty as their most prized value. Their love of nature and community is a given, but they don’t hesitate to exploit their environment for economic development (and they won’t let an activist snowman or two spoil their plans).

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They’re tough on violent crime, but will usually look the other way when it comes to possession of illegal substances (particularly mushrooms). And public nudity would be encouraged in a gnome administration, as long as you kept your hat and beard on.

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The snowmen of Mochimochi Land embody the 21st-century progressive spirit. Their biggest concern is global warming: for them, it’s personal! They propose to protect the environment and give the economy a boost by promoting eco-friendly modes of transportation.

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Community building is important to the snowmen, and they regularly gather to build new constituents when their numbers dwindle during the warm months. And while these guys may seem like softies, they’re actually rather strong on defense.

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There is one thing that both gnomes and snowmen agree on: now is a good time to donate to the Red Cross to help with hurricane relief.

Now that you see where they stand on the issues, be sure to come back tomorrow for our official vote. The future of Mochimochi Land is in your hands!

Knit-spiration from Past Photo Contest Winners

Posted on by Anna

If you missed last week’s announcement, the 2012 Mochimochi Photo Contest is now officially open for entries!

It’s hard to believe that this is our 6th year to be holding this contest—wow! To get everyone excited and inspired, let’s take a look back at the first-place winners from the past five years.

The winner of our first photo contest way back in 2007 was Mochimochi Land Scene by jenifleur!

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We loved how she imagined Mochimochi Land as a soft and happy place!

In 2008, our winner combined two Mochimochi patterns in an original way. It was Slug Checkers by denise.y.cheung!

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(Looks like way more fun than regular old checkers, don’t you think?)

The winner in 2009 went for colorful cuteness: Batty Bats by DutchMoeder!

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The 2010 winner created a scene that really told a story. Chaos of Snowmen by flightsofyarn:

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This photo really got me thinking about all the different things I can make my snowmen do with just a little embroidery.

And that brings us to last year’s winner, who went for color and composition (combined with plenty of cuteness). Snowmen! by TheBon!

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It’s interesting to see how the winners seem to alternate between an emphasis on narrative and formal qualities. And I also just realized that all of these photos feature more than one toy…. Food for thought as you plan the photos you’ll enter in this year’s contest. The deadline is December 3rd, so there’s plenty of time to knit and to click! (See full contest details.)

Cavey’s American Cousins

Posted on by Anna

UPDATE: The auction has ended, so I can finally reveal the full design! Prints are also available here.

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I’m excited to be a part of the upcoming show Cavey’s American Cousins!

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This is a one-night pop-up show featuring custom Caveys, the original character by Holly of A Little Stranger. Holly invited me to create a custom Mochimochi-style Cavey—I bet you can guess where I went with this one…

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That’s right, it’s a gnome-ified Cavey! (The full photo will be revealed soon.) This guy is going to be available via a 7-day eBay auction starting this Saturday, November 3rd, and finishing the night of the show. (See the Hey Cavey website for more info and updates.)

I wish I could make it to the one-night show in LA… I hope some of you who are in the area will turn out next Saturday and represent Mochimochi!

Tiny Pandas Brighten up for Halloween

Posted on by Anna

Our tiny pandas are taking a break from watching storm coverage to try out their new Halloween costumes…

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Who knew these guys were born in the 80s?!

And thanks to everyone who has asked about our situation in NYC. We’re lucky to be high and dry in Brooklyn, with power on. I bet the Red Cross could use some extra funds right now—you can donate $10 by texting REDCROSS to 90999.

Halloween au Naturel

Posted on by Anna

I hope everyone is keeping safe and dry today as Sandy approaches…and hopefully knitting up a storm while you’re at it!

Some icky wind and rain aren’t stopping our tiny gnomes from getting into the Halloween spirit…

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They’re way more into tricks than treats.

Tiny Mochi Buttons Are Here!

Posted on by Anna

Your voices have been heard! Now you can purchase this pack of 1-inch buttons in the shop!

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75 or so of you weighed in earlier this month when I asked which tiny characters you’d like to see as buttons, and although I took all of the suggestions into serious consideration (I especially loved the suggestions for multiple themed button collections), it looks like ultimately Vicky was the first person to suggest the exact combination that we ended up with:

Love the burger, zombie and the sushi

(I’d already mentioned in the post that I’d be including the gnome, so that counts as predicting all four!)

So Vicky gets a set of the buttons for free, and for everyone else, they’re now available as a 4-pack for $5 in the Mochimochi Shop! (I think they’d look awesome on your knitting bag, don’t you?)

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Announcing the 2012 Mochimochi Photo Contest!

Posted on by Anna

UPDATE: Congratulations to our winners!

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Got yarn, needles, and a camera? It’s now officially time to enter the 6th annual Mochimochi Photo Contest!

Once again, we’re looking for the cutest, funniest, most interesting photos of Mochimochi Land toys. All you have to do to enter is upload your photo(s) to the Mochimochi Friends group on Flickr by Monday, December 3rd.

Winners will receive adorable goodies from Japan and amazing prizes from our generous sponsors Knit Picks and Potter Craft!

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Eligibility

This contest is open to knitters worldwide. To be eligible, your photo must contain at least one knitted toy made from a Mochimochi Land pattern. This can be a pattern from the Mochimochi Shop, a pattern from one of the Mochimochi books (Knitting Mochimochi, Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi, or Super-Scary Mochimochi), or one of the free patterns on the Mochimochi Blog. The pattern may be modified, but not beyond recognition from the original design.

Note that we’re looking for humor, cuteness, and originality—not necessarily the most professional-looking photo. We want everyone to enter!

How to enter

Simply upload your photo(s) to the Mochimochi Friends Flickr group. If you don’t have a Flickr account, it is free and easy to register (though we recommend signing up as soon as possible, because it takes a little time for your account to be approved for sharing photos in a group). You can enter as many photos as you want, within reason.

(All photos uploaded since the deadline of the 2011 photo contest last year are already entered in this year’s contest!)

Deadline

The last day to enter the contest is December 3rd, 2012. We’ll announce the semi-finalists shortly thereafter here on the blog, then everyone will be able to vote for their favorites! So be sure to check the blog in December.

Prizes!

First place prize will be a bunch of cute goodies from Japan, a $20 gift certificate to the Mochimochi Shop, and a $50 gift certificate to Knit Picks.

The top winner living in the US will also receive 8 books courtesy of Potter Craft!

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Second place prize will be a handful of cute goodies from Japan, a $15 gift certificate to Mochimochi Land, and a $10 gift certificate to Knit Picks.

Third place prize will be a $10 gift certificate to Mochimochi Land and a $10 gift certificate to Knit Picks.

So get those needles clicking and those cameras snapping!