More Cat Stuff?

Of course! I made a catnip-filled ice cream cone, which Layla loved and cooperated for an excellent photo shoot:

 She held the ice cream cone and sniffed it a bit, wasn't quite sure what the purpose was:

and then decided it was obviously something for nomming:

Demon kitty!

Final product:

Pattern: Ice Cream Cone Cat Toy (Ravelry, mine)
Yarn: Craftmax Classic Merino Aran クラシック・メリノ 並太 (from Japan)

Hook: 3.75 mm/USF

 Timeframe: October 1, 2012
Mods: None!
Problems: None!

I also made another cat bed, larger than the first couple so Layla wouldn't need to curl up quite so much in order to enjoy it This size seems perfect for them to curl up in comfortably, rather than as tightly as possible. Not a good picture, and I'll be making another one of this size in blue, but here it is:

Pattern: 1 Skein Pet Bed (Ravelry, mine)
Yarn: Caron One Pound

Hook: 6.5 mm/USK

 Timeframe: September 3 - 16, 2012
Mods: Different hook, added three more increase rows, did two layers.
Problems: None!

Cat Toys

I keep a couple of bags of odds and ends. I don't save all the bits and bobs of yarn, like some people do, but I'll keep anything that's longer than a foot. Most of them are in my Ravelry stash pages, but there are some bits that never made it for one reason or another, whether they were always in the scrap bag or given to me by friends or what-have-you. I used a bunch of scraps from a friend's Jayne hat to crochet and felt a school of fish:

Pattern: Fish Cat Toy (Ravelry)
Yarn: Scraps

Hook: 6.0mm/USJ
Timeframe: July 15 - 28, 2012
Mods: Larger hook, felted the fish
Problems: Didn't felt as much as I'd like, but they work!

I also knitted and felted a bunch of mice in various worsted weight yarns held double with some Fun Fur I had in the pile:

These are adorable, fuzzy little mice with knitted-on tails so they're secure for the cats. Good size too, nice and hefty.

 

Pattern: Better Catnip Mouse (Ravelry)

Yarn: Patons Classic and other wool scraps, Lion Brand Fun Fur

Needles: US8/5.0mm

Timeframe: June 19 - July 28, 2012, though most of that time was spent waiting for me to felt and then stuff them.

Mods: None.

Problems: None really, though the instructions should read "work until square" or something along those lines rather than saying gauge doesn't matter and giving a number of rows.

Projects

Since I've been off-Trail, the plan was to tackle some long-unfinished WIPs/UFOs. I finished the stitching on one of the Christmas ornament cross stitches I've been working on forever, and moved my attention to the next Art of Disney piece, Mickey and the Fireman. I'd been moving along nicely on that one, until of course I got to Lafayette and unpacked all of my yarn. All of a sudden, there were Things that NEEDED to be made. Like covers for the Swiffer that was left behind in the house:

Three covers in all, two made of acrylic for sweeping up cat hair and dirt, and one of cotton for wet jobs

Pattern: Ballband Dishcloth Reusable Swiffer Cover (Ravelry)

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver (red and green), Sayelle Natura (OLD yarn, white-ish), and the third one is two colors of kitchen cotton, natural and cream.

Needles: US7/4.5mm

Timeframe: June 4-5, 5-8,and 8-17, 2012

Mods: None.

Problems: None really, though it pulls in a bit much so a larger needle or another row of the pattern would have been good. They work well as they are, so no complaints!

Beds for the cats were also a necessity, and getting rid of all the crazy amounts of acrylic was fairly high on the list too:

Pattern: 1 Skein Pet Bed (Rav)
Yarn: The rest of my Red Heart Super Saver and some Sayelle Natura to finish off the second one.

Hook: 6.5mm/USK
Timeframe: June 11 - 12, 12 - 17, 2012
Mods: None, did the 2-layer version.
Problems: Second one turned out a bit smaller, though I'm not sure why. Gauge, why must you be so finnicky?!

The first two beds fit Layla when she's curled up tight, but really aren't the ideal size. They're fairly quick to make, and two layers so they're nice and comfortable for the cats. They really like them, and I should make more but I've only got off-white colored stash at the moment and I think that's probably not the color I should use for a cat bed - it'll show hairs and dirt too easily! Of course, I'm also making lots of cat toys. The kitten is rambunctious and loves the little birds but not the balls with bells, so more stuffed cat toys would be welcome. The current almost-finished army of mice needs another trip through the laundry to felt better; they went through once, but I'm not quite happy with them yet.
Next I'll work on those other projects, the 26 things that need finishing. Two of which just need buttons, eight of which just need a simple seam, and those Christmas ornaments just need loops so they can be hung, backing so they look prettier and are more stable, and then I need to cut them out. Looks like for Ravelympics Ravellenics, I'll be focusing on some WIP Wrestling, finishing at least two of the knit/crochet projects that are clogging up my WIP bags.