I had quite a bit of yarn left over after my last project and decided to put it to use on this shrug, based loosely on the "Shimmer" pattern from knitty.  Instead of a ribbed edging and lacy lozenge pattern for the body, I used a lacy edging and stockinette stitch for the body.   Somehow the sleeves got a bit longer than I intended, but hey, at least my hands won't get cold.   

Here are the pics (before blocking).

Front

Back

So cute!  Plus, they'd make a good conversation piece as mittens too.   

Those ducks are too cute!  All these pics have inspired me to get my own Knitted Animals book so I can make a duck family too.

Any tips for attaching wings/feet to the animals?  I always have difficulty hiding the stitches of sewn-on pieces.

What a beautiful bag!  I recently saw something that looked similar in the Anthropologie catalog, except it was made from leather (so i guess it wasn't really that similar  ). 

Thanks for the positive feedback!

I took a chance on a lot of mystery yarn bought from ebay.  It's "1-ply" and feels like it has mohair in it.  The thickness is close to that of baby yarn, but fuzzier.  I only used up half the lot to make this poncho, so my next project is a shrug...

The mistake rib pattern is k2, p2, k3 every row (multiple of 4 + 3 sts).  It looks exactly the same on both sides.  For this poncho, I repeated the pattern 21 times on a size 7 circular needle-- final measurement was about 17 x 50 inches.  To keep the sides looking neat, I made a selvedge by slipping the first st of every row purlwise and knitting the last st. 

Only when I finished this poncho a few months ago did I realize that the front and back are not the same.  Well, I suppose that gives it added versatility-- it can be worn with either side in the front or with the point to the side if you like the asymmetrical look. 

The pattern is basically a giant rectangle knit in mistake rib, with one short side sewn to the long side. 

Lots of great ideas...  here's a tip for a common beginner problem.

When I was learning to knit, I cast on so tightly that it was almost impossible to knit the first row without sliding the stitches to the very tip of the needle.  When I'm teaching others with the same problem, I sometimes suggest casting on with a small size needle (e.g. a dpn) held together with the needle I intend to work with.  Then, when ready to knit the first row, just slide out the small needle.  You end up with a nice, neat cast-on row that's much easier to work with.

Lately a whole slew of people I know have been having babies-- the perk for me is that I get to knit cute and whimsical things for them.  This is a pattern adapted from the book Animal Knits, which I borrowed from the local library.  They're supposed to be bears, but in different colors, I think they could pass for mice, lions, etc.