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When Flat Knitting Isn’t

More than once a knitter has said to me that they accidentally knitted one of my patterns flat, with good results! At first I didn’t understand how that is possible, until I tried it myself: if the design is simple enough, the flat version just needs a little seaming to be very similar to the circular version, with the difference that a smooth stockinette stitch surface will end up as garter stitch if you knit every row.

With this in mind, I recently tried making a completely 3-dimensional design that only used flat knitting, with a little I-cord thrown in.

flatbugs

I was a little surprised to see that if I hadn’t know how it was made, my first guess would have been that it had been knitted on double-pointed needles. I know there are a lot of sophisticated 3-D designs that use flat knitting, but it was fun to try it myself!

So flat knitting doesn’t have to be simple or plain or really flat at all, in the end. I know lots of people prefer it, so I hope to do more “flat” designs in the future.

(By the way, I have no particular plans for the unnamed buggy guys pictured above. But I’m open to ideas!)

Tiny Baby Bunnies

Taking pictures with the Dust Bunnies yesterday got me thinking that I could use more bunnies in my life. Coincidentally, today is the start of the year of the Rabbit, so I just couldn’t resist.

tinybabybunnies

(I actually have some very big plans for these little guys. More on that soon!)

Happy Bunny Year!

Godfrey’s 2011 Weather Prediction

Mochimochi Land’s resident weather-reporting groundhog has made his prediction!

godfrey2011

Godfrey predicts that it is way more cozy to snuggle up with some Dust Bunnies under the radiator than to huddle inside his cold mound. (The mound’s feelings are a bit hurt, but he’s not denying it either.) Oh, and spring is just around the corner, with all signs pointing to the snow melting by June.

Tiny Koala will Sooth your Nasal Passages

Tiny Koala is always wondering what smells like cough drops… “Oh, wait, it’s me!”

tinykoala_drops

That awesome winning caption comes from Michelle! That means Michelle wins a free PDF pattern from the Mochimochi Shop. Yay!

Speaking of which, why aren’t there any cough drop brands with a koala mascot? Or are there? We should really start a new cough drop company just to remedy this problem, if it is one.

Also, I have to say I was impressed by how many of you managed to come up with “koala” puns. Two honorable mentions that did so:
His bizarre plans to become a marsupial are finally “koala-escing.” by Caitlin

it’s not the size of the marsupial that counts – it’s his koala-ity by Katie

Thank you all for your captions!

Multiplying Mochis

Remember these guys? I’ve been making just a few more in the past couple of months…

colorballs

Thanks to Koigu (who is supplying me with yarn) and Lion Brand (who is giving me a space), these will turn into a crazy art piece later this year. Look for it in the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in August through October!

I’ll be posting some periodic updates about my progress here until then. I don’t know what form it will take in the end, so it should be a fun process!

Cute Native American Art

John and I are Antiques Roadshow fans. I like the stories behind small artifacts in people’s lives; he likes to make fun of how the “jackpot” winners pretend that they are not going to immediately sell their grandmother’s vase that they had always thought was ugly anyway.

The finds on AR are often ugly, or beautiful, or confusing—they’re rarely cute, like this neat-o 1920s Navajo rug featured on last week’s show.

navajorug1

I love the geometric shapes and the simplicity of the figures—especially the minimalist faces.

navajorug2

As I was oohing and ahhing over it, the appraiser mentioned that the Navajo were reluctant to make these kinds of weavings for commercial purposes because they contained religious motifs. That made me think twice about getting too inspired by it, except in a general way. There’s something a little uncomfortable about the thought of using a motif because you think it’s cute and pretty when it has sacred meanings to a group of people. I think it’s unlikely that I would unintentionally cross this kind of line, but it’s interesting to think about nevertheless.

By the way, the rug ended up being worth between three and five thousand dollars. It’s not getting stepped on anytime soon!