My first post!

I keep reading, and never posting, ROFL. My name is Erin, and I am a cat person. I *heart* cats.

We have 2 - Syd & Nermal. Earlier this month, we had to put #3 - Baby Cat - down, because he was sick :(. Syd is almost 13 years old, and Nermal is about 9 months old. She was abandoned in our complex and we took her in right before Christmas. We just love her! Here is a picture that we took this morning. I tried to get one of her perched on top of the hamster cage, but every time I turned on the camera, she jumped off. Grrrr.

Syd looks pretty much the same, just older and bigger. Nermal is a cuddler. She took the place of Baby Cat, after he 'left', and she's always at my DS's side - just like BC was. She sleeps at his head every night, just like BC did. Syd on the other hand, just likes to chew on our hands. It's the way he shows affection, but damn, sometimes it hurts!

Anyway, that's it for my intro. I want to make Pi, but I know that neither one of them would use it. Stupid me bought Nermal a kitty bed about a month ago and she wont' go anywhere near it. Maybe if I stuffed treats under the pillow? ROFL.

So Adorable!

Y'all have no idea how much being a member (although kind of silent lately) has meant to me. Seeing your pi's and princess beds, being modeled by your sweet fur balls has eased me over having to put my little old girl to sleep last week.

No new kitty for me yet. I'm going to take my time before I get another kitty. I had Nikki for a long time and she won't be easily replaced.

But I'm still a knitting crazy cat lady, oohing and aaahhhing over your kitties. So - THANKS!

Knitting right along

I suppose I'm about halfway done now... sure am loving the colors of this yarn! The cats have supervised most of the project. Nero constantly checks my yarn tension... he doesn't want me to knit too tightly. Nix is the Quality Control Inspector for my needles...

Just finished one ball of yarn, so I'm working on the 2nd... definitely want to make sure I get it big enough for both cats to use. They always sleep right on top of each other, so if it's only big enough for one, I might as well give it away... they won't use it!

Still debating on the fringe... which color? What type?? Too many choices!!! Anyway... I hope to have it finished this weekend so I can felt it.

May I Finish, Please?-Now Finished!

Action shot!

By now all the cats have tried it on, but Risky and Catnip are finalists for possession. Risky, of course, must scuff and play and generally maul it.



I thought long and hard just how to shape this.

Two small round stands provided the answer, giving the shape and roughly the size I wanted. I stretched the Pi over the plastic- and curtain-covered lower stand, and flattened its bottom with another stand upended onto it. That's a place mat between Pi and upper stand to protect the stand from the wet.

It spent most of a day on the kitchen table, then I neatly folded back its rim and left it on the office floor to finish drying. Forgot it was there when I let the cats in after dinner.

*************************************************************************************

One Kitty Pi-done. Sort of. I can't get it away from the Risky-cat to felt it!

Defiant little beastie. She's claimed it, it's hers, and she isn't giving the others a chance to take it from her. Look at her tail-a sure sign of ferocity, switching and twitching like that. The little booger hissed and growled when I lifted her off it!

sigh.

I'll grab it when she's eating later. She'll like it better once it's finished. Maybe.

Feline Fun Fur Fug

Need I say more? Too bad it isn't felted too, I'da had 5 F words there. I'm working on the Princess Snowball Cat Bed from SnB. I didn't have the right size DPNs on hand for KittyPi and I really wanted to get rid of some of the fun fur in my stash, so I went with the Snowball bed. And 3 different types of fun fur! Hee! Ripple tolerates it so far.


And because I love you all, some fun fur pr0n.



The base is a rose Wool-ease carried along with Darice Gorgeous (the pink with the blobs) and Darice Fringy (the purple stripe 'cus I only had 2 skeins of the Gorgeous). The sides will be Joann Sensations Bellezza Collection Cosetta in purple, carried along with Lion Fun Fur prints in Indigo.

Oy.

And I've received a good number of the Kitty SP questionnaires, you have until May 1st to get them into me.

Casting On

Today is the day... My major hold-up has been finding size 11 dpns! But finally on Saturday I visited a yarn shop out in the toolies (which is now my new favorite shop)... and managed to escape with only spending $46 (size 11 & 13 dpns in birch, and 4 skeins of Lamb's Pride for a felted purse for my mom)

So, here's my yarn... Noro Big Kureyon, color 4
It is being modeled on my wonderful brown couch.. I think the colors will go nicely with my living room decor! I'll cast on today at lunch, and hopefully get to the point where I can put it on my circular by tonight... working with those double pointed needles is just a bit difficult for me so much fun! Once I get it halfway done, I'll decide what kind of fuzzy/furry stuff I want on the outside.

