2.20.2006

felting: mission complete.

Meet Tonka Mighty Backhoe, otherwise known as Gin & Tonka, kitty #2, or simply 'Tonka.' Now she will no longer have to spread my paperwork all over the floor for a soft spot to sit on. Well, at least I hope so. Felting is now officially complete, and Tonka is a happier kitty.



For felting, the cat bed went through two hot/cold cycles, then I made a 'mold' for it and set it out to dry. I folded down the top 1/2 inch to make the structure stronger. It dried in less than 24 hours with the help of the sun and some miracle cloth I bought at last year's DC Home & Garden show. A lady was showing us how great it was at cleaning up spills, but I bought it to dry out my wet knits faster.



She actually got a double treat: I knit her a matching mohair mouse! Yes, of course, I knit another one for kitty #1.

Did Tonka approve of this project? Of course....some catnip and a new mouse and she was out in 2 minutes. Here she is sleeping with her teeny orange mouse...awwwww...

If you want to make your own, click here for the pattern by Wendy at Wendy Knits. Now I'm looking forward to making a second one for kitty #1. Oh, and a felted hat for me, and a felted cozy for the ottoman.

Yarn used:
Lambs Pride Bulky in Brown Heather (15% mohair/85% wool mix),
Araucania Nature Wool in orange for the edges, and
Cascade Yarns 'Fabulash' (awesome name!) for the last few rows.

6 comments:

Sean Hennessey said...

excuse me... but do you have any pictures of the cuter cat?

Stef said...

Aw, SA, this is a cute cat! Like I said, she looks just like Cleo. But I'd love to see your other baby, too.

Congrats on the DC Blogs mention!

You should come visit later and tell me what you think of my almost-blonde hair. Eeek!

rania said...

SA, I'll post pics of your cuter kitty as soon as I make her bed. I can't blog all of our cats at the same time! (note...cat total=2)

Wendy, thanks so much! I'll be sending you a pic soon to add to your kitty bed gallery!

Stef, you'll have to tell us if you have more fun now!

Regina said...

Shoofly,
Tonka looks excactly like my kitty Sloopy! If I wasn't looking at her now, I'da thought you stole her from Texas and took her to DC and then took pictures of her in the cutest little kitty bed I've EVER seen!!! Sloopy is so jealous!! I'm going to have to add this one to the 'need to make' list!

Oh and the miracle cloth- SO clever of you to use it for knitting!!

Anonymous said...

You did it! It looks great! And your kitty looks so happy L0(

Selena Kang said...

Oooh...felting! Wanted to experiment with that. Scared. But your project looks so awesome and that is one beautiful cat! Isn't the "cuter" one on catster? Great job on the kitty beds. I even love the floppy one when it was floppy! :)