FO Friday: Meet Jeffrey Duck

I officially finished my Easter animals this week :) Unfortunately, I didn't get to take pictures of my bunny, but you will definitely see him soon. In the meantime, meet Jeffrey Duck:

Look at his cute little face! I just love this guy.

Jeffrey was made from the Silly Duck pattern by Fuzzy Mitten. I used Red Heart Value Texture in a nice aqua color for the body, Caron Sayelle in baby yellow for the beak and feet, and accessorized with some light purple Red Heart Super Saver - all of these yarns were in my stash and were either given to me, cost a stupid cheap amount at a thrift store (the Sayelle was 25¢ for the full skein), or were purchased more than a decade ago (the purple has been around since I was sin high school ... yeah), so I'm pretty much counting this guy as free to make :) Hooray!

I did have a bit of trouble with the weight distribution, so he doesn't like to stand up unaided (thus the clothing shaver in the photo, lol). I love how all his colors look together and I just love his body shape! The textured yarn came out better than I had hoped. It's just fuzzy enough without being impossible to see any stitch definition. You can even see some of the ribbed design on the wings.

I love the pattern on the wings as it seems to aid in the wings holding their shape. I love posing them :) This is one of my favorite shots.

I waited until Barbara Prime put up a tutorial on how to attach the beak and feet and I am so glad I did! The tutorial for the feet is here and the beak is here. It made a huge difference in how these pieces look - I had already attached the beak, but I cut it off and did it again to make it look right. I also got to use my tiny pompom maker for the top of the hat :)

So, that's what I have to show this week :) I just love my little Easter buddies and I can't wait to show my bunny. Head over to Tami's Amis' Blog to see what other lovely things have been made this week!

Fuzzy Mitten April Featured Pattern: Silly Duck 1/2 Price!

This month's featured pattern from Fuzzy Mitten is the Silly Duck. It's so cute! Nice and springy too. For the rest of the month, this pattern will be half price (making it $1.50). I think I'll have to make myself a duck :)

I just wanted to let everyone know in case they would like to make one as well!

*I am in no way affiliated with Fuzzy Mitten and I get nothing for posting about this. It's just too cute not to share :)

Knitting Update: My Reversible Duck/Bunny!

After finishing my Wee Ones Elephant last weekend, I needed another project to keep me busy while my air conditioner was installed. I decided to troll around the Spud Says Blog Ravelry page because I knew that Susan B. Anderson had designed a bunch of cute free patterns for them when she ran the blog. I found this mini reversible toy and decided it would be the perfect quick project!

Awe look, it's a duck :) But it doesn't stop there! It also becomes...

A bunny! This little guy is only about 3.5" tall and it is actually two toys that tuck up inside each other. How cool is that?!

See? You just push the head up as you roll the hidden animal out and the other disappears inside.

This is the Mini-Reversible Duck to Bunny pattern. I used Cascade 220 Superwash in Daffodil and Orange for the duck (left over from my giraffe) and Aran for the bunny. The pattern didn't have wings for the duck, but I knew mine needed some so I used the directions for the feet and made them in yellow, but I decreased once at the end before I kitchener stitched. Also the bunny didn't have a tail! So I used the scraps from tying off the aran color and made a little pom pom. Now they are complete :) Their eyes and the bunny's nose are done with black embroidery floss. 

Everyone I have showed this to has loved it. It's gotten such a great response because it's reversible! This project was quick and easy and just so cute. I happen to have Susan B. Anderson's newest book Topsy Turvy Inside-Out Toys where all of the projects included are reversible, so this project really made me excited to make one of the patterns in this book!

This is my first knitted animal that wasn't assisted by a Craftsy class and I am really pleased with how well it went. I definitely feel confident that I can tackle other knitted toy patterns now :) Plus I can flip this guy back and forth in the meantime, so how can that be bad? :)

Crochet Update: Meet Maynard the Mallard!

I was so excited when my little sister said she wanted me to pick out some crochet patterns for my birthday and this pattern was one of the first that I snagged :) I've wanted to make it ever since I first saw it! Without further ado, meet Maynard :)

This pattern was designed by one of my "online friends" - you know, one of those people you have commented on briefly and gotten a nice response from and who you see all their projects as they make them but never actually have a real conversation :) Her name is HollieJolly Designs and we know each other through the FreshStitches group on Ravelry. Hollie only recently made the jump from amigurumi maker to designer and I LOVE all her designs so far :) This mallard was my favorite.

 The pattern is Drake the Mallard Duck, available on Ravelry for instant download. For my mallard, I happaned to have all the right colors already in my stash from other animals! I used Vanna's Choice yarn in Kelly Green (the head), Mustard (the beak and feet), and Linen (the main grayish body color) along with Everyday Soft Worsted in Chocolate (for the chest) and Black(for the tail and a scrap piece of Red Heart Super Saver in White for the neck and tail.

 Isn't his little tail cute? I know it's hard to see in the photo, but the tip is white.

And look at the little feet! lol The flop just perfectly - love it!

And how could you not love his inquisitive little duck face? As far as the pattern goes, it is really well done :) The only problems I had were from total user error. I've had a raging sinus infection while I made this (seriously the worst one I've ever had in my life) and somehow I made his body too short. I still don't know how I did that! I didn't notice until I had made the wings and went to attach them - they were at least 5 rows longer than the body. Yikes! Since the body was already finished off and stuffed, I just pulled out the excess rows on the wings until they were an appropriate length and lined up with the tail. No problem!

So, next time I won't make this guy while I'm sick :) Lesson learned. I really love this pattern and love how it came out. Thanks Hollie for such a sweet mallard pattern!