Twins!

I have to say... as much as I love the cats I think I'm officially burnt out. These two pinkies were a rush order for Valentine's Day. I completed them yesterday. I sure hope the little girls like them! They are made from worsted weight with a G hook. However, I modified the pattern to get the final size I wanted. I had to start the head over four times! I think that's part of why I'm burnt. hahahhahahaa Anyway, I'm seriously not doing cats for a few. I have a frog and a bunnie waiting to burst out. I'm also anxiously awaiting a set of crochet hooks I bought on Ebay. 8 beautiful Clover Ergonomic handled hooks! I'm sooooo excited!!! Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! hehehehehehe

New Ideas

I've been busy. Yup. I made this purple cat for my friend's daughter. My friend's favorite color is purple (it looks kinda blue in the picture, but it IS purple) and I thought I'd try to put a shirt on it. Working with scrap yarn is great for your pocket book but quite limiting at times... sigh. It was a good experience though. Then I decided to make the cat a dress. I found a pattern for an edging and modified it here and there to suit my need then I just created the front piece and straps. Easy peesey. (^_^)v

Then, OH then.... I really needed a break from cats. I just couldn't plug on and finish the 10 cats I still need like I wanted to. I went perusing on line for ideas and inspiration and saw a little bear... somewhere and thought, "how sweet!". I began with a modified cat head and used that to guide the rest of my pattern. Instead of a bear... I got a little mouse! Awwwww. Too sweet. My brother was over, and quickly claimed it for his collection. He requested her paws be up by her mouth as if giggling "tee hee". As soon as I'm done she's moving to San Francisco. I even made her a little felt bag that can actually be unbuttoned and "used". Secret mouse notes... I guess. haha

Till next time!

Can't Please Everyone

Well... the slanty eyed cat isn't everyone's favorite. I admit, at first it was kinda weird. It's grown on me now though. I think it helps though, that I really like how the wool-ease yarn turned out. Will have to buy more of that for sure! So... since Ol' Slanty Eyes (look now, what a cool name.) wasn't that pleasing I made an emergency replacement cat. I didn't have anymore wool-ease so I had to use something completely different. And I can't decide if I like it or not. I think maybe... I shouldn't have used black yarn for the facial features. The contrast is too striking. Sorry about the dark pictures. Not sure why that was happening. "Whitey" is made from some left over Bernat Baby Coordinates yarn which is a sports weight with some shimmery strands worked in it. Not that great to work with since the shimmery strands had a tendency of separating from the yarn. The beige accents are just plain double knitting yarn. It is also left overs handed down sans labels. Now that "Whitey" has been sent on his merry way via AirMail to Thailand I am working on TWO cats simultaneously. Actually a pink kitty made from Paton's Divine I started before Ol' Slanty Eyes. And a purple DK one I started even before that. Hopefully I'll be done with them soon. The purple one is also destined for somewhere in Thailand.

Meow ya! >^..^<

Moving Right Along...

I completed another cat. I think I'll have to start naming them to keep track of them. Hm, yeah and give them birth certificates like Cabbage Patch Kids. hahaha Anyway, here's my latest addition. She (he? it!) is made from Lion Brand Wool Ease (I think... I've seem to have lost the label for the yarn. oops.) And I really like the way the material holds together. It's stiff enough for good posing but not too stiff to cuddle and the resulting size is pleasant (just under 10" sitting and about 15 1/2" from ear to toe). I think I might send this one to my mom for her birthday.

For my friends patiently awaiting their kitties, don't fret! I'm already working on another one...

My project bag and the beginnings of a cat head. hee hee (^_^)v Oh, did I mention I bought a new hook (Clover)? Oooooooh, it's soooo awesome!

These cats are really ordinary when you think about it, but posing them is what it's all

about. The cat's personality really comes out when you start putting them in different poses. Too much fun. Do I have too much time on my hands? Maybe. Then again, what's life without the small pleasures?

Meow you soon! >^..^<

Amigurumi Discovered!

I won't deny it. I LOVE cutsie Japanese things. Anything and everything made and packaged over in those lovely archipelagoes just sends me squee-ing with glee. So when stumbled upon the world of amigurumi, I nearly died.

I'd been crocheting now for only a couple of years. I was actually introduced to it as a very young child, but I just didn't get it at 7 years old. Then several years ago I tried picking up knitting. Although I could soon make a square pot holder to win a blue ribbon and scarves filled every nook of my house (and my friends') I could never really master anything more than that. Then I tried crocheting again. I think somehow learning to knit first helped. Holding the tension with only one little needle was much easier than doing it with two long ones. And I was off. In no time I was making things of all sorts; baby outfits, shoes, hats, scarves, blankets... but I got bored fast. I needed something fun and exciting. Enter Amigurumi! Yay!! One small problem... I couldn't read Japanese.

Sooooooo, the website I found, http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/%7Emite/gurumineko/4/amizu1.html , had pictures. And I decided that just from those pictures I could figure it out. Hence cat #1 - the grey and white. I was ecstatic! I'd done it! But I still wanted to know what the real pattern was. Then one night as I was instant messaging with my cousin in Thailand she reminded me of AltaVista's Bablefish which is a wonderful website that will translate others (http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr). We were excited. I put in the code. I pressed "Japanese to English". I waited patiently for the site to load and squeed with delight when I saw English on the webpage. Then I started reading it... let's just say, it didn't make a whole lot of sense. But I thought, "hey, no problem, the pattern itself should be easy. Ch1 is Ch1, right?" Wrong. It wasn't difficult to translate the translatoin, however and soon I was on my way to a properly made cat. My daughter had requested a pink one... with a purple flower. Then another cat came to town... and another...

Now I'm on my way. Friends and family are asking for cats faster than I can make them. It's fun though and varying the pattern just a tad here and there keeps me intrigued. I look forward to branching out to some of my own designs when I'm done with all these cats! The ideas are brewing already...

Stay tuned!