Blog

Easter Grass

Posted on March 23, 2008 by Anna

eastergrass

Happy Easter!

Comments Off for Now

Posted on March 22, 2008 by John

Comments are off while ever-growing Mochimochi Land completes a move to a new server. Thanks for your patience!

Update: Comments have been turned back on for the new server.

Another Pretty Snail

Posted on March 21, 2008 by Anna

Here’s another gorgeous snail, by Milkyrobot.

Not a word I usually apply to snails, but—lovely!

Peaceable Snails and Slugs

Posted on March 20, 2008 by Anna

I spotted these snails and slugs by Gardienne on Ravelry. They have the cutest expressions!

Unlike the guys I’ve knitted, Gardienne’s snails and slugs seem to be getting along just fine. And their colors are very pretty.

Thank you for sharing, Gardienne!

Plush You! Interview and Giveaway

Posted on March 19, 2008 by Anna

I just had the honor of being interviewed by Kristen Rask for the Plush You! blog.

Kristen asked great questions about me and Mochimochi Land, so it was a lot of fun to do. And the interview includes a giveaway! Leave a comment on Kristen’s post by March 31st and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a $15 Mochimochi Land gift certificate.

Thanks so much, Kristen!

Update: I just went over the the Plush You blog and saw some of the incredibly nice comments you guys have been leaving. I know there’s a gift certificate in it for you, but I’m still really moved by the nice things people have been saying. Thank you, everyone!

Announcing Butterfull!

Posted on March 18, 2008 by Anna

Just two days left until spring is officially here, and Mochimochi Land is getting a head start with a brand-new pattern: Butterfull, the world’s fattest butterfly!

Butterfull knits up quickly, with techniques including i-cord, mattress stitch, and duplicate stitch. And nothing says “spring” like a bouquet of dead flowers, right?

butterfull_flowers

You can buy the pattern as a PDF download here!

Mochimochi Land Patterns Now Available at Wholesale!

Posted on March 14, 2008 by Anna

wholesalepatterns

I’m now offering printed versions of Mochimochi Land patterns to yarn shops and other wholesale buyers! The patterns are printed in full-color on card stock, with step-by-step instructions and photos. Please email me at info@mochimochiland.com for more details.

If you or someone you love has a yarn store, I hope you’ll consider carrying Mochimochi Land patterns!

Songs About Birds

Posted on March 13, 2008 by Anna

My sister and I got my mom an iPod shuffle for her birthday last year. She was mildly appalled when I showed her the iTunes store, where you have to buy music? I thought you kids all got it for free on Napster, which is illegal and wrong, by the way!

I asked her what song I should find on iTunes for her, and her immediate request was “Legendary Chicken Fairy,” the most psychedelic song title I’d ever heard. It turned out to be an actual song, by country duo Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan, who wrote songs mostly about birds in the ’70s. My mom started signing along to the iTunes clip:

Chicken fairy in the sky
Mother Goose’s butterfly
Do whatsever’s necessary
Legendary chicken fairy

Sing a song that’s sanitary
Take my wish o big canary
Legendary chicken fairy…

Then my dad joined in from the kitchen. It was weird and kind of cute. But once the moment passed, my mom refused to pay money for the music by these people who apparently had some part in my parents’ courtship. (“Where’s all that free music I’ve heard about?”) We found some NPR podcasts instead. So for Christmas last year I gave my parents Life and Death (And Almost Everything Else), which includes “The Legendary Chicken Fairy” among its 29 tracks. It got a laugh, if not a long listen.

But it’s actually an impressive collection of songs. (I had bought the album for myself before getting another one for my parents.) Most of them are clever and melodic, and some are rather beautiful. A lot of them are about birds. I would recommend it to anyone with a sense of humor, and maybe kids.