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Winners of the 2020 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest

Posted on by Anna

The day has come! Our Special Guest Judges have thoughtfully reviewed your submissions for the 2020 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest, and we have winners to announce!

But first, let me say again just how grateful we are for all the creativity, humor, and artistry that you have shared with us this summer. It really helped us make it through these hard months! We hope that making little movies and photo series were a welcome distraction for you all as well.

Here we go: Our winners of the 2020 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest: Escape to Mochimochi Land….

In the PHOTO SERIES category: The Story of the Mochimochickens by Kat B!

The more you look at this story, the more wonderful details appear! Great storytelling.

Judge’s comment: I laughed out loud at this. Which is difficult considering I had my funny bone removed after a bike accident. What a wonderful little story. When the lizard (dinosaur?) arrived, I was sold. The world they built was so fun and worthy of multiple viewings.

Congratulations, Kat!
Kat will receive a $100 gift card to Gather Here, the local yarn store in Cambridge, MA, a $50 gift card to Mochimochi Land, a copy of SpillyJane’s ebook SpillyJane Knits Mittens, a copy of Bites of Terror by Cuddles and Rage, and a goodie box with fun stuff from Knitty City and Mochimochi Land!

In the SHORT VIDEO category: The Kentucky Demolition Derby by Karen G!

The story is dramatic and funny, and the audio and editing is brilliant!

Judge’s comment: This video is amazing. It’s part Loony Tunes, part Seabiscuit, all perfection. My only problem with it is I put all my money on Sandman and lost everything. My secret favorite part is Uncle Sam in the stands.

Congratulations, Karen!
Karen will receive a $100 gift card to Yarnify!, the local yarn store in Chicago, a $50 gift card to Mochimochi Land, a copy of SpillyJane’s ebook SpillyJane Knits Mittens, a copy of Bites of Terror by Cuddles and Rage, and a goodie box with fun stuff from Knitty City and Mochimochi Land!

In the SUPER SHORT VIDEO category: A Shocking Escape by Juleen A!

The handmade effects are simply genius. I could watch it on a loop all day long!

Judge’s comment: I mean…are you kidding me? They packed an entire action movie into 20 seconds. Oh, you THINK this is a story about a gnome and a cloud. But you’d be wrong. This is about a kite earning freedom. The kite’s face when it flies away is…(chef’s kiss).

Congratulations, Juleen!
Juleen will receive a $100 gift card to Knitty City, the local yarn store in NYC, a $50 gift card to Mochimochi Land, a copy of SpillyJane’s ebook SpillyJane Knits Mittens, a copy of Bites of Terror by Cuddles and Rage, and a goodie box with fun stuff from Knitty City and Mochimochi Land!

These three truly had some stiff competition among all the entries. I’ll be sharing some bonus awards next week for more submissions that were especially delightful.

Introducing our Special Guest Judges

Posted on by Anna

It’s my pleasure to introduce our Special Guest Judges for the 2020 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest!

First we have Angela Tong, a talented designer and teacher of knitwear and woven projects, as well as a gifted ceramicist, baker, and all-around impressive person. Angela and I go way back to the early 2000s, when we both knitted in NYC. She is constantly knocking my socks off with her Instagram-perfect life.


Next is Rick Hamann, an Executive Creative Director at Leo Burnett. Basically a Don Draper for our time (in the professional sense, that is—he is quite the family man), Rick knows all about what makes an impression.


And finally is Bonney Teti, co-host of of the Pop Mom podcast and curator of the undisputed World’s Biggest Yarn Stash. She’s also my mother-in-law! Without Bonney, I can confidently say, there would be no Mochimochi Land.

Determining winners is always hard, but I think we’ll have some very judicious results with the help of these three. Thank you, Special Guest Judges!

And A big thank you, again, to everyone who participated in the #mochiphotocontest20 this summer! We received 50 entries, and each of them was a delight to experience. We really needed to be transported to Mochimochi Land, and you all certainly did that.

I will be consulting with the judges this week, and we’ll have some winners to announce soon. Stay tuned!

