I’m very excited to announce that I will be at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in NYC July 27th for a Knitting Mochimochi book signing!
Like other visitors to the Lion Brand Yarn Studio, I am in love with the beautiful space, and so I can’t wait to be there with the full collection of toys from my new book.
I’ll be there at 6 pm on Tuesday, July 27th, so please come by if you’re in the city! There will also be raffle drawings—fun! See more info on the Lion Brand Yarn Studio website.
A few people have kindly pointed out some small mistakes in Knitting Mochimochi, and I’m listing the corrections here.
If you think you found a mistake, or if you just have a question about one of the patterns, you can email me anytime at info [at] mochimochiland [dot] com. I will keep updating this page.
Page 19: Gauge, Step 3
In first two sentences of Step 3, the “bigger” and “smaller” are reversed. They should read:
If your stitch/row counts are significantly smaller than in the given gauge, switch to a smaller-sized needle and try again.
If your stitch/row counts are significantly bigger than in the given gauge, you have a couple of options.
Page 47: Confused Moose
The pattern mentions “larger needles” and “smaller needles,” but you should just use the same needles throughout.
Page 59: Pigs with Wigs
Rounds 34 and 35 say to knit; the instruction for these two rounds should instead be “work as est.”
Page 69: Orbiting Oddity
In the second column, instructions for Rounds 31 and 33 are missing. They are both Knit rounds.
Page 71: Grouchy Couch, Base
At the end of the second column/beginning of third column, there is an incorrect stitch count. Corrected sentence:
Next rnd: With MC, k38, then BO remaining 82 sts, and BO the last st using first st of rnd.
Page 74: Grouchy Couch schematics
A measurement is missing from the Back piece: The full length of the piece measures 9-3/4″.
Page 103: Love Muff, Lining
At the end of the Lining instructions (beginning of third column), the bind off instructions are missing. To finish, bind off all of the stitches.
Later on the page, in the Feet section, a note about the needles is missing. You should use the smaller needles to work the Feet.
Page 109: Feet Eaters, Large Face
The stitch count is off in Rnd 19—you should have 76 stitches at the end of the round, not 80.
Page 119: Micro Mountains, Finishing
In the second column, a note is missing that tells you to stuff the piece before sewing up the cast-on edge.
Page 127: Petite Pencil
The pattern skips from Rnd 28 to Rnd 30. Rnd 30 should be numbered Rnd 29, and so on.
Page 130: Design your own knitted toy, 4. Number It
The last paragraph of the first column is missing a page reference. Corrected sentence:
(See the section on gauge on page 19.)
For those of you who live in my area (NYC), I have an exciting little update about the Knitting Mochimochi Release Party that will happen at Brooklyn General July 11th—that’s next Sunday!
Bring some yarn and double-pointed needles (worsted-weight yarn and size 5 or 6 dpns are recommended), and you can make a Bite-Free Bed Bug from the book!
The pattern will be available to anyone who comes, and you will be welcome to get knitting on it right there. Of course I’ll be there to answer any questions about the book and give tips on toy knitting. Should be fun!
The event is free and no signup or RSVP is needed. Just come anytime between 2 and 6 pm!
So today is finally the release date of Knitting Mochimochi! I’ve been anticipating it for so long that it doesn’t seem quite real to me. It’s been so great to hear from many of you who have been receiving your copies in the mail (thank you for pre-ordering!), and I’ve also heard from a few people who have gone into brick-and-mortar bookstores and have found my book there too—somehow, I find that hard to believe! I’ll have to venture out to my local bookstore soon too to see if I can find it on the shelf.
If you are thinking about getting the book but haven’t yet, you may have noticed that signed copies are also now available right here in the Mochimochi Shop! These books only ship to US addresses (sorry!), but if you live outside the US and MUST have a signed copy, send me an email (to info[at]mochimochiland[dot]come) and we can arrange it.
And you also have one more chance to win a copy of the book! Kristen of Schmancy (the awesome vinyl and plush toy store in Seattle) has just posted a little interview with me on the Plush You! blog. She included this dorky picture she took of me last month when she was in town.
