Thank you all again for your fantastic photos in this year’s Mochimochi Photo Contest! I couldn’t help thinking that this year’s batch of entries (more than 500 of them!) were the best ever, but that would probably sound corny, so I won’t bother.

John and I just spent hours going through all of the photos, and after much deliberation, we managed to selected 20 photos to be our semifinalists. We’ll be announcing those soon, and you will get a chance to root for your favorites before the big final vote.

But first! There were so many other great entries that we have two batches of honorable mentions that we want to acknowledge for their cuteness and cleverness. We hereby honorably mention these first ten photos, in no particular order:

Squirrel & beetle by giolou

This Squirrel on Wheels seems to have found a role model. Let’s hope he doesn’t fall off on a sharp turn!

silly pencil! by estars 100

This Petit Pencil thinks he’s a real master of disguise.

Floating Woodins by Irina Yuzhina

It’s a little-known fact that Woodins win every four years in the synchronized floating competition in Mochimochi Land.

Trick or treat!!!!! by fullerenedream

Rainycloud and friends dress up like a family of spooky ghosts for Halloween. Love the holes cut for all those eyes!

Hugs and Squoze in the wild by John and Caroline Wise

If Hugs and Squoze got lost in the wilderness, at least they’ll be sure to keep warm!

Tiny Pancakes meet their match by cupcakefields

This yummy stack’s best defense mechanism is a bunch of beady little eyes! But those may not save them this time…

Tropical Tiny Perching Pigeon by Margaritas8

This exotic bird says hands off her fruit!

Arsenal slither victory over slippery competition! by ottersaregreat

I’d hate to be the guy who has to clean the field after this slimy match. (Love the attention to detail!)

Loitering with intent (3) while admiring the view by mrsdoepper

Even city pigeons can pause to appreciate the beauty of nature. (Although they’re probably also conspiring to poop on someone’s head.)

Snowmen Ornaments by yarngirl69

These snowmen have been ready for Christmas since October, so they’re beginning to feel a little light-heading from all that hanging!

Congratulations to all of these clever knitters! We’ll have the second batch of honorable mentions coming up shortly.

Today (Monday) is the last day to enter the 2010 Mochimochi Photo Contest! Upload your pics of Mochimochi Land projects to the Mochimochi Friends group on Flickr by midnight tonight to have them eligible for this year’s contest.

But if you’re a little behind, don’t worry! All photos added to the group after midnight tonight will be automatically entered in next year’s contest. So late photos are actually very early entries!

Needles ready? It’s now officially time to enter the 4th annual Mochimochi Photo Contest!

Once again, we’re looking for the cutest, funniest, most interesting photos of Mochimochi Land toys. All you have to do to enter is upload your photo(s) to the Mochimochi Friends group on Flickr by November 15th.

Winners will receive cute goodies from Japan and gift certificates from Mochimochi Land and Knit Picks, who are again generously sponsoring!

Eligibility

To be eligible, your photo must contain at least one knitted toy made from a Mochimochi Land pattern. This can be a pattern from the Mochimochi Shop, a pattern from Knitting Mochimochi, or one of the free patterns on the Mochimochi Blog. The pattern may be modified, but not beyond recognition from the original design.

How to enter

Simply upload your photo(s) to the Mochimochi Friends Flickr group. If you don’t have a Flickr account, it is free and easy to register (though we recommend signing up as soon as possible, because it takes a little time for your account to be approved for sharing photos in a group). You can upload as many photos as you want, within reason.

(All photos uploaded since the deadline of the 2009 photo contest last year are already entered in this year’s contest!)

Deadline

The last day to enter the contest is November 15th, 2010. We’ll announce the semi-finalists shortly thereafter here on the blog, then everyone will be able to vote for their favorites! So be sure to check the blog in November.

Prizes!

First place prize will be a bunch of cute goodies from Japan, a $25 gift certificate to the Mochimochi Shop, and a $50 gift certificate to Knit Picks (thank you Knit Picks!).

Second place prize will be a handful of cute goodies from Japan, a $15 gift certificate to Mochimochi Land, and a $10 gift certificate to Knit Picks.

Third place prize will be a $10 gift certificate to Mochimochi Land and a $10 gift certificate to Knit Picks.

So get those needles clicking and those cameras snapping!