Tums wants to be your friend because he thinks you’ll give him candy. (But don’t do it! Candy makes his tummy ache.)
The finished toy stands (sits) on its own and measures about 8 inches tall. Download the pattern at the Mochimochi Shop!
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Crane Game Cute-spiration
This may be the cutest thing to ever drop from a crane game’s claw.
It was won for me by my husband (then fiance) in Tokyo in December 2005 – the day after we got engaged, in fact. It was unseasonably warm.
To this day, I don’t know how John was able to get that slippery claw to cling to that slick plastic container.
I love pretty much everything about this little captive creature – its sweet pose, biiig, relaxed smile, the little leaf on its head, and its fuzzy grass pillow (which is actually super soft).
I absolutely CANNOT WAIT to see what he wins me on our trip to Japan next month!! (No pressure, Sweetie.)
A Truly Tuesday Celebrity Sighting
Compared to my idealized image of most New Yorkers, I’m not the best celebrity spotter.
My top three have been:
Al Sharpton (January 30, 2006) – This one doesn’t count, though, because he’s more political figure than celebrity, and I only saw him when somebody walking down the street in front of me literally pointed to a cafe window and exclaimed, “hey look – it’s Al Sharpton!”
Tim Robbins (January 14, 2006) – This one doesn’t count because it took me seeing his puppet caricature in Team America: World Police to put a name to a famous-looking face shopping on Fifth Avenue. I’m sorry, but if I don’t immediately know who you are when I see you, I really can’t in all honesty consider you a celebrity, no matter how many Oscars (one) or Oscar nominations (two) you might have.
Rachel Dratch (November 11, 2006) – Counts a little, but I just now had to google “Saturday Night Live Dartmouth grad Debbie Downer,” and it still took me a long three minutes to remember her name. So… doesn’t really count.
And that brings us to today, which was made different from other days by warm, breezy weather and a very weekday sighting of Ian Benardo – you know, that flamboyantly annoying kid from the American Idol New York auditions.
(Yes, I had to google “American Idol New York flamboyantly annoying” to learn his name.)
My husband also says that we passed Isiah Thomas on the street today, but I don’t really know who that is.
An Email From My Parents
It has taken a little while for my dear parents to “get” the whole knitted toys thing. I have even recently been on the receiving end of the phrase “have you considered taking the civil service exam?” which I believe are the very words that Mrs. Costanza shrieks at her jobless son George in around the 5th season of Seinfeld.
But this past weekend, I caught my parents on the phone at a good time – somehow, they were quite tickled to hear that I’m knitting a snake that eats things, and they even came back to me a day later with an email that detailed a high-concept knitted snake suggestion of their own:
We (Mom and I) talked it over and this is what we’d like to suggest:
A basket with a sort-of rigid lid (perhaps containing an old CD) . When you lift the lid a few inches, a string connected to the lid pulls a very pretty cobra out of the basket. She has long eyebrows and red lips. If you pull her out further, a string connected to the bottom of the basket and to her lower jaw pulls her mouth open. You can take it from there. I think if it has an Egyptian or Cleopatra theme it could be not too scary.
Isn’t that just the sweetest thing? Mom, Dad, I hope to someday make you proud with a Cleopatra cobra.
(I just found this image – they did not include a visual reference in the email.)
Gun Shy Is Here!
Mochimochi Land is happy to announce the arrival of the Gun Shy* pattern in the Mochimochi Shop!
He is an easy knit, and he promises not to cause any major damage.
*Just to clarify, Gun Shy is different from Luvgun. He still loves you; he’s just not so forward about it.
Grass It Is
Thank you to everyone who weighed in on their choices for the next free Mochimochi Land pattern!
Grass won by a landslide! The pattern will appear here in the coming weeks, so please check back.
As for Happy Cross, he was a little disappointed in the outcome of the election, but he’s off to meet a long-lost and slightly creepier distant relative this weekend, which should get his mind off the voting results.
In other Mochimochi Land news, Gun Shy is coming very very soon to the shop! No one is more excited than he is.
Snake Eats Mouse
Lately I’m working on a knitted snake that can (partially) digest a mouse. This is the general concept:
See, the snake will have a little mouse in its belly that will stretch it out, giving it a silly lump. The mouse can be taken out by reaching your arm down the snake’s gullet. Both snake and mouse will wear toupees.
Here is what I have so far:
Doesn’t look like much yet, but I am hopeful. (It looks like two snakes, because one half will be stuffed inside the other, to give it a hollow effect.) Results to come soon.
The Golf-Playing Goose
Today I thought I’d share a detail from one of my wardrobe classics.
As you can see, it’s a golf-playing goose. Or maybe just a goose who thinks she can play golf. It’s a 2-inch embroidery detail from an odd, shapeless polo shirt that I picked up a number of years ago at a thrift store. The label reads “David Smith,” but checking around the internet, David doesn’t seem to be making clothing anymore. I don’t wear this shirt that often (not the best color for me), but I like the reactions I get when I do take it out for old time’s sake.
Dressed-up animals aren’t such an unusual theme for clothing, but somehow, the choice of a goose, and the choice of putting her in an early 20th century-era golf getup seems notable. She looks so innocent, it’s almost a little sad. All she ever wanted to do was play golf. I love this goose.
By the way, the polls are still open for the choice of the next free pattern. Every vote counts.