New Pattern: Duck Hat!

You know you need a duck for next winter.

Because airplaning is so much more fun in a hat that flies with you.

This slightly nonsensical hat starts at the earflaps and works its way up. The wings and head are knit separately and sewn on. The legs and feet are picked up from the provisional earflap cast on and worked down. 

You'll need tan, green, brown, blue, white, orange, and yellow worsted-weight yarn. I used Cascade 220. You'll also need size 7 circular and double-pointed needles, a tapestry needle, stitch markers, a piece of 9 x 12 tan craft felt, and some toy stuffing for the head.

Buy the pattern on Ravelry! (No account needed.)

I love ombre.

And cupcakes. Case in point: 

Pretty, right?

I like to class up the usual barbeque.

Oh, you didn't know I sew, too?

Well, I do:

I made a baby quilt for my favoritest baby ever. My mom got this fantastic quilt pattern called Animal Alphabet, and it was so wonderful that I knew I had to have it, too. 

I got a new (badly needed) sewing machine for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. It can do free-motion quilting, which is something my starter machine could only dream of. Naturally, I promptly made a free-motion-quilted quilt.

With five of the cutest animals from the pattern. I enlarged them a bit to make them more awesome.

Free-motion quilting has a really steep learning curve. There may or may not be a couple of spots around the iguana that are less awesome than the rest of the quilt.

I did not point those out when I gifted the quilt.

But I don't think it matters, anyway. It's ridiculously cute. I kind of thought about keeping it for myself, but as I no longer require tummy time, it seemed silly. Next for the new machine: a swimsuit. Oooh, ambitious, I know. What is a new sewing machine for, if not epic failure? We'll see how it turns out. For now, wine and knitting. Just for a change of pace.