Let’s see who’s making an appearance today!

discosmurf’s groundhog Top Hat seems proud to be king of his mound of dirt.

His mound seems a little less thrilled by it all.

beforesunrise’s Murray (named after Bill, of course), also doesn’t seem to be afraid of a thing this morning.

He even invited a few friends over!

teaYarnly’s Godfrey forgot what day it was!

Huuuh?

But it’s not all springlike predictions from our groundhogs this year.

Godfrey the First at chez Mochimochi spent a few quiet minutes contemplating his shadow…

And giolou’s little guy woke up to quite a frightening sight!

A big thank-you to discosmurf, beforesunrise, and teaYarnly for testing the pattern. I hope we see lots more Godfreys pop up year round!

I was trying to do something with knitted bunny heads over the weekend, and feeling a little frustrated with it. At one point, in my exasperation, I sacrificed a bunny head to one of the drawer pulls on my desk. It popped right on!

The backs of the plastic eyes kind of get in the way, but if I replace those with yarn eyes, I bet it would make a pretty good pull. So maybe I’ll make more to gussy up my desk.

A good friend of mine loves all holidays, but she especially loves a certain holiday that’s coming up soon. She requested a toy with a theme of this holiday about two years ago, and this year I finally got around to making her toy. I loved it so much that I also made a pattern for it. What is it?

Here’s a hint: The holiday does not begin with a V.

Here’s another hint:

The pattern is coming soon to the Mochimochi Shop!

The last day of the year came sooner than I expected!

It’s fun to think about new beginnings and adventures to come in the new year, whether or not the word “resolution” is involved. I for one am going to try to be more daring in the kitchen, trying out new recipes and ingredients more often. (I have pretty neutral feelings about cooking, so it seems worth a try.)

As for things knitting-related, I’m thinking about new patterns, of course, and maybe some more artsy-experimental stuff too. I’m also considering trying out PDF pattern sales through Ravelry. Before I start uploading, though, I would love to hear how people have found buying patterns through Ravelry, which I’m sure many of you have done. I would also love to hear from designers who sell their patterns through Ravelry—any problems with it or concerns? I would greatly appreciate comments left to this post, or you can also email me at info@mochimochiland.com.

Thanks in advance for your input, and Happy New Year!