Quack!

"Teeny Ducks on a Pond" designed by Catherine Hirst, 

from her book "Teeny Tiny Crochet"* 
(reviewed in the blog post "A Crochet Christmas").

These three remind me of a Dutch nursery rhyme from my childhood:

Alle eendjes zwemmen in het water,

Falde-ralde-rire,

Falde-ralde-rire.

Alle eendjes zwemmen in het water,

Fal-fal, falde-ralde-ra.

(All the ducks are swimming in the water)

Over the years I have had various yarns and threads given to me - remnants from other people's projects and stashes - and this project is perfect for stashbusting.

The ducks were made with size 5 cotton thread. There were a couple of yellows from which to choose, including the bright sunny yellow used in the phone cover. I chose a soft lemon yellow.

I used a 1.5 mm steel hook for the first duck.  I expected it to be fiddly but it worked up very quickly and easily. Such a tiny project is perfect for crochet on the go so I saved the other ducks for outings. 

I like to have little things to work on while out and about and the pond was quick and easy - no stuffing required!  

For the pond, the only blue cotton in size 5 was a very pale blue.  It looked washed out and boring to me. The other blue in the box of remnants was a variegated size 8 thread ranging from a pastel blue that was almost white to a deep, rich, royal blue.

The easy solution was to work both threads together. I used a 1.75 mm hook for the pond to allow for the extra thickness.  I was hoping to achieve an effect of the water sparkling with different shades of blue, or perhaps one part of the pond will appear 'deeper' than another. I do like the dappled look of the pond.  

Time passed between finishing the pond and commencing the second and third ducks which were crocheted in the car while waiting for my daughter at a music audition.  

I didn't have my notes with me and couldn't remember which hook  to use! I took a guess at the 1.75 mm hook. Only later did I realise it should have been the 1.5 mm. It didn't matter though - there was barely any difference in size between the first and the last ducks.  Worst case scenario: two bigger ducks and one smaller can be a duckling and its parents.

I could not finish the ducks in the car because I did not have any stuffing with me. It is not the easiest thing to work with while out and about, especially if outdoors.  The stuffing and sewing up was done at home a few days later when I was in 'a sewing mood'.

Despite the 'sewing mood', I just could not get the hang of the French knot eyes suggested by the pattern, so the ducks were given googly eyes instead. I think it makes them look happy and ready for mischief!


The family of wild mallards that live on my street can be quite cheeky! 

Quack, quack!  Hello there! Anybody home?

Do you mind if we rummage around your garden?
Our Snail Removal Service is second to none!

We'll just go about our business...
(I love my door-to-door duck service!)

The pattern author, Catherine Hirst, put the eyes in the front of the ducks' heads, but if you observe live ducks, you will see that their eyes are towards the sides of their heads, and I have remained true to that with my version.

Like a well-known song, these teeny ducks will go out one day, (over the hills and far away); when mother duck says "Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!", none of these little ducks will come back, because they are being sent on a special mission to brighten the day and become playmates for a special someone.

*Further Information

Hirst, Catherine, Teeny Tiny Crochet: 35 adorably small projects, Cico Books, an imprint of Ryland Peters & Small, London, UK, 2012, <www.cicobooks.com>

Lupey Loops, "A Crochet Christmas", blog entry, 29 December 2012, <http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/a-crochet-christmas.html> for a review of Teeny Tiny Crochet by Catherine Hirst.

Lupey Loops, "Heatwave: Hot & Spicy Phone Cover", blog entry, 8 February 2014, <http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/heatwave-hot-spicy-phone-cover.html> for details of the phone cover and cotton thread used.