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Super Boos!

Posted on by Anna

As of now, there are three more days until Halloween. It takes less than a day to make a Boo or two, so it’s not too late for spooky knitting!

As promised, here are a few more of my favorites from Ravelry:

I’m astounded by this Giant Boo and mini Boo from lisamarykay1.
boo_ lisamarykay1

(Check out her amazing toy designs too!)

Wouldn’t it be nice if real bats had the same colors as melissa85148’s Boo?
boo_melissa85148

And finally, these Boos from yarnpr0n win for most Halloween-y!
boo_yarnpr0n

New Boos are being added to Ravelry all the time (we’re now up to 111 projects), and they are all so cute. Great job, everyone!

LittleBigPlanet

Posted on by Anna

Denise (winner of this year’s Mochimochi Photo Contest) alerted me a while back to the cute knitted main character in LittleBigPlanet, the new PlayStation 3 video game by Sony. Coincidentally, my husband just reviewed the game for The Onion A.V. Club.

littlebigplanet

As John was working on his review, I got a sneak preview of the game (lucky me!), which is being released today. LittleBigPlanet has “craft” all over it—every character and object has a handmade look of something sewn, cut out of cardboard, or bolted together in the garage. Too fun!

The game’s biggest features are the tools that allow you to create your own levels for other players to try out. I haven’t attempted this myself yet, but it looks like a great challenge for crafty gamers.

Six Days till Halloween!

Posted on by Anna

Six days is plenty of time to knit up a bevy of Boos. Here are some of my favorites from the 99 projects on Ravelry:

A super color-combo Boo from MsEllaneous is ready to save the day!
boo_msellaneous

This hanging Boo from emoliver makes me giggle..
boo_emoliver

Is your Boo smaller than a stitch counter? This one from Intertwinement is!
boo_intertwinement

Thank you to these knitters for sharing your photos! (If you’re knitting a Boo but aren’t on Ravelry—or even if you are on Ravelry—please share your Boos in the Mochimochi Friends Flickr group!)

I’ll post a few more of my favorite Boos next week!

Robot Dreams

Posted on by Anna

My friend Calista, who works at First Second, a publisher of graphic novels, was nice enough to recently give me a copy of Robot Dreams, the wordless book by Sara Varon. I loved it!

robotdreams1

Apparently Robot Dreams is meant for younger readers, but it was perfect for me. Reading it felt kind of like watching a silent movie. The story is about a dog and his robot friend who get separated—it’s sad in parts, but very touching, and the artwork is great.

robotdreams2

Reading this made me want to pick up more graphic novels, which seem just right for weekend reading. Thanks Calista!

Knitted Toilet Paper is Catching on

Posted on by Anna

My free pattern for Toilet Paper from October last year has recently enjoyed a little surge of attention, thanks, perhaps, to its inclusion in Whipup’s recent Ultimate Guide to Knitting (and Crochet) for Halloween post. How nice of them!

The funny thing to me is how so many people like to take the intentions of this pattern very literally. It was originally meant to be a silly gag, or perhaps a scarf, but I suppose if you knit it, you can do whatever you want with it…

tp2

As a Halloween pattern, I suggest hanging it in your tree, or using it to dress up as said toilet-papered tree.

Paper Pod Beads

Posted on by Anna

My super-crafty mother-in-law recently made these gorgeous boutique-worthy necklaces from unusual materials: mini cereal boxes (top left), a box containing sweets from Japan (top right), and postcards from the PIT improv theater in New York (bottom).

podbeads

(The cardboard recycling pile at the town dump is also great place to find colorful materials, as I learned this past weekend.)

Bonney got the idea from a tutorial on Folding Trees.