Kitty Pi in the oven

I started my Kitty Pi on Wednesday or Thursday (who keeps track of the days when it's this nice out?) and have been making pretty steady working on it on and off. I'm using Lamb's Pride Bulky in Limeade and Wild Violet. I have about 8 more skeins of Lamb's Pride in various colors so I may make one or two more. Some of the Lamb's Pride is going towards the Gusseted Cushions out of Last Minute Knitted Gifts - for me, not the kitties. I may have the Pi finished today or tomorrow morning.

The eyelash yarn I'm using for the top is Crystal Palace Splash in Straw into Gold. The name doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me because when I think gold, I think yellow. This is decidedly lime green.Has anyone else started theirs?

Kitty Toys

I made cat toys the cats actually PLAY WITH!!! Sorry, but I'm very excited about it. Back when I was making Booga Bags for Christmas gifts, I thought it would be nice to add pockets. So I made a square and felted it, but had zero desire to sew it in. It's been floating around the apartment for months, and yesterday, I cut it in half, stuffed the halves with catnip and spare yarn, and sewed each up, leaving a long "tail." They like them, they really like them!

I definitely think a kitty pi is going on my to-do list...

Secret Kitty Questionnare

Fill this out

Cats name:
Your address:
Age:
Favorite toy:
Favorite treat:
Does it like catnip?
How does it react to it?

and send it to Cristi's email by May 1st.
If you can't click on that, her email is: prostiturtle AT gmail DOT com
Don't put it in the comments section.
EMAIL IT!
Please!

Hugs and keeshes to all the kitties...

...from my handsome boys Nix & Nero. You wouldn't think it, but these guys are brothers, littermates. Nero is the slinkly black cat, and Nix is the sultry seal point. They are wonderful companions, and they fully approve of knitting as a new hobby in the house... mostly because they only like to play with the yarn I am working with and finished projects for other people.

Anyway... thanks for letting me join, I'm really looking forward to getting to know you all!

Kitty Pi

Is anyone up for doing a Kitty Pi kal? I got a bunch of Lamb's Pride and eyelash yarn yesterday. Let's do it, people!

wool for the kitties

Some wool arrived in the mail this week.

Blue wool for Greedo

Purple wool for Somerset



I'm planning to use the blue and purple yarn to make them cat beds. The plan was to get one started next weekend during the Cat Bohrdi workshop. Now another option is do make 2 kitty pi's. Or maybe a Pi for 2? I was initially going to make one for the 2 of them (still a possibility). Somerset will definitely use it - she was kneading away on the skeins of yarns while I took these pictures. Greedo always thinks that the most comfy place in the house is wherever Somerset is. So he will go sit right beside her (if not on top of her), and all of a sudden, Somerset is gone, and Greedo has taken her place. Given enough room, they do cuddle for naps. So if Somerset uses her cat bed, Greedo will end up going in it as well. Which may lead to some amusing games of musical cat beds if there are 2 of them.

So now what?

Super great that everyone is joining up, and I'm really looking forward to a KAL. But what else are we going to do? Use this for a "cute cat story" forum? Run intermittent polls (i.e Can you really love all your cats equally? Y/N). Post photos of UFOs and FOs where kitty is wearing/draped in it? Talk about non-cat non-knitting activities we do (I am told such things exist)? Discuss cabbages and kings, and why the sea is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings?


We eagerly await your comments!!


Granted, some of us have very short attention spans...

Now introducing...

...this furry thing. She's my darling :-) Got her from the SPCA five years ago, and we think she's about six years old now. Doesn't mind my knitting much, but will get jealous if I'm on the phone. She's an outdoor cat, although you'd never guess during winter as she hates going out in the snow.

Yo Yo, Ellie and Wyatt in Da Hizz-ouse!

My cats, Ellie and Wyatt, are imports from the great state of Arkansas, aka, My Home State. I adopted them from a shelter--they were my 22nd birthday gift from my mom (Thanks, Mom!) I couldn't decide which cat I liked more...I saw cute Baby Wyatt and fell in love with his monochromatic scheme (He had blue eyes to match his blue-grey fur, but his eyes later turned yellow), but then I spotted Ellie, my tortoise-shell beauty with differently colored cheeks. The animal shelter people somehow convinced me that two cats are better than one, so I brought them both home with me.

And...they hated each other. It took a couple of weeks, but they eventually became fast friends. Four years later, Wyatt is a ladies man who really likes men (and pink), and Ellie is a Tough Cat who sports her spiked collar and 'tude with pride.

They have been known to maul my yarn stash if I accidentally leave the closet door open, but they are otherwise my pride and joy.

who let the cats in?

Hello to everybody from Somerset. Cute as a button, but dumb as a post. And weird -she has "issues". Loves to rub her face against zippers.