Sophie & Chanel make good company

Posted on by Anna

Staying in for a while? Get cozy and knit up some new furnishings! Sophie & Chanel will add style and comfort to your same-old surroundings. Plus, they play well with tiny gnomes and other tiny mochis!

Techniques include knitting in the round (double-pointed needles are recommended), mattress stitch, picking up stitches, and I-cord. For the tiny versions, you’ll need a bit of fingering-weight yarn (less than half a skein of 5 colors—Knit Picks Palette is a great choice) and size 1 (2.25mm) needles.

The pattern is now available as a PDF download in the Mochimochi Shop and also on Ravelry.

Thank you to Rebecca, Brian, Dorien, and Danielle for testing, and thank you to Marilyn Passmore for tech editing. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Donate your Old Glasses

Posted on by Anna

Nerd Alert!
Charlotte, NC yarn store Cheers to Ewe invited us to help spread the word about an opportunity to donate your old glasses. The American Foundation for Children with AIDS is collecting them right now for their clients in Congo!

PLEASE SEND GLASSES DIRECTLY TO AFCAIDS:
American Foundation for Children with AIDS
1520 Greening Lane
Harrisburg, PA 17110

The last time we partnered with Cheers to Ewe and AFCAids, we made a knitted ball pit. Talk about a lifetime ago!

Say “Squee!” (Our Summer Sale is Back)

Posted on by Anna

Here’s some actual footage of the 2020 version of “summer fun” in Mochimochi Land.

We hope your summer is going OK-ish! Maybe we can make it a little more OK with a summer sale:

Through Labor Day (9/8) take 20% off all PDF patterns, books, kits, and more with the code SUMMERSQUEE20 applied to orders from the Mochimochi Shop.

(Want to knit that little couch? The pattern is coming soon!)

Yarnify Interview and Trunk Show

Posted on by Anna

On Saturday I had the pleasure of being remotely interviewed by Anna of Yarnify! a wonderful local yarn store in Chicago’s Printers Row neighborhood.

I had such a good time chatting with Anna, who was a wonderful host. And Yarnify! is also currently hosting a Mochimochi Land trunk show!

Visit their website to order my kits and support a local Chicago business!

The occasion for all this delightfulness was the virtual Chicago Yarn Crawl, which is ongoing through August 2nd with events at many local yarn stores.

Make your tiny gnome a tiny mask!

Posted on by Anna

Mask up your tiny gnome today!

Materials:
Tiny gnome (in this book, included in this pattern collection download, and available as a kit, clothed or gnaked)
Small bit of felt
A couple feet of fingering-weight yarn

Tools:
Small tapestry needle or large sewing needle
Scissors

Step 1
Cut a little rectangle of felt, wide enough to span the top of your gnome’s beard and long enough to cover all but the tip of the beard.

Step 2
Cut two pieces of yarn, each about 8” (20cm) long.

Step 3
Thread one piece of yarn onto the needle and insert it into one corner of the front of the felt. (The “front” is whichever side you decide it to be.) On the back of the felt, insert the needle through the surface along the long side, not fully poking through to the front of the felt. Then bring the needle back up through to the front of the felt in the other corner on the long side.

Repeat with the other piece of yarn on the other long side of the felt.

Back view:

Front view:

Step 4
Place the mask onto your gnome, and wrap the yarn ties around his or her head. Holding two pieces of yarn together on each side, tie the two sides together in a square knot (right over left, then left over right). Tie your knot pretty tight against the gnome, so the mask will be nice and snug.

Step 5
Adjust the mask placement, and trim the ends of the ties short.

Now you may take your gnome out in public!

Announcing the 2020 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest

Posted on by Anna

Update: More wonderful entries featured in our BONUS awards!

Update: Congratulations to the winners!

Update: The submission deadline has passed. THANK YOU FOR THE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS! A team of Special Guest Judges will be announced soon, and winners will be selected later in September.

Update: Another new prize to announce! Each winner will receive a copy of Bites of Terror, the hilarious, creepy-cute book by Cuddles and Rage, aka Liz and Jimmy Reed!

