It’s hard to deny the cuteness of penguins in handknit sweaters, which explains the social media traction of those articles asking knitters to make sweaters for penguins affected by oil spills. Of course, the actual need for those itty-bitty sweaters has been debunked – most of the sweaters either end up unused or on stuffed penguins, the sales of which do tend to benefit wildlife charities. Still, I’d rather donate directly to charity and save my crafting time for other pursuits.

Like knitting wee penguins!

Teeny-tiny mochimochi penguin

A couple of years ago, I bought the book Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi: More Than 40 Itty-Bitty Minis to Knit, Wear, and Give, with the idea of knitting some holiday-themed itty-bitty toys to donate to our school’s holiday bake and craft sale. I never made anything, though, because I never seemed to have the right yarn available.

Then a couple of weeks ago, I hopped into a new craft store on my side of town. They sell a little yarn, a little fiber, and a few other things – including little Mochimochi kits. I couldn’t resist the wee penguin kit, which came with the pattern and enough yarn to make three penguins.

a handful of teeny penguins

This was a super-gratifying quick-knit palate-cleanser type project after finishing Little Buddha’s sweater last week. I am usually bad about finishing stuffies – I tend to stall out at the finishing (the stuffing, or the seaming, or the embroidering). But these are so tiny and fast that it was almost impossible to stall out.

wee penguins in a row

They didn’t turn out perfect, not by a long shot, but they are so little and so whimsical that it doesn’t really matter to me.

I see a lot more tiny mochimochi in my future.