Penguins!

ast month, Skeinz, a yarn store in Napier, New Zealand, put out a call for knitted jumpers for penguins affected by the most recent oil spill.

(image taken from Skeinz, and supplied to them by Charlie, who knit this jumper)

They even had a pattern for the penguin jumpers!

"Penguin Jumper in 8ply - must be 100% Wool Yarn - 1 pair 3.25mm, 1 pair of 3.75mm needles, 1 set of 3.25mm dpn’s or circular
Cast on 36 stitches using 3.25mm needles. K1, P1 to end of row. Repeat this row 7 times Change to 3.75mm needles and K2, P2 rib. Work 4 rows increasing at each end of every row (44 sts)
Continue until work measures 15cm
Decrease 1 st at each end of every row until 28 sts remain
Decrease 1 st. in middle of next row (27 sts)
Leave on needle
Make second side the same
Transfer the 54 sts from both pieces to 3 of the set of 4 3.25mm needles (18 sts on each) and work a round neck in K1 P1 rib for 10 rows
Cast off
Stitch up sides to decreasing to 27sts (opening for flipper). Add elastic to the top and bottom to prevent the penguins getting out of them. Top: 15cm of elastic; bottom 17cm (knots allowed). Flat elastic OK"

Actually, when laid out flat, they sort of look like hot water bottle covers...

This week, Skeinz posted a video of the first group of penguins heading home. So sweet.

And if you want a bit more background on cleaning penguins, and why the jumpers were so useful, Snopes has an article on this issue.