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Ann Arbor Stop-Motion Workshop Recap

Posted on by Anna

Last month it was my pleasure to lead a stop-motion animation workshop at the Ann Arbor District Library. This was my first time trying such a workshop, and I was lucky enough to have a big group of enthusiastic would-be animators of all ages attend. (I could tell from the start that they would be jumping right in, because it was a beautiful July Saturday in this beautiful college town, and they had chosen to spend the afternoon in a basement with me!)

After a presentation of my various animation projects, along with some examples of approaches that were very different from mine, everyone broke up into teams to make their own animations. The library supplied iPod Touches loaded with the Stop Motion Studio app (yes, this is the coolest library, and it’s totally worth becoming a card holder even if you don’t live in the area), and they also had plenty of models and craft supplies for people to use. Many participants came with their own materials, from paper to Legos to knitted mochis!

As people finished up their short animations, we gathered around the devices to see the results, and I was impressed by just how different everyone’s projects were. The animations were both narrative and non-narrative, things shot overhead and against the wall, scenes with backgrounds and at least one that incorporated a self-portrait.

A couple of people have shared their results with me—here’s a short one starring knitted patriots that Sara made.

And here’s a cool origami animation shared by a participant named Kevin—he made this after the workshop, based on what he experimented with at the library.

Is it bad to say that this was way more fun than teaching a knitting class? Well, fortunately knitting and animating are not mutually exclusive activities. I do hope to have the opportunity to do this again soon at another venue.

Thank you to Erin at the Ann Arbor District Library and to everyone who came to the workshop!

Funds Raised for Oceana

Posted on by Anna

Thanks to your help, Mochimochi Land donated over $200 to Oceana!

It was great to do this little fundraiser and get lots of support and enthusiasm from knitters. Of course, this contribution is a mere drop in the ocean, but every little bit does something, and talking about climate change and other environmental issues is a first step toward prioritizing it in our lives and culture.

If you’d like to do something good for the Arctic and for all ocean life, please check out this worthy nonprofit and consider supporting them regularly.

I’ll be adding the Tiny Frozen Friends patterns on Ravelry soon, so those of you who requested me to add them there will get them in the next few days.

Tiny Frozen Update

Posted on by Anna

An update on our project raising funds for Arctic conservation!

We’ve done our research and decided to donate funds raised this month from sales of the Tiny Frozen patterns to Oceana, a nonprofit that’s doing a lot to support the Arctic.


Learn about their work here. (And please consider supporting them regularly!)

Through the end of July, $1 of each sale of the Tiny Frozen patterns and the related knitting kits will go to Oceana. Thanks to everyone who’s already gotten them!

It Was the Narwhal!

Posted on by Anna

I think I forgot to mention this already, but the mystery kit from May was the Tiny Narwhal!


It was fun shipping the kits out to people all over, knowing (or at least feeling pretty sure) that they would be well received. (And from the happy feedback I got, it seems I was right!)

Now the tiny narwhals are enjoying their official debut in the summer.

You can now get the pattern as a kit or as part of the new Tiny Frozen collection—and $1 of each sale of those this July is going to support Arctic conservation.

Why the Penguin?

Posted on by Anna

A couple of people have asked why I included a tiny penguin in a set of patterns that is connected to a little fundraiser for Arctic conservation. Penguins don’t live in the Arctic, duh! I think the Arctic will take all the help it can get, but for those who need more of an acknowledgement/explanation, I thought I would further clarify.

This is not the first tiny penguin that I’ve designed—if you take a close look at the tiny patterns available in my shop, you’ll see a little blue penguin included in the Tiny Mochis Collection 5. I designed this guy a number of years ago, and he’s still close to my heart. He even appeared in a Nickelodeon network ID in 2013!

But a couple of years back I decided I wanted to update the tiny penguin kit that I offer on my site and to retailers to be a black and white type—more of a classic, black-tie penguin. But black eyes don’t show up so well on a black body, so I made the face all white, altering the design quite a bit in the process.


So that was that, but of course some people liked the new penguin design but didn’t want to purchase a kit, so I’ve been looking for a pattern collection that I could include it in. I certainly could have offered the new penguin as a pattern on its own, but I try not to do that with too many tiny patterns, because hundreds of additional shop listings would be a lot to handle (but that doesn’t mean I won’t try it sometime).

So, when I decided to make a collection of Arctic creatures, I was all set with four designs—the glacier, polar bear, walrus, and narwhal. But that little penguin just begged to be included! I couldn’t resist giving the pattern a home so that more people could knit him, and I had a hunch that those who are interested in knitting a polar bear, etc. might also like to knit a penguin. And that’s why the pattern collection is called Tiny Frozen Friends, and not Tiny Arctic Animals.

That’s more of an inside scoop than I think most of you would need, but I thought I’d chat about it for anyone who’s interested. Either way, I hope those of you who get the patterns enjoy the knitting and the teeny new friends and can open your hearts to a tiny black and white penguin (or whatever colors you choose to make yours). I haven’t decided for sure which organization we’ll be supporting with the July sales, but that’s something else that I’m thinking hard on and want to make the best decision about. I’ll certainly share that information here once it’s settled.

Thanks, always, to all of you who knit, comment, share, and like!

New Tiny Frozen Friends to Knit

Posted on by Anna


It’s the hottest month of the year for many of us, so why not knit some cool little creatures? Patterns for Tiny Frozen Friends—including a penguin, walrus, polar bear, narwhal, and even a glacier—are now available in the Mochimochi Shop!

And because even these guys need help beating the heat, through the end of July $1 of each sale will go to Arctic conservation efforts.

The freezer isn’t really a long-term solution, but it’s a start.

Three of these characters—penguin, walrus, and narwhal—are also available as a kit, perfect for gifting and knitting on the go. $1 of each kit sale in July will also go to supporting Arctic conservation.