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YarnCon is April 1 and 2nd

If you’re somewhere with a direct flight to Chicago (that’s almost everywhere), I hope you’ll join me for YarnCon in a few weeks! There are classes happening March 30-31, then the marketplace runs April 1st and 2nd at Plumbers Hall, and that’s where you’ll find me and a new iteration of Mochimochi Land 🌈 I’ll also be selling kits and books and other fun stuff!

YarnCon is really all about the indie dyers: it’s THE place to see all the new exciting yarn innovations made by the most creative dye wizards. Get all the info from the YarnCon website. Can’t wait to see you there!

A new book! You can preorder it!

I have news for people who love yarn or cats or both: I have a new picture book featuring knitted cats coming out this fall!

Catside Up, Catside Down is a picture book filled with knitted cats demonstrating different prepositions with accompanying rhyming text. 😸 I’m hoping that knitters who love cats will especially love it!

You can see a bit inside the book and find links to preorder it at the Macmillan website.

Local yarn stores! If you run a yarn or other non-book shop and are interested in carrying the book, please contact MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com for order information. The ISBN is 9781250841261.

Hoppy New Year

via GIPHY

I hope your new year is hopping with fun ideas and plans for the coming months! Here’s to 2023! 🐰✨

In celebration of this year of the rabbit, I have a new kit to help you to get 2023 started off on the right rabbit’s foot—by knitting two lucky little bunnies!

(This pattern will be available as a PDF download soon too.)

And how about some extra new year’s motivation in the form of a sale? Use the code RABBITRABBIT for 20% off all patterns, kits, needles, and notions in the Mochimochi Shop. (Code also works in Ravelry.)

Hoppy knitting! 🐰

Say hello to Holi-Log!

via GIPHY

Introducing the sweetest new friend in Mochimochi Land, the Mini Holi-Log! This little treat of a design is destined to be the life of your holiday gathering. Just look at her adorable lil face! And her mushrooms! And her holly! And sprinkles!

Use the code YULEBEMERRY after adding $5 or more in products from the Mochimochi Shop, and the Mini Holi-Log pattern will magically appear in your cart!

Holi-Log’s elegant wood grain is made using a fun technique: basically knit and purl at random!

Other techniques used in this cozy little project include knitting in the round on double-pointed needles, I-cord, a little bit of mattress stitch for assembly, and French knots for holly berries. (These last two are shown in video tutorials linked in the pattern.)

You’ll need some woody-brown yarn (about 24 yards), some creamy white (about 8 yards), and a teeny bit of green, red, and black for details. Any weight of yarn and corresponding needle size will do, but the sample shown is made using fingering-weight yarn and size 1 (2.25mm) double-pointed needles.

As those of us in the Northern Hemisphere approach the darkest part of the year, we’re wishing you warmth and light and coziness among your favorite creatures and comforts!

New tiny apatosaurus pattern in Knitrino

I’m so excited to share with you my newest tiny dinosaur pattern, Amy the Apatosaurus! You can now find her pattern in the portable Knitrino app, where they also have a limited number of apatosaurus kits available featuring lovely Hand-Dyed Diva yarn.

Knitrino works on iOS and Android devices, so to get the pattern or kit, install Knitrino or click the apatosaurus link from your phone. 📱

Amy is the third tiny dinosaur pattern I’ve debuted with Knitrino, and as with the others, I focused on unique construction to build a classic jurassic body type. Amy is knit the round, with flat sections for the belly and back, a smattering of short rows for the head curve, and mattress stitch to seam her graceful neck. It’s a quick pattern that will give you plenty to chew on, herbivore-style.

New to Knitrino? You can use this code for $3 off your first purchase:

MOCHILOVE

Knitrino offers curated patterns and kits crafted for mobile phones: click a stitch to see how to do it, highlight your current place, see only one size at a time, and match charts to your yarn colors. There are no PDFs, no importing, just purchase your pattern and go!

I love this app because it makes patterns portable, with built-in resources, and it’s a perfect fit with my tiny designs. Plus, it was built by sisters Alison and Andrea, terrific people who really understand knitters!

I’ve debuted two other dinosaur patterns with Knitrino—Tina the Tiny T-Rex and Tori the Tiny Triceratops—and they’ve brought those patterns back to the app for a limited time right now too! So you can get all three in your pocket. 🦖💕

Happy dino knitting!