Home › Posts tagged Mochimochi
Tag: Mochimochi

by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

Apologies for not posting last week, it was, well, a week. A week on top of a month on top of a year.

If it wasn’t for the fact I have my hopes pinned on a number of upcoming events, I would start declaring ‘roll on 2023!’

My health has been an ongoing issue, its my lungs, and now also my nose. I genuinely don’t know how my sister Rabbie put up with the near constant nose bleeds she used to get as a child… The problem has been identified, (I never want a camera shoved up my nose and down my throat ever, ever again!) and although minor, it does mean surgery at some point ahead.

Surgery where they have to knock me out. I don’t like being unconscious on an operating table, but I was laughed at when I enquired about just having a local maybe…?

But this isn’t the straw that broke the camel’s back. What finished me off was the frantic and panicked news from my mother in law that the had been burgled. The only thing taken was the car keys and the car itself, but it’s given us all a good fright and has caused a lot of upset and toppled a lot of plans.

The insurance has coughed up a temporary car after many, many phone calls, and after many more explaining why an elderly couple required children’s seats, managed to get that sorted to.

Bless, my mother in law was still upset though that out of everything that was lost in the car, the seat belt covers I had knit years and years ago we’re lost and couldn’t be replaced.

Cant be replaced? Ha!

She was very happy to receive these!

Now, the post I meant to post last week, was about the cute and demanding Princess Poppy. I’ve explained the story before about how this 14 year old cranky sweetheart arrived, and how a few hearts where broken in her wake, so I decided to make these:

Want to see them with the princess herself?

And with that, I shall bid you farewell. Its been a very fun but hectic weekend just gone, and there’s much more fun and chaos planned for the one coming up!

Until next post, stay safe!

Starting total – 843

Wool used – 35 (1 since last post)
Wool bought – 34 (Engel took pity on me and bought me 11 balls of wool, four of which are particularly soft and squishy!)
Wool given to me – 16
Wool gifted to others – 1
Wool handspun – 3

Total – 861 (Net difference: +17 – maybe I should just give up on the wool count this year…)

Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

What can I say? It’s coming up to my favourite holiday and I am definitely getting in the spooky mood!

Heres one of my projects currently on the needles (I know I don’t generally share WIPs but I’m quite proud of how this MKAL has gone!)

The pattern is 100% That Witch by Brittany Westmorland – it’s a MKAL that’s currently running on Ravelry and I’m actually running two weeks behind as my needles were in another project. I’ve also deviated from the pattern in a few places (I can’t help it!) but I’m really enjoying how it’s come out so far!

Now, here’s one of my latest super cute and completed spooky knits:

Isnt this pumpkin kitty adorable?! The pattern is Jack-o-Cat by Anna Hrachovec (Mochimochiland) and is part of her Spooky Ookie Cats set – look out for more coming in the future!

Now, Mochimochiland is running a competition based on spooky photos involving her designs, and Inkling has come up with a rather amazing idea when I was taking the above photo. I’ve collected all the things I need, including 14 new balls of wool, and it’s a race against time to see if I can make his idea happen to submit it for the contest!

If not, still expect cute photos at some point in the future!

Speaking of future, I am still waiting on the go ahead for two finished knitting projects and one sewing project to share with you all…sigh…soon I hope, soon!

In other news it’s been a bit of a week. The lurgy has hit the house making small chores seem like mountains to climb, and on top of that, Lockdown came rushing in Wednesday night dripping blood everywhere. Turns out something bit his tail and it’s tooth punctured clean through it.

Emergency day off work Thursday and off to the vets for first appointment of the day – antibiotics, painkillers, anti-inflammatory meds, cone of shame and house arrest have been prescribed for my ginger trouble maker, and fingers crossed when he goes to the vets tomorrow (Monday) they will decide the wound has healed enough with no permanent nerve damage and he won’t have to get it amputated…

Not sure who would be more upset about that, myself, the kids, or him. I suspect myself mainly.

Other than some gardening and Felix going to her first sleepover (they grow so fast!) not much else has happened really. On that note, I’m going to get back to knitting Inklings amazing idea and keep an eye on Lockdown who is having a little break from his cone so he can groom himself…I don’t trust him at all however…

Wool Count

Starting total – 897

Wool used – 131 (1 this week!!)
Wool bought – 49
Wool given to me – 47
Wool gifted to others – 4
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 863 (Net total of 21 down! Curses! I will claw that number back!!!)

Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

Thats not the most burning question, really, it’s actually:

Which looks cutest? Just shorn, growing back in or time for shearing? (Left to right)

Need more cuteness to help with the decision?

Just look at those faces!

These are all knit with the same needles and same pattern (the one used the other week – Tiny Alpaca! by Anna Hrachovec) but with different fluffy/textured wool and it has affected the size, shape and cuteness by a lot!

I’m curious to know which is your favourite? I’ll reveal later which one actually won out for my grand alpacalypse plan!

Been a busy week (isn’t every week these days?) and have just got back from seeing friends at the zoo, and I am physically and socially worn out from it! We all had a ball – Felix was super excited to see a leopard up close and Inkling had a bonding moment with a gibbon who was as curious of him as he was of it! And for me it was all about the ring tailed lemur, which due to Covid, meant that the walkthrough enclosure was currently closed. Turns out lemurs are susceptible to human respiratory illnesses and that includes Covid.

The things you never knew!

Oh! We also saw a pair of vicunas today (the smallest of the camelidae family and the wild ancestor to what we know of as the modern alpaca) with a fleece that is super fine and soft but can only be sheared every three years…and was of great value to the Incas to the point only royalty could wear things made from their fleece…If it went for the electric fence…

More things you never knew!

So with that, I shall leave it till next and until then, stay safe!

(Oh, and in case your wondering, I have three projects – 1 sewn and 2 knitted I can’t reveal quite just yet but hopefully soon! Until then, expect more alpacas. Or llamas. They appear to have become interchangeable in this house and I haven’t quite had the heart to sit everyone down and go through what exactly separates the two species!)

Wool Count

Starting total – 897

Wool used – 130 (2 this week!!)
Wool bought – 35
Wool given to me – 47
Wool gifted to others – 4
Wool handspun – 11

Total – 863 (Net total of 34 down! Or 45 if I don’t count the handspun, cause it was fleece in the stash anyway…it’s just changed form…what are your thoughts?)

Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 1 Comment

It’s been an interesting week, half term and being in furlough for half a week meant I got up to a lot of mischief with the kids. Well, as much as you can given the current time of plague.

There’s been baking, bike rides, dancing, colouring and painting, building dens and other activities. Between this, I managed a little spinning (need more for my big project, it’s eating the handspun!) and a bit of penguin knitting. Yes, they are still marching.

I do however have one new knit to show, a little good bye and good luck gift for a colleague whom I’ve worked with on and off for eight years…

This is Cat in a Life Preserver by Anna Hrachovec, in this case, the black cat is for the fact that she gave me the loveable kitty Dashie, the life preserver as it’s joked that when it rains we need them for our work, and a little four leaf clover for good luck.

I left that in her desk and in exchange, she left me a bag of her collies hair, which I had mentioned I wanted to try and spin. And I have. But more on that next week!

Wool Count

Starting total – 897

Wool used – 16 (2 this week)
Wool bought – 0
Wool given to me – 0
Wool gifted to others – 1
Wool handspun – 4

Total – 884

Tagged with: , , , , ,

by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

The weather has been bitterly cold as of late, to the point the duck pond near us has completely frozen over. As such, I have been going through our stock of tea like crazy!

It’s been a quiet week all told. Work is quiet, so much so near all of us are on part time furlough – feels strange only doing three day weeks but I imagine I will quickly enjoy it! It will also give me a chance to do all those jobs round the house I have put off all winter, as it’s been too cold or wet…

Chinese New year, usually a big occasion, was also quiet. Felix, upon seeing her red envelope, was initially excited, before stating “Oh, it’s lockdown. There won’t be the dragon parade or dancing lions”. After speaking with Rabbie, it was decided that if there is no official dragon parade, then we will have our own! It’s amazing what Engel can produce with cardboard, fabric and a glue gun! The kids decorated his creation, and with some red fabric, we had our own parade!

It was chaos, and there was more falling over laughing than parading, but it was so nice to hear laughter! There was also Skype calls with both Engels family, and my own, and it was actually really nice.

