Category: Blog

Snake Eats Mouse

Posted on by Anna

Lately I’m working on a knitted snake that can (partially) digest a mouse. This is the general concept:

snakescan

See, the snake will have a little mouse in its belly that will stretch it out, giving it a silly lump. The mouse can be taken out by reaching your arm down the snake’s gullet. Both snake and mouse will wear toupees.

Here is what I have so far:

snakescan

Doesn’t look like much yet, but I am hopeful. (It looks like two snakes, because one half will be stuffed inside the other, to give it a hollow effect.) Results to come soon.

The Golf-Playing Goose

Posted on by Anna

Today I thought I’d share a detail from one of my wardrobe classics.

golfgoose

As you can see, it’s a golf-playing goose. Or maybe just a goose who thinks she can play golf. It’s a 2-inch embroidery detail from an odd, shapeless polo shirt that I picked up a number of years ago at a thrift store. The label reads “David Smith,” but checking around the internet, David doesn’t seem to be making clothing anymore. I don’t wear this shirt that often (not the best color for me), but I like the reactions I get when I do take it out for old time’s sake.

Dressed-up animals aren’t such an unusual theme for clothing, but somehow, the choice of a goose, and the choice of putting her in an early 20th century-era golf getup seems notable. She looks so innocent, it’s almost a little sad. All she ever wanted to do was play golf. I love this goose.

By the way, the polls are still open for the choice of the next free pattern. Every vote counts.

It’s Your Vote

Posted on by Anna

So I’m feeling a little wishy-washy about what the next free Mochimochi Land pattern should be. I’ve narrowed it down to two worthy candidates: Grass and Happy Cross.

Both could be interpreted as Easter-themed, and thereby in season for the month of April.

Know your candidates:

knitgrass
Grass is a classic toy inspired by natural forms and modeled after the grass on the Mochimochi Land homepage.

happycross
Happy Cross looks great on a wall and is a requisite for optimistic Christians, cheerful ironists, and giddy vampire slayers alike.

Cast your vote in the comments to this post. The winner will be featured as a free pattern on Mochimochi Blog (and the loser might still turn up again in a different context someday).

The polls are now open!

Sarah Vowell’s Radio On – A Review of the First 45 Pages

Posted on by Anna

radioon

This week I’m reading Radio On, a “listener’s diary” by Sarah Vowell. Normally, I try to avoid books with the words “memoir” or “diary” in the subtitle – I think it’s because I kept a diary once, so I’ve been there, and it wasn’t particularly insightful or compelling.

But I was willing to make an exception for Sarah Vowell because she’s cute – her voice is a squirrelly cross between a five-year-old and a kindly ancient grandmother – and her little pop-history stories on This American Life are usually entertaining. Plus, Radio On appealed to me because I’m interested in most anything about media.

I’m actually becoming less keen on Sarah the further I get into Radio On. It’s largely about Kurt Cobain (Sarah admits this herself – the book was written in 1995), but even more about how no one really understood Kurt except for Sarah, and how anyone who even dared allude to Kurt in 1995 was a first-class imbecile. Also, how much NPR sucks. This is a little ironic, since most of Sarah Vowell’s fans know her from listening to NPR, but she’s just so cool and non-elitist that she can disdain the (completely harmless) daily news program All Things Considered at the same time that her stories receive airtime on it every once in a while.

In the end, I’m probably less disappointed in Sarah than I am embarrassed for her. I think I was hoping for something in a tone closer to her “This American Life” segments – a clever, somewhat distanced narrative take on a historical and cultural tool. Instead, she sounds like a wordy high schooler who is into progressive politics and music you’ve probably never heard of before.

But that’s just the first 45 pages. Fingers are crossed that it gets better!!

Evolving Punk

Posted on by Anna

evolvingpunk1

Evolution is still a pretty radical idea – just ask this little Evolving Punk. He recently made the big step onto dry land from the primordial ooze of a dirty toilet.

If you haven’t cleaned your bathroom lately, now might be a good time.

Here is his little evolving backside:

evolvingpunk2

Easter Comes Early

Posted on by Anna

TWO Easter surprises in the mail today!

First, from my darling big sis, an sweet little package full of traditional Easter goodies: an egg-dying kit, cocoa Peeps bunnies and the perennial Easter frog.

easterbox

Yes, according to my sister, there was an abundance of frogs inhabiting the Easter aisle at her local supermarket…. Any explanation for this? Anyway, thanks, Sis!

And secondly, it seems that my overuse of the caps lock has finally paid off. TWO new Labbits arrived in the mail, thanks to my pushover of a husband – the white Labbit Pack B and his adorable Easter Labbit cousin!

labbits

Just look at his bubble gum – so sweet! And the other one thinks he’s an Easter egg. They each came with three more things to chew on.

Speaking of Easter, I was thinking that the next free pattern might be grass (you know – Easter grass), based on the new grass buddies on the homepage. We’ll see….

littlegrass

Site Launch Coming Soon!

Posted on by Anna

Just a couple more agonizingly long days until the official debut of Mochimochi Land!

The charmingly befuddled Uh-Ohs will be the first pattern available in the shop.

uh-ohs_comingsoon

If you would like to know the instant it’s available, please email info[at]mochimochiland[dot]com to receive a notice.

waitingmochis

See you in Mochimochi Land!