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Reaction GIFs for GIFMAGAZINE + LINE

Posted on by Anna

GIFMAGAZINE, a Japanese clearinghouse for GIFs, recently commissioned me to create four original GIFs for use in the popular LINE messaging app. They asked me to make “reaction” GIFs that would aide in communication. I was thrilled to oblige!

With Thank You gnomes…

Sorry pandas…

Cheer Up computers…

And OK!

GIFMAGAZINE has been promoting the GIFs—here’s a GIF they made to highlight my GIFs. I’m in GIF heaven!

(The above shows how you can find the GIFMAGAZINE options in LINE—this is helpful, becuase it took someone showing me how to do it before I understood.)

Easter Teeth

Posted on by Anna

I’ve been a bit obsessed with the idea of knitting teeth lately—party because I recently read The Story of My Teeth, and partly because twice a day I’m wrangling my toddlers into the bathroom for a brushing. There’s something a vaguely easter-like about a tooth, so I decided to make some knitted teeth and toothbrushes to go in my kids’ baskets this year.

They weren’t the biggest hit ever, but they were not reviled. I’m calling it a win! And after I showed my 3-year-old that the brush could brush his tooth friend, he gave it a try himself for a few seconds, which totally melted my heart.

No pattern for these, at least for now. It was fun to knit something just for fun!

Happy Easter!

April Discounts on Springy Things!

Posted on by Anna

Bunny knitting season is here!

Through May 1st, use code SHOPHOPHOP for 25% off these springtime patterns:

🎩 Abracadabbit (A bunny with a magic hat!)
🐰 Ninjabun (A bunny that disguises himself as a carrot!)
🐥 Which Came First? (A reversible chick and egg!)
🥚 Tiny Hatchlings (Just-born tiny gosling, chick, and bluebird with eggs and shells)

And of course, patterns for Tiny Baby Bunnies and Grass (yes, grass!) are always free!

grass2

Happy springtime knitting!

YarnCon Here We Come!

Posted on by Anna

I’m excited to announce that Mochimochi Land is coming to YarnCon, the Chicago indie fiber fair, April 6th and 7th! ⁣

A big slice of Mochimochi Land itself will be there (with plenty of updates and surprises), along with kits for sale at a special discount, books, and other goodies. And YarnCon’s marketplace is free to enter, so I hope to see lots of my Chicago neighbors there! ⁣

More info at the YarnCon website.

Tiny Leprechaun and Friends

Posted on by Anna

The best way to catch a leprechaun is to knit one yourself!

Make March magical by knitting a tiny leprechaun, tiny pot o’ gold, tiny rainbow, and a rather normal-sized four-leaf clover for St. Patricks Day or just for a little luck! So gather your scraps of green yarn and celebrate the imminent-ness of spring!

The pattern collection is available as a $5 download in the Mochimochi Shop and also via Ravelry.

There are no rules in Mochimochi Land, so clothing is optional!

(If your personal pot of gold isn’t quite full, you can always find the clover pattern for free. And if you have a copy of my book Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi, there’s an earlier version of the tiny rainbow pattern in there!)

Thanks to Marilyn for tech editing and Amanda for testing!

Love is 2,000+ knit and crocheted balls

Posted on by Anna

Final ball count: 2,383!

The Knit Ball Pit accomplished its first mission at Vogue Knitting LIVE in NYC last weekend: serving soft, squishy, massage-y experiences to all who ventured to enter it! We had many takers of all ages—check out all the #knitballpit posts for more photos and videos of this interactive exhibit. 


Anna with Tanya Weaver of AFCA

After a thorough cleaning, the balls will go on to their next adventure with the American Foundation for Children with AIDS (AFCA). Tanya Weaver, founder of AFCA, visited the ball pit herself and shared more about the amazing work her organization is doing in Congo, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. AFCA will use the balls as packing materials when they send medical supplies to their partner hospitals (we love this!), and the balls will be distributed to kids receiving treatment for HIV and to AIDS orphans throughout this year and beyond.

To those of you who sent in balls from all over the world, thank you for making this project such a success! If you didn’t have a chance to participate and would still like to contribute, you can donate funds directly to AFCA, or you can organize another group knitting project directly through them. (See contact info on their website.)


Tiny Ladianne, Gayle, Louis, Cecilia, and Kristy

Further big thanks go to Ladianne Henderson of Cheers To Ewe!, who connected us with AFCA and helped make this project possible. And thank you to Kristy Glass, Gaye Glasspie (@ggmadeit), Cecilia Nelson-Hurt (@creativececi), Louis Boria (@brooklynboyknits), and to everyone else who helped spread the word and organized knit-togethers. And thank you to Vogue Knitting LIVE!

This project was a success beyond my wildest expectations—it’s truly magical what knitters and crocheters can do when we put our needles to work together. I would love to do another group project again in the future, whether with a charity connection or just for fun and happiness-spreading, but first I want to take some time to celebrate this one and recover. Because of all the energy and organization (very worthwile!) that this project took, I’m probably going to hold off on doing a photo and video contest this year, but will probably bring it back in 2020. In the meantime, I’ve got lots of other fun stuff planned for the rest of 2019, so please stay tuned!