Tuesdays with Meow-y #5

Here is knitted cat #5. This one is based on a cat I had as a little girl. I really like how the two-toned face turned out. This is done with a knit stitch instead of a garter stitch, so it doesn't look as fluffy, but it's the only way I could get the face to work out. Also, I've gone back to the floppy arms. Nigel wanted me to show how the backs of the cats look, so here's some kitty butt for you. I'm not too happy about the white tip on the tail, though, looks too much like a fifth leg.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Meow-a? #5

At book club a few months ago, we read a book called "Speak." The woman who chose the book chose it because she works at a place where children are brought to be questioned in cases of suspected sexual abuse. It's a place where they can feel safe.

It's horrible that such places have to exist, but maybe they would like my cats. Something to hang on to while they tell their story.

Also, my cats don't have mouths, and the book "Speak" is about a girl who stops communicating after a traumatic incident.

Tuesdays with Meow-y #4

Knitted cat #4. This is based on a cat I had right before I got married. It was a white cat with blue eyes, which my mother hated. I guess white cats with blue eyes are deaf, but I never noticed because since when does a cat come when you call it? Again, it has the stiff arms, which I'm not liking too much. My kids call this the "ghost cat," so maybe I won't make any more white cats in the future.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Meow-a? #4

I was at the orthodontist working on another knitted cat and the lady in the billing office got very emotional talking about her teenage niece that has cancer and spends a lot of time in the hospital and how the kids in the oncology ward would love to have cats like that -- mostly to know that people are thinking of them and to hold when they're scared.

I never even though about teenagers wanting them.

Tuesdays with Meow-y #3

Here's knitted cat #3. This is supposed to be based on my neighbor's orange cat, but for the life of me I cannot find orange yarn anywhere (everything is "pumpkin"). So instead, this is a yellow and pink mixed yarn. I tried to save time by knitting it all in one piece (as opposed to knitting the arms separately and then attaching them to the body), but it gives the cat too much of a stiff appearance. I also apparently need help on not tying granny knots on the bows around their necks.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Meow-a? #3

I was knitting one of my cats at the dentist's office and I told them my story about the Year of the Tiger and my goal to make 52 cats.

My dentist recommended donating them to a Women & Children Crisis Center. His son is gathering materials for toiletry kits for the center as part of his Eagle Scout project. He said that many of the women and children arrive there with just the clothes on their backs. I bet a child would like something to hold onto and call their own.

Maybe that's what I'll do.

Tuesdays with Meow-y #2

Here is knitted cat #2. This is based on a cat that Nigel and I had for 13 years, which left us for another family (the same cat that mauled knitted cat #1).

I really like how the white and black together turned out.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Meow-a? #2

So what am I going to do with these cats I'm knitting?

My coworker suggested donating them to the local police station. She said that policemen keep stuffed animals in their squad cars for when they have to take children away from their homes in order to keep them safe. They like to have something for the kids to hug.

Hm, good idea.

Tuesdays with Meow-y* #1

Here is my first cat so far.

The pattern I used is actually for a bear, but I just added a tail and voila, it's a cat!

This one is based on my previous neighbor's cat, "Hat" (named so because they brought it home in a hat). Our cat mauled it once (but it survived), so I feel I need to immortalize it in yarn.

I'm not sure how the button eyes will affect who I can give the cats to (probably NOT children under age 3 for choking reasons).

One down, 51 more to go!

*I know, bad pun based on Mitch Albom's book "Tuesdays with Morrie."

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Meow-a?* #1

When people see me knitting, they ask me what I'm making. They're always surprised when I answer, "Cats."

Then I have to explain the whole crazy cat lady-Chinese New Year-year of the tiger-making 52 cats-no I don't know what I'm going to do with them-idea.

The good thing is, people tell me some great ideas on what I can do with them.

Suggestion #1 -- Mother Bear Project.
This is a great organization for giving teddy bears to children with HIV/AIDS in emerging nations, but it's bears, not cats, I have to pay for their specific pattern, and then I have to pay them to donate them. Not quite what I'm looking for at this time. Plus, I'd like to do something more local.

Still waiting for my epiphany to happen. In the meantime, I'll keep knitting my cats.

* Bad pun on "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria" from "The Sound of Music."

Happy Chinese New Year!

I know, I should be wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day, but once you've worked five years in the floral industry, you learn to loathe that hideous heart day.

Please join me on a winding journey of how I plan to celebrate Chinese New Year:

I always joke about how I'm going to be one of those crazy cat ladies when I grow up. You know, those wacky old broads with the ten million cats running around their house. Alas, I can't be one now because a cat would eat our pet rabbit (which is fine with me, but my children wouldn't care for that too much).

So instead of real cats, I figured that I would knit stuffed animal cats.

Then I realized that this year is the year of the tiger. Tiger, that's a cat. What if I made a cat for each week of the Chinese year of the tiger?

Now what am I going to do with 52 cats? I must admit that I don't know. I'm hoping that I'll have some kind of an epiphany and that by the end of the year, I'll know what to do with my cats (hoping to donate them to a worthy cause -- in Chinese astrology, "tigers" are known for their courage, so maybe children that are in need of courage and something to hug).

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on how my cats are doing.