UK magazine Knit Today just published a really nice feature about the Tiny Perching Pigeon Party that I did with Stitch London in June. Check it out in the September issue!
It brought back memories of a fantastic trip. A big thank-you to Marie Parry for this!
Just added to the Mochimochi Shop!
What do a gnome, a frog, a stack of pancakes, and a trash can have in common? The answer is completely nothing, and that’s what makes the newest Tiny Things pattern collection so much random cute fun.
I chose four of my favorite designs from my ongoing Tiny series for this new pattern collection. All use fingering weight yarn and size 1 double-pointed needles, and the simple techniques include picking up stitches and I-cord.
As always, if you’re in a not-so-tiny mood, these projects can be scaled up easily by using thicker yarn and larger needles.
You can buy the PDF pattern collection for $5 here!
Interested to learn about how I design all of my patterns? You can hear me talk about my design process on episode 72 of the YarnCraft podcast, which went live today. (Spoiler alert: I way prefer experimentation and frogging over swatching and math!)
The podcast also includes interviews with designers Margaret Hubert and Kristin Omdahl—very different designers, very different processes!
Thank you for the interview, Zontee!
I was glad that yesterday’s little guessing game wasn’t over right as soon as it started, but it still didn’t take long for tess b to guess the four Tiny Things that will be in the next pattern collection. (Nice job, tess b!) Here they are, revealed!
These four patterns are some of my personal favorites from all of the Tinys that I’ve designed over the past year, so I’m excited to get the patterns out there for everyone to use. I chose these four to go together because of their sheer randomness (I love nonsensical groupings!) and the way that they each incorporate very different designs and techniques.
The pattern collection will be available in the Mochimochi Shop very soon!
Just a reminder that I will be at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in NYC tomorrow (Tuesday, July 27th) for a book signing at 6 pm!
All the toys from Knitting Mochimochi will be there for you to test-hug, and there will also be some fun raffle prizes. See you there!
I am told that the Knit Picks Podcast with my interview with Kelley Petkun is now up!
I had a great toy-knitting conversation with Kelley, who had some neat ideas of her own about what to do with Mochimochi toys. It was fun! (I’m not in the mood for cringing at my own voice this morning, so I’m not going to listen to it myself just yet.)
The Knitting Mochimochi release party on Sunday at Brooklyn General was so much fun! I didn’t know what to expect, since many people are out of town on July weekends, but I was pleasantly surprised by the steady stream of friends and new faces.
I got a little practice signing books, which is still kind of strange to me. It feels like a mixture of vandalism and middle-school yearbook signing. (“Stay sweet!”)
The best part was seeing people’s in-person reactions to the toys in the book. They were mostly of the “cuuute” variety (with one or two “huh?”s thrown in for good measure), and Grouchy Couch and the Feet Eaters seemed to get the most attention.
Thank you to Brooklyn General for hosting, and to everyone who turned out!
If you missed the party, next I will be at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio on July 27th (Tuesday) at 6 pm for a book signing. I can’t wait!
Knitting Mochimochi has now been out for just about two weeks, and I’ve been overwhelmed (in a very good way) with all the attention it’s been getting in knitting magazines and around the web! That will probably all quiet down pretty soon, but in the meantime, here are two more nice features, both of which involve giveaways of the book!
CRAFT has been a very big part of my life since I started knitting toys in 2006. Not only do I turn to their blog every day for crafty inspiration and amusement, but they have also been instrumental in my design work. They featured my knitted toys online way back in early 2007, when I first began blogging, and since then they’ve published three of my patterns in addition to regularly featuring my designs.
So now I am thrilled that Natalie at CRAFT has just reviewed Knitting Mochimochi on the CRAFT blog!
My favorite line from the review:
This book is a perfect companion for the summer knitter as you could finish a cute project in no time (beach knitting!) and hand it off right away for a child or child-at-heart to enjoy.
Along with the review, Natalie asked me a few questions about writing Knitting Mochimochi—it was fun to share some thoughts about it with her. And CRAFT is giving away two copies of the book! To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment over on the review post on the CRAFT blog by noon PST this Wednesday.
Another two-book giveaway is also underway at Kathryn Ivy!
If you’re not already a reader, Katheryn Ivy is the website of Alice and Grace Schnebly, sisters who share their knitting expertise through reviews of books and yarn and their own line of patterns. They also have both test knitted patterns for me, so they are extremely familiar with my designs. (Check out these gorgeous Pile-able Pups made by Grace!)
I was really happy to be interviewed for their blog, especially because they asked me such great questions, including “What is your personal style?” (For years I had been secretly wishing someone would ask me that question someday!)
They’re also giving away two copies of Knitting Mochimochi, one through their blog and one through Twitter—check out their post to find out how to enter. (The deadline is noon PST this Friday.)
Thank you to Natalie and CRAFT, and thank you Alice and Grace!