Category: Mochimochi Land News

New Pattern: Computer Cat =^.^=

Posted on by Anna

I’m so excited to announce my newest Catside pattern: Computer Cat!

Computer Cat is a multitasker, working hard at getting comfy and deleting your progress at the same time. An inspiration to screen addicts everywhere!

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Now available as a PDF download AND in two kit options: fuzzy white and fuzzy surprise color!

The cat is a seamless knit that uses grafting to finish, and the computer is knit flat with intarsia colorwork for the screen, with some mattress-stitch assembly. The pattern includes five BONUS intarsia designs for the computer screen, along with three templates for you to create your own graphics.

This is a great project for scrap yarn, or get all the yarn and stuffing you’ll need with a kit. Featuring Chicago-based Gnome Depot Fiber Lion’s Mane Suri Lace (a baby alpaca/silk blend), the kit comes with yarn to make a computer and a fuzzy cat in white OR a fuzzy cat in a surprise hand-dyed color!

Computer Cat is modeled after a cat that appears in my picture book Catside Up, Catside Down: A Book of Prepositions, published by Feiwel and Friends. It makes a purrfect gift to go with the book!

Many thanks to Marilyn Passmore for her tech editing, and to Kristine Brandel for testing.

Also available on Ravelry!

Don’t make wars—make dinosaurs!

Posted on by Anna

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Just in time for dinosaur hatching season, the adorable Amy Apatosaurus is now available as a PDF pattern!

This Jurassic classic will melt your heart and stretch your knitting skills at the same time. You’ll curve her neck up with a little mattress stitch trick, then bend her head forward with a few wrap & turn short rows. Links to how-to videos are included to help you along the way.

Use any yarn you like (hand-dyed and variegated varieties are fun options) and corresponding needles for a pocket-sized dinosaur that knits up in an afternoon and will live forever in your heart. Samples shown are knit with fingering-weight WoolTribe Homegrown Sock yarn and size 1 double-pointed needles.

🦕 Now available from the Mochimochi Shop and Ravelry! Check out my bio for the links 🦕

The Amy pattern was originally released through the Knitrino app, which is a great place for tiny knitted dinos to be born. (Stay tuned for another new hatching there as well…😆)

You can see some adorable Amys already living their best lives over on Instagram—and tag your own Amy photos with #amyapato to join in! 🦕💕

Thank you to Marilyn Passmore for her tech editing help with this pattern!

Introducing Kitty Canes!

Posted on by Anna

UPATE: The Kitty Canes pattern is now available as a PDF download!

Introducing the 2023 Mochimochi Land holiday pattern: Kitty Canes!
They’re like candy canes…only with 100% more kitty 😻

Kitty Canes’ not-so-secret ingredient is a color-coordinated pipe cleaner that holds the I-cord tail in a twisty bend. Because the pipe cleaner is visible, and because different colorways are fun, we’ve created a limited number of kits for this pattern that let you knit THREE Kitty Canes in three color combos!

Each kit comes with an intermediate-level pattern (an instant download that you get right away), stuffing, and enough fingering-weight yarn to knit three Kitty Canes: Peppermint, Blueberry, and Raspberry.
You’ll need to provide a set of size 1 US (2.25mm) double-pointed needles and a tapestry needle.

Please note: orders placed Thanksgiving week will ship the week of 11/27.

Techniques include knitting in the round on double-pointed needles, I-cord, grafting stitches, picking up stitches, and and some simple embroidery. All key techniques (aside from basic circular knitting) are demonstrated in videos linked in the pattern.

🍬😻🍬🎄🍬😻🍬🎄🍬😻🍬

And yes, a standalone PDF pattern is coming soon too!

Introducing Inside Cat

Posted on by Anna

It’s cozy cat season, and ny newest pattern is all about getting cozy between the pages of a favorite book! Inside Cat will mark your place in the coziest possible way and offer snuggles when it’s reading time too. The pattern is now available for FREE as a surprise in the Deep Fall 2023 issue of Knitty!

I designed this project to be advanced-beginner friendly, incorporating I-cord, flat knitting, and a bit of circular knitting. Use whatever yarn you like and corresponding needle size—I used worsted-weight yarn (Tosh Vintage in GG Loves Speckles) and a set of size 5 US (3.75mm) double-pointed needles.

If you could use a little guidance, check out this YouTube video I made demonstrating all the key techniques used in the pattern.

Inside Cat was inspired by my new book, Catside Up, Catside Down, and I think it’ll make a sweet gift to accompany the book. In it, cats demonstrate different prepositions, and Inside Cat has a talent for such demonstrations: this stretchy, flat cat can be under, over, around, through, and a great number of other words beyond inside. Show us what preposition positions your Inside Cat is into by tagging your photos #mochimochiland !

