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Interview: Angela Tong

Posted on by Anna

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Angela Tong and I go way back—she’s actually one of the very first people who tested a Mochimochi Land pattern! That was when we both lived in New York (she’s now in New Jersey and I’m in Chicago), and also before her career as a teacher and designer of elegant, attractive knitwear and accessories took off.

Like SpillyJane, Bonney Teti, and Knit Picks, Angela is a sponsor of the 10th Anniversary Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest—winners will receive PDF packages of her designs. I hope if you’re reading this, you’re working on an entry! Read Angela’s interview and then get back to work!

Continue reading “Interview: Angela Tong” →

Interview: Bonney Teti and her World’s Biggest Yarn Stash

Posted on by Anna

Oh look—the deadline for entries in the 10th Annual Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest is one month away!

Among lots of other fabulous prizes, we’ve got a boatload of unusual books and kits from the World’s Biggest Yarn Stash for the winners. I thought it was about time to delve deeper into this stash, so let’s take a look inside!

A video interview was a new thing for me, so please forgive any awkwardness! I think the interview works well as a podcast, actually, but Bonney does show us around the stash, which contains way more than just yarn.

After we finished the interview, Bonney sent over some adorable photos of cats that she asked me to share.

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These rescue cats are enjoying a cozy bed that Bonney made from her stash yarn. She’s definitely using the power of the stash for good, and not evil.

If you missed it, please check out my (written) interview with another of this year’s sponsors, designer SpillyJane! I also have an interview with Angela Tong coming up, so stay tuned for that too!

Interview: SpillyJane

Posted on by Anna

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Happy hand warmers by SpillyJane: Little Ghost, Golden Light Mittens, OctoMitts, Gargoyle Mittens

spillyjane1One of the most intriguing presences in the knitting world, SpillyJane is somebody I noticed right away when her striking colorwork appeared on Ravelry. If you’re like me, you can’t get the Canadian designer’s mittens, socks, and other projects out of your mind, because all of her designs are lovely and memorable in different ways—for a knitter who works in repetitious colors, she sure doesn’t come across as repetitive! In addition to her eye-catching designs, SpillyJane comes with a personality that never ceases to surprise me. Just follow her on Twitter to see what I mean.

SpillyJane is generous enough to be one of our sponsors of the 10th Annual Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest—winners will receive PDF pattern packages from her—and she was cool enough to answer a few questions about herself and her design work. I’m excited to get to know her more. I think we could all learn a thing or two from SpillyJane.

Continue reading “Interview: SpillyJane” →

Sesame Street: I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon

Posted on by Anna

If there’s anyone I would want to live on the moon with, it would be Ernie! (Lennon and Maisy should live with us too.)

I’m so excited to share this brand-new project that I worked on for Sesame Street—truly a dream come true. (Who knew that Sesame Street intersected with Mochimochi Land??) My enormous thanks to Maureen Boyle for her animation work on this.

If you like it, please share the video with your friends—especially the little ones!

New Logo

Posted on by Anna

Mochimochi Land has a new logo!

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Isn’t it fun and HAPPY??

This was designed by Chicago illustrator (and my good friend) Kate OLeary. You should check out her website and Instagram!

Now we just need a new website design for Mochimochi Land! One thing at a time, I suppose.

Announcing the 2016 Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest

Posted on by Anna

UPDATE: Thank you for all the fun photos and videos!!! We’ll make the announcements in early 2017.

UPDATE: We’re extending the deadline for entries by a whole month! You have until December 14th, 2016 to submit your photos and videos.

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Believe it or not, it’s now officially time to enter the 10th Annual Mochimochi Photo + Video Contest!

For the 10th year in a row (!!!), we’re looking for the cutest, funniest, most creative photos and videos of Mochimochi Land toys. This year you can enter through your favorite social media platform (see below for details), and you have so much time to enter: the deadline is November 14th, 2016.

Winners will receive awesome prizes from our favorite sponsor Knit Picks, from indie designers Angela Tong and SpillyJane, and from Bonney Teti, my mother-in-law and owner of the World’s Biggest Yarn Stash.

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Kouyou by Angela Tong / Cupcake Mittens by SpillyJane

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 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 no more than 8 photos.*

1) Post your photo(s) on Instagram with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest16.

2) Post your photo(s) to the Mochimochi Land Facebook page with the hashtag #mochiphotocontest16.

3) Add your photo(s) to the Mochimochi Land Flickr group. All photos uploaded to this group since the December 1st deadline of last year’s photo contest—with the exception of those entered in our recent Mochi Mod Contest—are already entered in this year’s contest!

VIDEOS: First, upload your video to any public video sharing site (like YouTube or Vimeo). Then email me at info@mochimochiland.com with with subject line VIDEO ENTRY, and include a link to your video. Please do not send the video as an attachment. The length of your video can be anywhere from 30 seconds to around 2 minutes long. Please enter no more than 2 videos.

Deadline

The last day to enter the contest is November 14th, 2016. Update: It’s now DECEMBER 14th! 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 prize will include a $100-value surprise gift package from Knit Picks, fabulous PDF pattern packages from Angela Tong and SpillyJane (two of my favorite designers), an assortment of crafty goodies straight from the World’s Biggest Yarn Stash, and a $20 gift card to Mochimochi Land.

Second and third place photo prizes will include a gift package from Knit Picks ($75 and $50 value, respectively), PDF pattern packages from Angela Tong and SpillyJane, an assortment of goodies from the World’s Biggest Yarn Stash, and a $20 gift card to Mochimochi Land.

The first place video prize will include a $100 gift package from Knit Picks, PDF pattern packages from Angela Tong and SpillyJane, an assortment of goodies from the World’s Biggest Yarn Stash, and six Mochimochi Land kits.

Second and third place video prizes will include PDF pattern packages from Angela Tong and SpillyJane, an assortment of goodies from the World’s Biggest Yarn Stash, and four Mochimochi Land kits.

Thank you to Knit Picks, Angela Tong, SpillyJane, and Bonney Teti for the exciting prizes!

Needles ready? Cameras set? GO!

* This limit doesn’t apply to photos already added to the Flickr group.