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Putting the Fun in Fun Fur

Posted on by Anna

One thing I miss about living in NYC is having the Lion Brand Yarn Studio just a subway ride away. I went there for all my fun fur needs—which admittedly weren’t frequent needs, but I’ve found that when I get the fun fur bug, I want it NOW! (OK, that goes for any kind of yarn that I decide to use, but still.)

So I have at least a week to wait before my novelty yarn arrives in the mail, but in the meantime I dug out what I could find in my stash and was soon reminded why fun fur is so fun.

fuzzywuzzy

This creature has so much personality already, thanks to Romance, the softer, more feathery alternative to fun fur that Lion Brand makes. I am so in love with this stuff! I held it together with worsted-weight yarn and used size 8 US needles (just a tip, in case some of you would like to incorporate fur into a toy, which is something you can do with pretty much any non-tiny toy).

I’m thinking that with different colors, a different shape, and minimal (non fur) appendages, this guy could be really cute and spooky and cool.

And if you live in NYC, please stop by the studio and say hi to everyone!

Represent Mochimochi Land!

Posted on by Anna

Are you an experienced sales rep looking for something fun and different to present to your stores? Are you an on-the-go professional business cat?

businesscat

If you answered “yes” to one of those questions, I want to talk with you!

I’m currently looking for sales reps for my line of tiny knitting kits for all regions of the US except California and New England. As my collection has grown, more and more local yarn stores are carrying the kits, but they (and Mochimochi Land in general) are still new to many in the knitting world, and I need some help spreading the word!

I prefer to work with reps who are are already working with yarn and other knitting-related companies and are looking to add to their mix of products. If this is you, please contact me at info [at] mochimochiland [dot] com. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

The Saddest Toilet

Posted on by Anna

Exciting things are being knitted this week, but not things I can share quite yet. So instead I give you the the saddest toilet I’ve ever seen.

toilettrash

Such an indignity, to be thrown out next to the box that your replacement came in! Flushie is appalled.

Since moving to Chicago I’ve noticed that some fascinating scenes happen in the alleys. You never know what lurks behind the tidy houses in my picturesque neighborhood…

Shop Talk: Shipping

Posted on by Anna

shoptalk9

Shipping is a topic that I’ve been wanting to cover here for a while now, but I’ve put it off because there is just so much to say, and I also don’t have a broad knowledge of all the different options—I just found what works for me. But just sharing that much could be helpful to someone who doesn’t know where to begin, right? So today I’m sharing everything I know about shipping.

Continue reading “Shop Talk: Shipping” →

Hearts for Play Africa

Posted on by Anna

My friend Kristen (owner of the awesome plush/vinyl toy store Schmancy in Seattle) has started a multicraftual effort to support a new children’s museum that’s being planned for Johannesburg, South Africa. Read on to find out how you can help!

hearts_playafrica

Here is Kristen’s call to knitters, crocheters, and sewers:

My friend Gretchen is currently in the works to build the very first children’s museum in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is not only the first children’s museum in S. Africa but the first in Africa. The museum is to open on June 16th, 2016, 40 years after numerous children were brutally killed after protesting against the Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974. It’s an absolutely amazing project and I am so proud of her. Not long ago she was filmed in my apartment for a documentary about this undertaking. So much of her conversation was so inspiring, while also heartbreaking and sad. She described one woman having a hard time balancing life as a single mother saying she “just wanted more time for love”.
Seeing as South Africa prides itself on being a Rainbow Nation, an idea came to me while she was talking. I thought how amazing would it be if I could get people from around the globe to mail her hearts. 3″- 4″ hearts, in all the colors of the rainbow, that could be hung from the ceiling of the museum in garlands. After the installation they could be sold in the gift store to help raise money for the museum OR be given to the children that visit.

If you’d like to knit up some hearts for this cause, my free pattern for hearts would be great for this—just use a bulky yarn to get the larger size that is requested.

Visit Kristen’s original blog post for the details on sending your hearts, plus additional patterns for crocheted and sewn hearts.

Play is a really important concept to me, so I love this opportunity to contribute and help make Play Africa a success!

Soupy in a Mustache

Posted on by Anna

It’s finally happened: Soupy has given in to the facial hair trend.

soupy_mustache

I especially love this photo because Soupy’s whiskers are also prominently sticking out, giving him the effect of a double mustache. How dapper!

The anthropomorphic mustache is from the Chicago-based plush company Shawnimals.

Tiny Chicken Knitting at Sifu

Posted on by Anna

No, we didn’t teach tiny chickens how to knit (although I would love to see someone try!). Yesterday a nice group joined me for a class on knitting tiny chickens at Chicago’s Sifu Design Studio. Here are the fowl results!

sifu_chickens2

It turns out that chickens can be cute in any color—even purple! It was also interesting to me to revisit this pattern, which I designed back in 2010, and which I hadn’t knitted myself since 2011, when Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi was published.

Prior to the class was a casual trunk show/ book signing during Sifu’s Sunday brunch get-together. It was a nice way to wrap up the Chicago Yarn Crawl.

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Thank you to Sifu and to everyone who came! Everybody else can get the tiny chicken pattern here.