And this monster is Greedo - AKA the stomach with legs. He would walk on the ceiling if he could, and although he is white, he only suffers selective deafness. He's always reminding us that he hasn't been fed since FOREVER!! When I get up super early in the morning, he will run to the food dish, polish off whatever kibble remains, and then meow at me as if he is starving. Sometimes he's able to convince my husband (who often gets up after I go to the gym) that I didn't give them breakfast before I left.

The Poll/SP idea - Comment!

This is where I thought we could comment on the poll over in yonder sidebar. Seeing as I went for the "Something else which I should comment on" option, I figured I should put together a place for those comments.

Here's the thing, I have yet to make a Kitty Pi from Stitch 'n Bitch. In fact, I have yet to make anything from one of the dozens (yes, dozens) of knitting books I own. I'm trying to fix that. So, rather than make something from online, or a book I don't own (the Cat Bordhi book - which I do plan on getting!) I think I'll go the route of the first knitting book I bought. So yeah. I vote Kitty Pi. Which kinda goes with the felted Cat Bordhi thing. So um, yeah. What do y'all think?

Also - in the thread in "knittyfolk in blogland" forum on knitty, we mentioned the idea of an SP sort of event for our loverly kitties. I love this idea, and would definitely want to keep it to small things. (kitty treats, knitted toys, etc.) I don't want this costing too much in postage for anyone. I'll start putting together a questionnaire of sorts, and when it's ready, I'll post it here for y'all to fill out and e-mail to me. Sound good? Suggestions on the sp thing? Comment here too please.

There's a monster under my bed!

I found a little Sophie cat under my bed this morning when I went to pull my fabric stash out. She hides there during the day and won't come out for love nor grub until about 4 or 5 pm. I think Kami has been torturing her more than usual. Kam's being a little shit lately. She's been sitting on the seed starters, squishing the sprouts and knocking more than the usual amount of stuff to the ground. If she doesn't watch it she's gonna get the spray bottle - full of vinegar. I'm thinking it may be because of the season (spring) and the increase of birds in the yard. Might be driving her just a little crazy. My poor, sweet little Sophie is taking the brunt of her insanity.

My Kitty, Mika, is One!

My younger kitty, Mika, is one years old! I brought her home last June so, counting backwards from her adoption papers, her birthday is today! This photo was taken a month or so after I brought her home so she's all grown up now. I have more photos of her on my blog .

Feline Freak show

Okay, I've been slow to provide kittiness. It's a slow day so I'll take an early break and add to the magnificent feline-inity.

First off is Catnip. He appeared from nowhere to rummage the dumpster at The Husband's business. One whambanger thunderstorm drove him inside, where he was gladly taken in, fed, given a litterpan. He loved torturing the guard dog. Poor fellow developed asthma so was brought home where he could be given his meds and special foods. He's got a tendency to other chronic problems so eats special food. That, and the steroids that control his asthma, have created a cat of large proportions. He makes a great pillow. He's the friendliest of the bunch and fears nothing except getting wet. He likes to drape his plushy self over whatever is sitting still, preferably nice warm people.


Next is Charlotte, aka Charly, among a few other names. Charly is The Perfect Cat. She's the shapeliest cat I've ever known. A little shy with strangers, but runs to me with her little roadrunner meepy meow for a cuddle and a pet.

She's quite a loving little lady, running up for air pets, running off, and returning for more.

She's not the best photo subject. She just doesn't show as well in images as in real life, poor girl. From a distance she's black with white patches, but up close she's chocolate and black with white hairs sprinkled throughout-a salt-and-pepper cat.



Schade. Oh, Schade. She's forever a kitten-tiny kitty, tiny meow, dainty of build. And a complete nimwit. If you hold a light to one of her ears you'll see its beam emitted from the other ear. No brain, just love. Nothing normal, often assuming these odd angles when I bring out the camera. She reminds me of Tweety bird. Very innocent and sweet and so in need of protection. Turn your back, however, and she's instigating trouble. Starts something with one of the others, then runs squawking for my help!





Risky Malarkey O. is a pet-quality Maine coon. She became part of the family when about three weeks old. I fed her kitty formula then liquefied kitty kibble til she was crunching away on her own. The Husband taught her to use her litter pan. She fit the palm of my hand with room to spare. Now she's a 14 lb beastie with an attitude. She's a prima donna around the other cats, but a big baby with me. This one seems to understand cameras and strikes the best poses when I'm taking pictures. And she's a lovely cat. She's got The Husband wrapped round her little paw-in his eyes she can do no wrong.

Strangely, all the kitty kids leave my knitting alone. For the most part. The moment I bring on a yarn with mohair, however, they're all over it. They do love to watch the yarn as it's pulled from the baggies as I knit-I've found that baggied yarn is a good cat repellent. Sometimes they'll bat the baggie a bit but are happiest to just watch it.