Kristen has played a big role in my design work in the past few years—she has been a wonderful mentor, connection-maker, and motivator! So it means a lot to me that she is celebrating the release on her blog.
To enter the latest (and, as far as I know, the last) Knitting Mochimochi giveaway, leave a comment on Kristen’s post over at Plush You! with a suggestion of the next Tiny Thing that I should knit. (I can never get enough suggestions, so I will be reading them avidly!) You have until July 13th to enter!
A big thank-you to Kristen, and also to my publisher Watson-Guptill for being so generous with the giveaway copies!
More exciting Knitting Mochimochi news!
Whip Up just published a very nice review of my book—I was so happy to read it, because they are always on the cutting edge in crafting.
My favorite sentence from the review:
When I first saw Knitting Mochimochi, all that I could say was “squee!”, a high pitched “awwwww!” and that chubby cheek kind of noise that people make when they squoosh the cheeks of a gorgeous baby, a bit like “woodgewoodgewoodge”.
Along with the review, which was written by their contributor Kate, they are giving away a copy of the book! To enter, leave a comment on the post over at Whip Up telling them about “the craziest, funniest, and impractical thing you have every made.” (I wonder where they got that idea!) You have to act fast, though—they’re picking a winner 48 hours after the post went up, and it looks like it was published early on June 28th, Australia time.
Thank you so much to Kate and Whip Up!
Are you in the NYC area? If so, please come to Brooklyn General on July 11th for the Knitting Mochimochi release party!
I’ll be at the store from 2 to 6 pm along with the full cast of characters from the book, so you can pat them and hug them and decide which you’re going to knit first.
Bring some yarn and double-pointed needles (worsted-weight yarn and size 5 or 6 dpns are recommended), and you can make a Bite-Free Bed Bug from the book!
The pattern will be available to anyone who comes, and you will be welcome to get knitting on it right there. Of course I’ll be there to answer any questions about the book and give tips on toy knitting. Should be fun!
It would mean a lot to me to see people there. PLUS two days later is my birthday, and having a fun little release party would be the best present ever.
If you haven’t been to Brooklyn General before, it’s about time that you did! They are housed in an old general store (hence the name), and they carry yarn, fabric, and other cool crafty stuff. The closest subway station is Carroll St in Brooklyn—just a short trip from Manhattan on the F line.
No signup or RSVP is needed—just come anytime between 2 and 6 pm. Hope to see you on July 11th!
Update: The Tiny Perching Pigeon Party was featured in Londonist! (Thanks, m@!)
I just had the best time making Tiny Perching Pigeons with Stitch London!
About 40 London knitters turned out to this evening’s Tiny Perching Pigeon Party at St James’ Park. I was wowed by how many brought multiple pigeons already finished, and all the many variations were a riot to see.
After a couple of hours of knitting and chatting, we all paraded over to Trafalgar Square with our feathered friends to replace the pigeons that were chased out a few years ago. (Feeding them is now banned in the square and surrounding areas.) No one seemed to object to our temporary flock of cuties, fortunately—although we certainly got the attention of some tourists.
Once in place, the pigeons all got their picture taken by the group.
After the photo shoot, most knitters took their birds home to cozy captivity. I’m planning to set a few of my own free in the city and in other parts of England that my mom and I travel to this week.
Thank you to everyone who made pigeons and contributed to this fun display of knitted cuteness in all shapes and sizes. And a HUGE thank-you to Deadly Knitshade and Stitch London for arranging the pigeon-perfect party!
If you haven’t seen it yet, Knit Picks is giving away two copies of Knitting Mochimochi on their blog! To enter, just leave a comment on their post about it.
Knit Picks staffer Stacey wrote up the nicest post about the book and my designs. It’s so great to have the enthusiasm of a yarn company, and the comments that people have been leaving are just amazing—as of my writing this, there exactly 700 comments! I can hardly believe it, but you CAN believe that I’ve read every one of them. I’m so touched (and a bit bewildered) by the response!