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Earth’s not getting any younger! What if we really gave her a reason to celebrate. Happy Earth Day!
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Abracadabbit’s Hat Trick
Have a Happy Easter and April Fool’s Day this weekend! Don’t fall for any bunny tricks!
Introducing Abracadabbit
AMAZE YOUR FRIENDS by knitting a magic rabbit who pulls tiny bunnies and carrots out of his hat AND his tail! (Your friends will probably just be amazed that you knit something.)
Introducing Abracadabbit, the amateur magic rabbit! His trick hat features a secret compartment for hiding bunnies and carrots, and his tail has an opening for stashing a bonus bunny!
Knit Abracadabbit in classic white, black, and red, or make a sweet chocolate bunny with pastel complements.
Get the PDF pattern download at the Mochimochi Shop or on Ravelry.
It was so much fun to design this knit. It’s been a long time since I’ve made an interactive toy, and the size is just right, I think—it feels like a real project, but doesn’t take so long that you want to give up halfway through. (At least that’s the hope!)
THANK YOU to Marilyn for her edits, and to Amanda, Rebecca, and Magon for testing help!
LYS Love: Gather Here
The Cambridge sewing studio and yarn store Gather Here were nice enough to send me some photos of their Mochimochi Land kits on display!
You can take my word for it: This store alone is a great excuse for a trip to the Boston area. It’s been too long since I visited myself, but I hope to return before too long. I need to meet these fat little unicorns in person!
If you live far away like I do, you can still shop online and support them! They deserve your support.
And if your local yarn store isn’t carrying Mochimochi Land kits, why not suggest they get in touch?
Thank You for Another Great VK LIVE
I just enjoyed a long weekend at Vogue Knitting LIVE Chicago! It’s been over two years since the last one here, and also over two years since Mochimochi Land was unfurled in public.
I was lucky enough to be placed near a ramp entrance to the marketplace, so I got this nice overhead shot thanks to that!
Many new mochis and scenarios joined the world, and this time I focused on referencing some of my animations within it. I hope people had fun checking it out—I think it was the most detailed version ever!
For most people, VK LIVE is about classes, lectures, and shopping for yarn. For me, it’s mostly about sharing Mochimochi Land and seeing knitters face-to-face for a change! On Sunday, these lovely faces found four-leaf clovers and let me take their picture.
Yes, there are only seven people, because three clovers went rogue! I hope they are bringing luck to whoever now has them.
With my limited extra time, I chatted with Nicky Epstein, picked up yarn from Handspun Hope, and got acquainted with the Committed Knitters, who knit with women in the Cook County Jail.
Thank you to the VK LIVE people and to everyone who came out and said hi!
Free Pattern: Good Luck Clover
Make your own luck with this squeezable little four-leaf clover! It’s about the size of a quarter when made with fingering-weight yarn. If you enjoy this pattern, please visit the Mochimochi Shop for more.
(Want to knit a tiny leprechaun? Get the tiny gnome pattern, take some tips from this post, and do some color swapping! The tiny rainbow pattern is in my book Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi.)
Announcing the 11th Annual Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest
UPDATE: Congratulations to the winners!
The 11th Annual Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest is now open for entries!
For the 11th year, we’re looking for the cutest, funniest, most creative photos and videos of Mochimochi Land toys. Enter through your favorite social media platform (see below for details). Deadline is March 31st!
Winners will receive awesome prizes from our favorite sponsor Knit Picks, gift certificates to Mochimochi Land, and more!
Eligibility
This contest is open to knitters worldwide. To be eligible, your photo or video must contain at least one knitted toy made from a Mochimochi Land pattern. This can be a pattern from the Mochimochi Shop, a pattern from one of the Mochimochi books by Anna Hrachovec, or one of the free patterns on the Mochimochi Blog. The pattern may be modified, but not beyond recognition from the original design. (The use of Photoshop is OK, and other toys/characters, including other knitted toys, are welcome to appear in your photo or video too!)
Note that we’re looking for humor, cuteness, and originality—not necessarily the most professional-looking photos and videos. We want everyone to enter!
How to enter
PHOTOS: There are three ways to enter photos. Please choose just one, and enter up to 8 photos.*
1) Post your photo(s) on Instagram with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest18.
2) Post your photo(s) to the Mochimochi Land Facebook page with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest18.
3) Add your photo(s) to the Mochimochi Land Flickr group. All photos uploaded to this group since the last contest deadline, December 14th, 2016, are already entered in this year’s contest!
VIDEOS: You can post your video to Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or Vimeo. To make sure we see it, please email me the link at info@mochimochiland.com with the subject line VIDEO ENTRY. Please do not send the video as an attachment. We prefer that the length of your video be at least 30 seconds to at most 2 minutes long. Enter up to 3 videos.
Deadline
The last day to enter the contest is March 31st, 2018 April 30th, 2018. We’ll announce the finalists shortly thereafter here on the blog, and everyone will be able to vote for their favorites! So be sure to check the blog after the deadline.
Prizes!
The first place photo and video prizes will include a $100-value surprise gift package from Knit Picks, a $50 gift certificate to Mochimochi Land, and more.
The second place photo and video prizes will include a $50 gift package from Knit Picks, a $25 gift certificate to Mochimochi Land, and more.
The third place photo and video prizes will be all surprises this year!
Thank you to Knit Picks for their continued awesome sponsorship!
Needles ready? Cameras set? GO!
* This limit doesn’t apply to photos already added to the Flickr group.