Gosling and cygnet

Knitted gosling and cygnet - the knitting pattern for these little fluffy beauties is going to be in my Knitted Birds book, and the two below are currently looking for a new home (visit my Etsy shop for details and more photos).

Black Necked Swan

Here's my knitted Black Necked Swan and a cygnet - there will be more cygnets on the way once the weather cools down enough to knit with mohair without going crazy *shakes fist at sky*.

These beautiful swans aren't native to Britain, you'd have to go to South America to see them in the wild, but I'm lucky enough to live near to the Arundel Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, where they have a breeding pair of Black Necked Swans.

If you visit during the spring, you may be able to see the tiny cygnets being ferried about on their parents' backs. The cygnet I've knitted is just beyond this stage, probably much to the parents relief.

Can you believe that these swans used to be killed so their skin and feathers could be used to make powder puffs? Not one of mankind's finest moments.