Felix’s best friends birthday is today, and we arranged a small meeting at the park to exchange presents and let the kids fun around. The cold kept the visit short, and we all welcomed hot showers, fluffy pyjamas and tea when we got in!

Which leads me to this week’s knitting news – part of the gift given today!

A striped butterfly hat and a tiny cup and saucer with milk and a biscuit. The latter part of that gift was actually a request she had given me three times so I figured her birthday was the perfect time to cave and make her it!

The pattern for the cup and saucer is Teacup and Saucer by Sarah Keen from her book ‘100 Little Knitted Projects’ and the cookie is a free mochimochi land pattern!

That’s all for this week, until next, stay safe!

Wool Count

Starting total – 897

Wool used – 14 (1 this week)
Wool bought – 0
Wool given to me – 0
Wool gifted to others – 0
Wool handspun – 4

Total – 887

Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

After the jealousy Crumble, Queen of the kitties in this house, showed towards the knitted Siamese flamingo float kitties, it was decided she needed her own knitted version.

But it wasn’t going to be as simple as just digging out some wool and following the pattern, oh no, Crumble needed, after also showing jealousy at the special Missy colourway that I dyed and hand spun, she needed her own tiny Crumble in her own Crumble colourway hand spun.

I only filled one bobbin with single ply, took it off on the ballwinder then made a 2 ply from that to create just one skein – that’s all I would need for one tiny knitted Crumble, right?

Engel commented that he couldn’t wait for his tiny Crumble for his desk at work. So, two tiny Crumbles.

Then Rabbis commented that the Crumble wool was just the perfect match of her friends mums cat who is going through a really hard time and maybe I could…?

And so, two Crumbles and a look a like where knitted in hands-on Crumble inspired wool and put into little boxes also knit from hand spun.

The Queen herself seemed somewhat surprised at the sudden appearance of so many tiny versions of herself, but they all received her sniff of approval. (For those asking, she is doing much better after her little fright and there’s been no long lasting restriction of movement to her back leg. She is still on double dinners though, and loving it).

Oh, and never let it be said that I don’t block! In this instance, Duplo blocks where just what was needed!

I have already begun spinning some wool (Suffolk texel dyed in beetroot and some more dyed with fresh coffee) to start getting ready for the next invasion of tiny kitties – Lockdown and Outbreak inspired ones!

In other knitting news, I finished a rather large challenge yesterday but need to get some good photos first – so you can see that next week!

In non knitting news, we did a Halloween trail today! My enthusiasm to life has increased drastically knowing that I can still have my Halloween – it’ll be different, like everything has been in 2020 – but it’s not cancelled!!!

Till next week, stay safe.

Wool Count

Starting total – 704

Wool used – 136 (3 this week)
Wool bought – 28 (There was a ‘yarncident’ and I ‘accidentally’ bought an adorable hand dyed mini skeins set to make myself something cute! 10 mini skeins in total)
Wool given to me – 303 (gained two, as well as half an old project and two bottles of cider as a thank you for repairing a person’s favourite hat…with some embellishment of course!)
Wool gifted to others – 8
Wool handspun – 16 (Up 1 with the Crumble wool)

Total – 901 (no change…)

Tagged with: , , , , , ,

by RoxyPosted on Posted in Knitting 2 Comments

During lockdown I have been tutoring my niece with her English and it’s not been easy. One of the optional Covid-19 activities her school set was to write a short story of 500 words beginning with one of four sentences you were given.

So to make things a bit more fun, I made it into a family competition. With prizes! Sadly her parents didn’t even bother but the rest of the family did, so that was something. We each read our story out loud (over Skype) and my niece picked the winner.

So first, the participation prizes!

Petite Pencil by Anna Hrachovec from her book “Knitting Mochimochi”

I made sure to make plenty!

And the main prize? This beauty!

Arthur by Anna Hrachovec from her book “Huge and Huggable Mochimochi”

In other knitting news, I’m still working through the Christmas knits! And despite all this knitting, I haven’t finished any whole balls of wool!

In non knitting news, Engel has been having issues with a tooth that got pulled – twice – by two different emergency dentists and they’ve made a mess of it. Note to everyone DIY dentistry is not pleasant or recommended. But after pulling 10 shards of tooth of varying sizes out of the hole, cleaning it out and landing it, it is finally beginning to heal! Hooray!

Till next week!

Tagged with: , , ,