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Tiny Wooden Animals

Posted on by Anna

Just returned from a lovely 4th of July visit with relatives in Maine. (It was cold enough at night to wear fleece to see the fireworks show!) My aunt and uncle there have the most beautiful old house, which they’ve decorated with carefully chosen antiques.

These little animals on a mantle particularly caught my eye during this visit. They are part of an antique Noah’s Ark set made in Germany. (The wooden ark was just outside the frame of my photo.)

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If I had a fireplace and mantle of my own, I would want tiny wooden animals on it too.

Win These!

Posted on by Anna

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Aren’t these guys adorable? According the the tags, they’re hand rests to use when typing. But they also make cute blobby creatures in a pinch.

They’ll be included in the big box o’ awesome prizes to be given to the first place winner of the Mochimochi Photo Contest. You have until July 31st to enter, so… enter!

A a happy 4th of July to everybody in the US! I’ll be in Maine for the next few days.

Oh! AU

Posted on by Anna

New music! Verbs is the just-released album by the Portland group AU, and it’s pretty delightful.

auverbsThe album is a nice mix of big, high-energy orchestrations and quieter songs, with equal weight given to vocals and instruments. I’d say the sound of Verbs lands somewhere between Sufjan Stevens and Animal Collective, which is just fine by me.

You can hear a happy song from the album, “rr. Vs. D” on the Aagoo Records website.

Snails vs. Slugs: The Eating Contest

Posted on by Anna

For their third and final competition, the snails and slugs are battling it out in a gastronomical challenge of epic proportions. Whoever can devour their leaves first will be the superior species!

However, a third party seems to have disrupted an otherwise fair fight…

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The slugs may not have won this round, but one snail in particular has most certainly lost.

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I think that leaves us with no clear winner in Snails vs. Slugs, but a very happy bird instead.

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No matter, though—the others are still blithely munching away.

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And thus concludes our pointless competition.

If you missed the first two rounds, you can see them here and here, and you can also knit some snails and slugs for yourself with this free pattern.

Update: Thank you to Plush You and Softies Central for featuring the Eating Contest!

Dust Bunnies for the HRRN

Posted on by Anna

A Texas knitter named Kathy (who designs her own patterns at Platypus Dreams) recently contacted me about knitting some Dust Bunnies to raffle off at a fund raiser for the House Rabbit Resource Network, or HRRN, an organization that educates the public about proper care of rabbits and facilitates rabbit rescues and adoptions. How appropriate for the little guys!

Kathy’s Dust Bunnies attended HHRN’s 15th Anniversary Party, where they mingled with members and their live rabbits. Here are some of the photos from the party that Kathy shared with me:

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Who knew bunnies like to be so cozy?

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And the Dust Bunnies were adopted by the raffle winner!

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I’m really happy that the Dust Bunnies could help the HHRN. If you have a charity you’d like to make or sell Mochimochi Land toys for, let me know! (You can email me at info [at] mochimochiland [dot] com.) I love to know what causes the toys are helping, and it’s great to see photos too!

Finished Loopers

Posted on by Anna

Since I released the Looper pattern at Loops a couple of weeks ago, there are now a few completed Loopers roaming the earth!

Svendel came all the way from Arkansas to attend last Saturday’s class at Loops, and she finished her little guy in no time! I could tell that she would, since she knits faster than I do.

Her Looper is king of the laptop!

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It’s awesome to see someone finish the project we started in the class.

Pattern tester extraordinaire Miki wasn’t in the class, but she was sweet enough to give the pattern a try while it was still in the works. She recently wrote about her Looper on her blog, with the cutest photos.

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I was happy to see that Miki also entered her pics in the Mochimochi Photo Contest!

Miki details her full experience with the pattern in her blog post, which I really appreciate. Thank you, Miki!

Twisted: A Balloonamentary

Posted on by Anna

A friend made a documentary a while ago about people who competitively twist balloons into animal (and other) shapes. Can you think of a better subject for a documentary? I almost can’t. It’s called Twisted: A Balloonamentary, and it’s being screened in New York this week!

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There two more screenings, today (6/25) and tomorrow (6/26), at the Pioneer Theater. I’m planning to go on Thursday.

More screenings are planned or ongoing in Ann Arbor, Iowa City, and Portland —check out the “Screenings” section on the film’s website. Or you can get the DVD from Amazon!

John saw Twisted a while ago at a private screening, and he reviewed it recently on Geek Out New York.

The Kow Pasture

Posted on by Anna

I’m back in New York today, but before I left Oklahoma, I squeezed in my first visit to The Kow Pasture, to my knowledge, the one and only bar in Owasso, Oklahoma. I always thought that a town with 40-plus churches needed at least one bar. Apparently most Owassoans still don’t know that The Kow Pasture has existed there for the past 50 years.

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The cinderblock establishment is tucked away amongst scenic pastures, and probably also cows, though I only saw horses on the drive there. Since my parents discovered The Kow Pasture a couple of years ago, they’ve almost become regulars, in a sort of half-ironic way, and they’ve been talking up its rough charm ever since.

My mom was eager to point out the weathered door and barred windows as we entered. I was especially taken with the mascot.

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This cow knows that you can’t enjoy a beer without a cigarette!

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Neither can the patrons of The Kow Pasture. An atmospheric haze hung over everything inside.

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Note the shuffleboard, which you can use for a dollar. There was also a dog (maybe a doberman pinscher?) wandering around. It seemed friendly, only jumping up on me once.

The drink selection wasn’t huge—basically, they had Bud and Bud Light, and they were out of Bud Light that night. If I remember correctly, a pitcher was $6. Definitely an economical way to spend a night out. The trickiest thing is hurrying home to throw your smokey clothes in the wash afterward.

I’m happy I could see this slice of Oklahoma before returning to the big city!