It’s awkward to talk about mental health, but it’s so important to check in with your friends about how they’re doing. That’s the theme of the new #SeizeTheAwkward campaign that I was happy to contribute to with this image, commissioned by Droga5.
You can find more information on the website, and see more #SeizeTheAwkward posters by cool artists on the project’s instagram.
Vogue Knitting LIVE is returning to Chicago March 9-11, and Mochimochi Land will be there! See the world of mochis in person, pick up kits and books, and hunt for tiny clover on Sunday for prizes.
This will be my first in-person event in over a year! I’m looking forward to breathing that nice hotel air again and seeing all your lovely faces and handknit apparel.
Season’s Greetings to all you special snowflakes!
Back in 2005, a cat wearing burgundy pants appeared in the young online knitting magazine Knitty and sparked a knitted toy revolution. Designed by Jess Hutchison, Kate was beautiful in her simplicity, and she gave me something to study when I started thinking about designing toys of my own.
As 2017 marks 10 years of Mochimochi Land AND 15 years of Knitty, I jumped on the chance to revisit Kate and make a version of my own. So I’m thrilled to introduce Kate’s Kitten, a mini mochi-fied version of the classic tail-free cat! The pattern is in the current issue of Knitty, along with many other exciting projects.
Not only did Knitty inspire me when I first started designing, but they also gave Mochimochi Land a boost when my Woodins were included in the Fall 2007 issue. I still love this design.
If you’re a Knitty fan, you should become a patron!
GIPHY.com just announced that this little heart-knitting gnome is Top GIF of 2017, with more than 400 MILLION views! They were even talking about it on the Today Show. That’s a lot of love!
The 2017 holiday pattern is here! Special Little Snowflakes celebrate how we’re all a bit alike and also unique at the same time. Knit them for all the special creatures in your life!
This pattern automatically comes FREE with any purchase of $5 or more from the Mochimochi Shop through January 1st! No need to add it to your cart—a link to download the pattern will be emailed to you within 24 hours of your purchase.
This is a seamless, intermediate-level pattern that incorporates stranded color knitting. Special Little Snowflakes knit up fast for ornaments, garlands, and more, for perfect little last-minute hand-knitted gifts!
Mochimochi Land has now been a thing for 10 whole years! While I’m taking care of a newborn and not getting much knitting done for a little while, I thought I’d share some highlights from a decade of Mochimochi Land.
It’s October! A good time to pay tribute to my all-time most popular knitting pattern, Boo the Bat!
Boo debuted in fall of 2008, so this little funny creature has been on the scene for a whole nine years now, and it tickles me that Boos continue to pop up on the internet on a monthly basis.
As of this posting, there are 1,130 Boos listed on Ravelry, which means there are at least a few thousand more hanging out somewhere. Here are a few new kids on the block, via Ravelry.
Top row:
SpringPeeper’s Bitty Bat, tzipporahfeiga’s Boo, knitjvf70’s Brown Bat, eLoomator’s Boo Bats
Middle row:
schicken’s Boo, LateClematis’ Hi said the little leather-winged bat, Jayannell’s Rosita, Elly22’s Bats
Bottom row:
mimulus’ CutieBoo, co314’s Batty-nuggets, Practicalmagic’s Boo the Bat, Serine23’s Batty
I always love seeing how diverse they all are! The personality knitters can pack into one small bat represents to me the beauty of all handmade toys.
And because we’re looking back at 10 years of Mochimochi Land, here are some notable Boos from previous years.
Top row (from left to right):
lazydayartifacts’ Boo the Bat, BreiKonijn’s Boo the Bat 4, okate’s 2014 Ornament Swap, Kristysnowedin’s 2,Bats
Middle row:
gizmonic’s Boo the Bat, wojostitches’ Bats!, mimulus’ Baby boo, knittergoddss’ Boo the Bat
Bottom row:
ljsheppard’s Boo, Azashenya’s CCW 9, Triestina’s Boo Bat, Aelys’ Boo the Bat
Top row (from left to right):
MarleenS’s Vleermuisje, laulaula’s Boo the W, roblingt’s Trevor, LiddyLee’s Boo the Bat, bioniclaura’s Bats About You
Middle row:
SlpBeauty’s I Didn’t Know They Did it All with Rubber Bands!, Prana451’s Batty!, tinypurrs’ Pink Moon Bat, blueangelfish83’s Bat mobile, angrymeerkat’s Halloween wreath
Bottom row:
ClarkMelissa’s Boo the Bat, Julia123’s Boo-tiful Sparkles, SlpBeauty’s Boo!, ginskye’s Bat 1 and Bat 2, kerroknits’ Boo the Bat
Left to right, top to bottom: Boos by aranyita, PurpleIrisCrafts, CrochetAmy, iamkashi, Fios, kendraja, MissSophie, minkey, sleeplessnscandia, RueDeekins, okate, ImpEmberStar
If you haven’t knitted a Boo, it’s a pretty simple project that should take only a day or two to finish. The wings (which include a variation generously contributed by Carissa Browning) button up for those times when your bat is feeling shy, then can open wide for your bat to say BOO!
The pattern for Boo the Bat is available as a PDF download in my shop here and also in the Mochimochi Ravelry Store.
Mochimochi Land has now been a thing for 10 whole years! While I’m taking care of a newborn and not getting much knitting done for a little while, I thought I’d share some highlights from a decade of Mochimochi Land.
I wouldn’t have been able to sustain Mochimochi Land over ten years without finding big new challenges to help my work stretch and grow. In 2009, I had just finished writing my first book of knitting patterns, Knitting Mochimochi, and I was looking for something new to do in my realm of knitted toys. The big new thing, I decided, was quick and small, and so my month of knitting tiny things began.
The first tiny thing was a tiny knitted brain. I love designing toys, and there’s something so satisfying about coming up with a concept, sketching it, and knitting it in a couple hours’ time. I posted a photo of the brain to my blog, and soon I was hearing requests for other tiny things from knitters and non-knitters alike. So I decided to knit a tiny thing a day for a month. That proved to be so addictive that I continued the challenge on a weekly basis for two entire years!
That’s a lot of tiny knitting. And when I was ready for a (tiny) break and no longer made a new miniature every week, I still continued knitting tiny stuff frequently. It turns out that just about everything you can think of is fun to knit in miniature. And when I think about it, it seems like I’ve tried to knit just about everything: an umbrella, a traffic cone, a helicopter, a computer, a raincloud, a Trump…
But there will always be new tiny things to knit. And I’m tickled when I see things that other knitters have come up with—just check out the entries from these past photo contests!
You can see more of the tiny stuff that I’ve knitted over the years here. Some of the tinys made their way into a book of patterns, and even more patterns are available for purchase and for free.