This is my FOURTH pattern published in Knitty. (And my second cat pattern! 😸) Knitty means so much to me: early on in my career, Knitty founder Amy Singer exposed me to a community of knitters and encouraged me to pursue designing as a career path. 🥰
Knitty is a wonderful resource, especially as it’s free to everyone! And Knitty can also use your support if you are in a position to help keep this wonderful publication going.

Thank you to Amy, to Kate Atherley, and to everybody at Knitty!

The cat’s OUT of the bag 😺

Posted on by Anna

Catside Up, Catside Down is now on sale everywhere! To get my new book of cats and prepositions, just ask or it AT your local bookstore, or order it FROM your favorite website. If you placed a preorder, check INSIDE your mailbox!

This is my first-ever picture book. It’s a slightly scary thrill to finally have it out in the world. There’s a lot of me in this book—my goofy rhymes, my photography—and, of course, my more than 50 knitted cats! I hope the cute kitties will engage kids and charm grownups, and maybe inspire some people to make something with yarn.

Speaking of yarn, the yarns I used in this book came from all different makers and dyers, both big and small. Some of my favorites to work with were Madelinetosh (especially Tosh Vintage in GG Loves Speckles), Knit Picks Chroma, Sister Ananse Yarn’s mohair/silk blend, and quite a few selections from Hand Dyed Diva and Gnome Depot Fiber. They didn’t give me anything to mention them here—I just really like these yarns, and I’m so happy to have them be part of the book, too.

One of the best things about working on Catside Up, Catside Down was collaborating with people who made my ideas so much better. I’m grateful to incisive editor Anna Roberto, astute designer Mike Burroughs, and to my agent, Ammi-Joan Paquette, for believing in my whole deal and turning me into a children’s book author!

Finally, thank YOU for joining me on the Mochimochi Land adventure, where knitted toys have ended up doing all sorts of things. Your support makes a moment like this possible. (Now, keep it up and go buy my book please! 😸)

Oh, and watch out for a FREE Catside Up, Catside Down-themed pattern coming soon…

p.s. Local yarn stores can order Catside Up, Catside Down through Sommer Street Associates!

New “Hang in There” Cat kit!

Posted on by Anna

Exciting cat news: It’s a new “Hang in There” Cat kit! 😺

I’m thrilled to offer a limited number of these kits featuring custom yarn hand-dyed by Grace at Gnome Depot Fiber right here in Chicago. Grace and I worked together to come up with four sweet kitty colors to choose from: Orangey, Gray-y, Light Brown-y, and Party!

The kit comes with an advaced-beginner-level pattern (written in both flat and circular versions), lovely yarn to knit a cat, lovely yarn to cover a stick for your cat to hang from (and knit a leaf of two), polyester stuffing, plastic safety eyes, and… an authentic Chicago stick!

I recently taught a workshop using this cat kit at the Ann Arbor district library, and so many dangling cuties came out of it. It never ceases to delight me to see the same pattern (and even the same yarn) turn into such individual creatures in different knitters’ hands.

After all, we’re all “hang in there” cat sometimes, even though we may be grasping for different stuff.

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New Fumin’ Womb kits

Posted on by Anna

Update: You’ve helped us raise $980 for abortion funds so far—thank you! The money has gone to Chicago Abortion Fund and Roe Fund in Oklahoma. We’ll continue to send all proceeds from sales of the kit to these and other abortion funds.

We’ve got new Fumin’ Womb kits featuring Hand Dyed Diva yarn!

Show your unflagging support for reproductive rights by knitting a tiny angry uterus 😡

❤️ Half of the proceeds from sales go to abortion funds ❤️

The pattern was originally published (and still available for free!) in the Fall 2022 issue of Knitty. The HDD Homegrown Sock is the recommended yarn in the Knitty pattern—I love the bright, organic verve of this hand-dyed Pink Petunia!

We debuted these kits at YarnCon, where they sold out quickly! We sent half the proceeds to the Chicago Abortion Fund—along with proceeds from our Fumin’ Womb sticker, we raised $210 that weekend.

We’ve got a limited supply for now—get yours in the Mochimochi Shop!

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Craft Industry Alliance Podcast interview

Posted on by Anna

I recently had the honor of being interviewed on the Craft Industry Alliance podcast!

The podcast is hosted by Abby Glassenberg, co-founder and president of CIA. So Abby is a pretty big deal in the crafts industry, but I’ll always know her as a plush maker—back when I was working at gallery hanahou in NYC, Abby was one of the artists we invited to take part in our plush toy show! As I talk about on the podcast, that show was one of the big influences on my journey of knitting toys, and it shaped my thinking about plush toys as objects of art and design, and not just kids’ playthings. (Although toys made for kids are awesome too, of course!)

As I expected, Abby was really easy to talk to, so I hope that makes for an enjoyable listen. Thank you Abby and Craft Industry Alliance for having me on!