Ah, nicknames. They can be funny, cute, random, and invented unannounced. Some fade in time while others stick to someone for the rest of their lives. My grandmother called her husband Red because of his hair color as a young man. My great aunts were never called by their real names, either; they were Honey-Do and Nenje. I always thought Honey-Do was named after the Honeydew Melon as a child, but I learned as a teenager it had more to do with, “Honey, do this,” than a sweet fruit.
But this story is not about me or my family; this is about my friend’s niece.
Her name is Goose.
The nickname was given to her not long after birth, and it’s been with her ever since. It’s also reserved for family, much like many names of this kind, and while I don’t know the story behind it, I love it nonetheless.
She, too, is a November baby like myself, but with a more beautiful name and an even more beautiful spirit. She loves stuffed animals right now, and I wanted to honor her nickname with a gift of the knitted variety.
Unfortunately, I psyched myself out last year about making it, despite telling her mother it would be my birthday gift to her that year. It had to do with a name, you know? In my mind, it had to be perfect… but I failed in delivering on a promise, which is worse than chasing perfection.
Now, eight months later, the Gosling is finally on the needles.
Yarns Pictured (top to bottom):
- Bloomingdale Farm Soft Light Yarn "Light Yellow" (Merino/Angora blend)
- Loops & Thread Snuggly Wuggly Yarn "Light Yellow"
- Vanna's Choice "Taupe"
- Vanna's Choice Baby "Goldfish"
The Pattern
I am using Claire Garland’s pattern, “Little Duckling.”
If you aren’t familiar with her, she is an incredible pattern maker. She goes by DotpebblesKnits on Etsy, and dotpebbles_knits on Instagram. Her specialty is knitted creatures, and she recently published a book of woodland creatures, which you can get here. (not affiliated, I just love her stuff!)
This duckling pattern is worked flat and later mattress-stitched closed, which makes knitting it pretty quick; I got farther than I thought I would over the past week. I was also letting out little squees of excitement as the body took shape, especially the chest and tail. Claire is a wizard sculptor with yarn patterns, and I hope I can rise to her level one day.
Pattern aside, I’ve run into some challenges with this Gosling.
The yarns I picked at the beginning of the week looked good in theory (peek the yarn stack from earlier), but the more I worked, the more I realized I didn't want the beak or feet to be orange or taupe. Neither read through as “gosling” to me, so I had to do some research regarding these baby birds to get this one just right.
I honestly thought all baby water fowl looked the same, but I soon realized how wrong I was. Not all have orange extremities or markings on their young. It didn’t occur to me, either, that the males and females would be different colors! For example, males are usually a lighter color than the females, and the markings on say, Canadian Geese babies, are olive, whereas others have dark brown. I knew other birds had color differences between genders, but I forgot geese and ducks were on the same wave-length that way. Oops.
With these newly-learned facts,
I changed the gosling's color palette to reflect that of a young Canada Goose: black yarn instead of orange for
the beak and feet, and olive mohair for its markings instead of brown wool roving.
Being from New England, I see Canada Geese every year in the fall, flying overhead to get South before winter. I have a soft spot for the movie Fly Away Home, too, which, if you’ve never seen it, is about a Canadian family raising a flock of Geese they find without a mother. It pulls on the heartstrings and makes me cry every time...
To achieve ultimate goose-ness, I modified Claire's pattern a bit for the beak and feet. I skipped some rows and changed others to get a pointier bill, then knitted an I-cord to start the feet instead of knitting them flat to sew up later. The feet shaping and the rest of the pattern I followed like hers, though!
What's Left To Do
Up next for this gosling is the embroidery. It will be one of the most time-consuming parts, I think, since I'll be making it up as I go from reference photos. I will have to battle my inner critic and perfectionist as well while I work, otherwise I'll beat myself up if the markings don't look exactly like those of a Canada Goose. I must trust the process and let the imperfection of handmade add to the charm.
My goal is to finish by the end of the month. Will I succeed? We shall see by July 31st!
How are your projects coming along? Let me know in the comments below! I have a second project underway with crochet, which I'll introduce to you next week :)
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