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Say hello to Holi-Log!

Posted on by Anna

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

Posted on by Anna

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!

Fumin’ Womb stickers are here

Posted on by Anna

Introducing Fumin’ Womb stickers! 💥

It’s been heartening to see the big response to my Knitty pattern, the Fumin’ Womb. (It’s free! It’s timely! Make one and wear it and go vote!) If you’re on an angry uterus knitting kick, I’d love it if you sold some to help out our non-knitting friends and raise money for abortion funds.

And speaking of people who don’t knit (and also those who do), this sticker may not be as satisfying as a squishy-soft handmade boxing uterus, but I think it’s pretty cool as its own thing. You can find it in my shop—I’ll be sending half of the proceeds from its sale to abortion funds.

via GIPHY

I also recently made a Fumin’ Womb animated sticker—you can use it on GIPHY-supported platforms (like Instagram messages and stories) by searching for FUMINWOMB.

Enrollment NOW OPEN for Knit Stars Season 7

Posted on by Anna

Today’s the day! You can now enroll in the Knit Stars Season 7 Masterclass Event, featuring courses by me and a slate of brilliant knitting teachers and artists! Enrollment is only open for ONE WEEK.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m so excited to finally share my new class all about knitting toys big and tiny. You’ll truly have the keys to the kingdom with this class—because you’ll knit a huggable castle and a bunch of characters to go in it! 👑
Plus you’ll come away with a better understanding of how toy designing and construction works, along with the basics on how to animate your knitted friends. All with video modules that you can watch at your own pace and keep forever.

Along with my masterclass, with Season 7 you’ll also get to virtually travel the world and take classes with a bunch of amazing Knit Stars who are masters of all things knitted: Lisa Borgnes Giramonti, Mieka John, Mary Martin, Lotta Lundin, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Summer Lee, Fatimah Hinds, Xandy Peters, Patty Lyons, and Lauren McElroy.

To learn more about what we’re all up to in Season 7, tune in to the webinar we’re doing at 2pm CT on Sunday, October 9. I hope to see you there!

Making this masterclass has been one of the coolest experiences I’ve had in my knitting journey, despite my weird face in this behind-the-scenes photo. 🤪 I hope you’ll join me! See the Knit Stars website to sign up!

Free Pattern: The Gloves Are Off

Posted on by Anna

This pattern is free, and for its use I’m requesting a minimum $5 contribution to an abortion fund, such as the National Network of Abortion Funds, Midwest Access Project, or the Chicago Abortion Fund. You are also welcome to sell knitted uteri (either this version or the Knitty version) to raise funds for abortion services.

Click or scroll down to view the full pattern. You can also download a PDF version of this pattern via Ravelry.

Continue reading “Free Pattern: The Gloves Are Off” →

Let’s get together at Knitting LIVE!

Posted on by Anna

This February! In NYC! In person! Knitting LIVE by Vogue Knitting is retuning and I will be there! God willing!

Registration is now open, and you can sign up for a CLASS with me! I’ll be teaching a gnome knitting class for people who are a little familiar with circular knitting, as well as a unicorns and rainbows class for people who are newer to circular knitting/tiny toys.

I’ll also be in the art gallery/marketplace with Bluebirds of Crappiness! You can bring your own to add to a group project too! (More details are coming on that later I think.) There will probably also be a giant gnome!

Can you tell I’m excited? 😀 I hope to see your beautiful faces there!

From the Vogue Knitting folks:

General registration for our Winter Vogue Knitting LIVE! NOW open! Return to NYC with us this February 9-12, 2023 at the newly renovated Marriott Marquis in Times Square and experience Knitting Live in-person: Take inspirational workshops on fit and shaping, pattern reading, lace, socks, and more! And don’t forget about our Marketplace, which showcases new yarn and accessories! Classes are selling FAST! If there’s a class you’ve had your eye on, snag your ticket NOW before it sells out!

A new Knitty pattern for u and us (it’s a uterus!)

Posted on by Anna

While I’m not pleased about the events that prompted this project, I am pleased to introduce a new (and FREE) pattern in Knitty, everyone’s favorite online knitting magazine. It’s the Fumin’ Womb, the tiniest, angriest little uterus ready to take on anyone who wants to tell her what to do in 2022.

It almost feels like this project doesn’t need any explanation, but I’ll say that I’ve been suppressing my rage every day since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, followed by all the state restrictions and talk of national bans on abortion in the United States.

So when Knitty asked me to design a tiny uterus for their 20th Anniversary issue (congratulations to Knitty! 🥳), inspired by recent events and their much-loved Womb pattern by MK Carroll (from the Winter ’04 issue), I was grateful to have a creative way to channel my rage.

Techniques used in this pattern include knitting in the round on double-pointed needles, grafting, picking up stitches, and I-cord. I used Hand Dyed Diva’s Homegrown Sock in Pink Petunia for the main color (get a skein and make a bunch of uteruses!), and Knit Picks Palette (a favorite basic of mine) for the gloves and details. (Yarn scraps from other projects work great too!)

Thank you to Amy Singer and Kate Atherley and everybody at Knitty, thank you to my tech editor, Marilyn Passmore, thank you Kate O’Leary for modeling in the photos above, and thank you to Kristine Brandel and Bonney Teti for pattern testing!

I hope you enjoy the pattern, in whatever way you’d like. It’s in great company in this issue of Knitty!

(This version is coming soon too!)