Adding to the Flock

I decided to try a little realism while making a recent plush. Sweetie's birthday was coming up, and he has a little collection of duck decoys.

I'd found this folk-art duck pattern at a thrift shop and thought it would be fun to make a stuffed decoy. 

I wasn't satisfied with the pattern as it was, so I flipped through the bird field-guide and couldn't resist trying to make this loon.

I reduced and re-drew the folk-art pattern to make it look more loon-like.

I'm so pleased with the results! Sweetie likes it, too.

And speaking of ducks, I finally stitched up this pre-printed duck I picked up awhile ago at Knittn' Kitten.

I love these pre-printed patterns, especially the sort of realistic looking ones. I buy them whenever I find them at thrift stores. The nice ones are rare enough that it's a bit of excitement when I find one.

There's something about this duck that is neat and strange at the same time. I'm saving the second one to use flat as an applique element. ('though it is tempting to sew up another one of these goofy ducks!)