Update: We have a new prize to announce! Each winner will receive the ebook SpillyJane Knits Mittens from the always clever indie designer SpillyJane! 

The 2020 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest is now officially open for entries!

This year’s theme: Escape into Mochimochi Land!
We want this summer’s photo contest to be a refreshing departure from the world, and there’s no better way to escape than through stories! Use your knitted friends from Mochimochi Land to tell a story through a series of photos or a video. (We’re using “story” very loosely here—it can just mean that something HAPPENS.) We’re looking for cuteness, humor, creativity, and escapism. Enter through your favorite social media platform (see below for details). Deadline is August 31st!

Winners will receive generous gift cards to some of our favorite small yarn stores (all capable of shipping internationally), plus “goodie bag” packages with lots of surprises.

Eligibility

This contest is open to knitters worldwide who are 18 years or older.* To be eligible, your photo series or video 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 by Anna, or one of the free patterns on the Mochimochi Blog. The pattern may be modified, but not beyond recognition from the original design. (The use of Photoshop is OK, and other toys/characters, including other knitted toys, are welcome to appear in your photos or video too!)

Categories

There are 3 categories to enter: Photo Series, Short Video, and Super Short Video.

PHOTO SERIES is a series of 3-10 photos. You could think of this as a short sequence showing unfolding action or emotion, or as a kind of “comic book” format for storytelling, with or without dialog.

SHORT VIDEO is a video that’s at least 20 seconds long, and up to 2 minutes long. It can be puppetry or stop-motion animation. Make a Mochimochi movie! Please avoid making this merely a slideshow of photos.

SUPER SHORT VIDEO is a video or animated GIF that under 20 seconds long. It can be puppetry or stop-motion animation, but no slideshows for super-short videos. Please avoid making this merely slideshow of photos.

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

IMPORTANT: We may share/repost any photos or videos entered into the contest on social media, the Mochimochi Land newsletter, or on the Mochimochi Land website, but only with credit and only in relation to promoting the contest (no commercial use).

How to enter

PHOTO SERIES: There are four ways to enter a photo series. Please choose just one platform, and enter up to three series of 3-10 photos in each series.

1) Post your photos on Instagram with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest20. Post the photos together in one post if possible, or title and number each photo in the captions if posting separately.

2) Post your photos to the Mochimochi Land Facebook page with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest20. Post the photos together in one album.

3) Post your photos on Twitter with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest20. Post the photos in a thread in order (preferably numbered), or post separately with a title and number as a caption for each.

4) If you can’t or don’t wish to use social media to enter (understandable if your accounts are private), you can send your photos as an email attachment to info@mochimochiland.com with the subject PHOTO CONTEST ENTRY.

SHORT VIDEOS (20 seconds to 2 minutes long) and SUPER SHORT VIDEOS (under 20 seconds): Enter up to 3 videos in each category. Here’s how to enter a video.

1) Post your video to Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest20. (Make sure your post is PUBLIC.)

2) Post to GIPHY (if it’s a GIF) or a video site like YouTube or Vimeo. After posting your video, please email a link to the video to info@mochimochiland.com with the subject line VIDEO CONTEST ENTRY. Please do NOT send the video as an attachment.

Deadline

The last day to enter the contest is August 31st, 2020. We’ll announce the finalists shortly thereafter here on the blog.

Prizes!

We’ll pick one top winner in each of the three categories. Each winner will receive a $100 gift card to one of our favorite yarn stores: Gather Here in Cambridge, MA, Knitty City in NYC, or Yarnify in Chicago. The gift cards will be usable online, of course!

Like many local yarn stores right now, these three are working to help their communities while also working hard just to stay in business—and these three are very special to me personally.


Photo credit: David Trudell
Each winner will receive the ebook SpillyJane Knits Mittens from the always clever indie designer SpillyJane! 


Each winner will also receive a copy of Bites of Terror, the hilarious, creepy-cute book by Cuddles and Rage, aka Liz and Jimmy Reed!

Needles ready? Cameras set? Take us away to Mochimochi Land!

* “Family” entries involving creative kids are welcome!