Penguino Finito

I finished last night. She loves him. She's playing with his arms (wings? flippers?) here. She's doing that a lot, so I'm wondering how long it'll be until they need to be sewn on again. Honestly, cutesy knits are not my thing (sometimes it's a little like putting antlers on a dog, the indignities of the Baby Knits) but this was fun to make and she's loving him.

The pattern was from Knit Simple magazine, Winter 2007/2008. The original was a little 80s for me - all black and white, and no feminine details. I found it a little stark, but the penguin was exactly what I needed, so I just revised a little. I added picot edging, the purple and the snowflake. I changed the neck and bottom edge and made my stripes thicker than they did. I also think making the penguin's belly, eyes, and wings cream instead of the white softened it a little too. Guess I don't use a lot of bright white - it seemed soooo bright.

I only used a little stash for this one - for the off white in his belly, but since it was a specific birthday request, I figure it was OK to purchase a few skeins. The remainder of the black yarn is going to be another Peace Man hat (yes, Christopher - your Peace Man hat!) and I have a little train ride today, so it might even get done this weekend.

Some more penguiny shots, since he's cute.

Here he is in the sunshine.

We finished the wine last night, so there will cocktails later.
I'll let you know what we have!