Erst-whale

Hey again!
This project is a definite contender for "worst pun I've com up with for a while". It started with one of the PhD folks mentioning how cool a word "erstwhile" is. I then decided it would be fun to make an "Erst-whale"- "erste" being german for "first", this consists of a whale with a large number 1 on the side.
I tried to make the pattern good and simple, the knitting starts with two flaps at the back of the body, then joins in the round and then continues up the body, finishing at the nose. The tail and fins are then made seperately. I'm very pleased with how the tail worked out - the idea was that once you'd made the tail, the two flaps on the back would form a nice join onto it, and I think that came out really well. I also put in a couple of short rows to make the tail curve upwards slightly, and am very happy with the effect there too - it's quite subtle, but I think it adds a lot to the look.
The '1' I duplicate stitched on, which is a bit of a new experience for me - I've tended to do these things with stranding, but am very impressed with how easy this was, and how well it came out. I'll definitely be using that more in future.

I kinda realised part way through too, that this doesn't really line up with any particular species of whale. I hadn't realised there was such a variety of shapes to the different species either - I've always thought this was kinda the 'normal' shape for a whale. I'm quite keen to try making a more realistic sperm whale at some point, mostly because the sketch I drew of one turned out really well, but also because I'll be able to make some kind of a Moby Dick reference out of it.

So yep, awful puns and a whale - woo!
Happy knitting!
Hugh.