Duck, Duck, Gosling!

So this pattern is actually for a duckling (Bird in Hand pattern from Family Circle Easy Toys: 25 Delightful Creations to Knit and Crochet (Family Circle) by Trisha Malcolm), but with the grey color I've chosen it looks more like a gosling.

I found this yarn in a bin at a local art store, it was the only yarn that they carried (they mostly supply painters). There were no tags, and the ends of many of the yarns were in a snarl that required cutting to get them out. I thought it was worth the $2 per ball, and I purchased two (one for a future hedgehog). I therefore do not have any information on the colorway or the brand that I used. The yarn is a gradient of white and three shades of grey.

It is difficult to see the definition of stitches with this yarn. Fixing a dropped stitch is a nightmare...

I knit the body with size 5 double pointed needles (even though the pattern was knit flat). The pattern instructions were great, but I was initially confused about the finishing. I didn't see where I was going to have to sew up the bird. Turns out... this fabric is double knit! The pattern didn't mention this at all, but I realized it by reading another person's comments on rav.

The "pouch" of the project that will be stuffed at the end, leaving the project seamless.

For the beak, I used orange fingering weight wool that I had dyed for the dinky penguins (redder orange). I used size 3 double pointed needles and a single width of the fingering weight wool. It ended up being double knit but flat, and I curved it so it would look more like a beak as I was sewing it to the head.

I love the little guy! I was thinking I was done after I finished the body, but I forgot about the wings!

The gosling without wings. I thought the picture on the right was particularly cute. Due to the amount of fluff, I thought it was complete without wings!

When making toys, I tend to not pay attention to gauge unless I am required to use different size needles and different yarns. The finished size: 5 inches long, 2 inches wide (body), 6 inch wingspan. I did decide to skip the feet... I loved him too much already!

View from the top.

He's so fluffy and cute, like a little ball of feathers.