Thursday, July 2, 2009

Fridge Critter: Darla the Duckling


From a drawing on my fridge, the yellow duckling is the forth Fridge Critter to come to life in crochet form.

Her name is Darla.


She would be happy to spend all summer in the park's pond. She does wish that swan was nicer to the ducks. Last week, after barging through the pond like it was king, the swan glared at Darla: "Know your place, ugly duckling."


Here's a video of the bullying swan:


But what bothers Darla the most is when the swan honks at her dad:


Sometimes Darla imagines swimming up to that bully:


And sometimes Darla imagines twisting that swan's neck into a big ol' knot until he swims away forever.


But then Darla's heart beats fast, and she takes a deep breath. After all, it is summer, the water is warm, and the dark thoughts can wait.

Especially for a duckling named Darla.


28 comments:

  1. Darling Darla the Daring Determined Ducky! Oh my goodness what a brave little thing she is! ... I do hope she doesn't smell fishy from her swim in the swanny water ;)

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  2. Sweet! You have GOT to make these patterns available! I LOVE how you post them!

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  3. How adorable!! Oh my gosh she has the most perfect bill in the world! How did you manage to make it keep its shape?

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  4. Love the neck knot - haha! Poor little Darla... she will grow up oneday and then watch out swan bully!

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  5. Yeah swans are mean! They often fool people with their graceful long necks, but they are up to no good.

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  6. She's so cute! I don't like that swan either! Lording it over those poor ducks, just trying to get their next meal! Another job well done.

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  7. OMG! This one is my favorite so far! I'm dying for the patterns!! Your work is absolute perfection.

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  8. Yeah, Swans are meany-heads. (Except for my friend, Swan, she's a human though, so she doesn't count.)

    Darla is SO cute. Amazing job, as always!

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  9. Adorable! But does she really float?! :-)

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  10. Seeing your new ami's and reading their stories is the highlight of my week!!!

    Darla, I'm proud of you for being the bigger person/duck!

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  11. Ah, the animal kingdom. Much like ours, it's full of bullies.

    Darla's a cutie, but I am SO waiting for that shark in the middle! )D

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  12. Louise: D.D.the D.D.D. always takes a bath under the waterfall, to freshen up from the fishy/swanny waters :D

    Jana: Thanks :) I'm studying how crochet magazines arrange patterns & photos on a page too!

    Shelly: For Darla's bill, I kept it as light as possible by not stuffing the bill. When I stitch on potentially-flimsy pieces, I'll often pull the yarn through to the other end of the body, to be extra secure :) Thanks!

    PaisleyJade: hehe Yes, I wonder if Darla will grow up to enact knot-tying fury on that swan?

    Louisa: I was surprised by that swan's aggressiveness! In the storybooks, they're so gentle :D

    raeonix: Yes, the swan is tough competition for the ducks during feeding time! Thanks :)

    Sarah: Thanks! Far from perfection, but it's all ultra-fun to do :D

    Simply EC: Yes, it's up to your friend, Swan, to reverse the meany-head reputation of all swans! hehe Thanks for writing.

    ✿Ji✿: Darla thanks you for the extra exclamations and ♥ ! :)

    Lynn: Like Squire and the Shark, Darla is held up by clear beading wire that is tied to a wooden dowel above. The wire is then removed using Apple's Aperture app. In the next Shark blog post, the accompanying video will show this low-cost wire/dowel setup! Thanks :D

    TADA's Revolution: Thanks for the compliment, especially since I swoon over each new story from your blog!

    JenGoPop: Yes, animals and humans are more alike than we'd like to admit sometimes! :) The shark is next! *chomp*

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  13. Squee, can't wait for the shark, they are one of my favorite species! XD

    Also. Your mad ami skillz are enviable!

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  14. OMG!! Howie! You're sooooo good making amigurumis come true from a drawing that I'm starting to believe that you're more than an artist... a magician!!
    I really, really, really....really LOVE your work!! Your projects just keep getting better!!
    I feel very lucky to have the oportunity to enjoy them -your magic tricks :)-, at least here in your blog.

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  15. Danielle: Yes, sharks are always the highlight of nature documentaries, especially in slo-motion! Thanks!

    DannyFlo: Wow, too kind, thank you! When I was a little boy, I wanted to be a magician. And I used to mystify my niece with magic tricks, though now she just rolls her eyes. I'm far from a magician now, but I'm lucky to receive your encouragement, thanks!

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  16. YAY for Darla!! Another magnificently clever & CUTE creation by Howie!! Awesome!!!

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  17. These are great!!

    Thanks for stopping by Dabbled and the nice comments on my illustration, too. I really like this series.

    nancy

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  18. This is insanely cute!

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  19. By the way, I included this in yesterday's link post at dabbled.org..
    And i notice you are one of my blog followers. Make sure you update your RSS feed to http://feeds.feedburner.com/Dabbled - apparently we lost some of the feeds in the move to wordpress.

    thanks!
    Dot

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  20. Miss Julep: Darla and I thank you for the cheers! :D

    Dot: Thanks for the kind words and for the mention on your arty, crafty, foody blog at Dabbled.org!

    Tara: "Insanely cute" would a super name for a site or a store! Thanks :D

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  21. Wow, cute duckie.
    How did you get Darla to float like that?
    Or is that a trick?

    I can't do tiny crochet like that...I tip my
    hat to those who can, lol.

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  22. Every so often, like every 5 years, I come back and read a post of yours. Your posts, your writing remains charming and funny. I really enjoy your work.

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  23. I love her! Tiny but fierce.

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  24. ITS SO KEWT AAAAAAHHHHH DUCKYYY

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