Borage

My latest blue-and-a-contrasting-colour cat! 8 inches high, August 2008. I might replace these photos with better ones soon as the blue has come out a little dark, also the whiskers don't show up too well (if you click on the photos to enlarge them you can see them better). I wish I could find something else to use other than this opaque 0.3mm nylon thread. It sews in easily but doesn't show up clearly - and gets bent if I'm not very careful, especially when storing the cats. Suggestions anyone?

Close-up

A few days ago: the body in progress on the sofa...

...and a couple of days later, nearly finished!

Borage flower

Peony

Two cats from August 2008, including my first lying-down one! The sitting cat is 8 inches high.

Here I am outside "Shaws" of Neath the other day with some of the 'Peony' yarn, which is amazingly cheap at only 99 pence a ball! It's the nicest and softest I have used so far and interesting too, with the little flecks of contrasting colour.

A lovely peony flower

My Hooks

Until very recently, and for almost 40 years (impossible!!), I crocheted using the hooks from this case.

It's a bit worse-for-wear now, and some of the hooks are missing, but I'll never get rid of it because my mother gave it to me. However, just a few weeks ago I decided to invest in some new hooks as I'd read about some of the lovely new coloured ones.

First of all I bought these (above) from Ebay: Susan Bates Crystalites - translucent acrylic crochet hooks. I love them - they are really lightweight and the colours are so pretty. They remind me of boiled sweets! They were so cheap too - an unbelievable £3.72 including the postage from America!!! (US $7.15)

I also decided to buy some (probably more durable) aluminium hooks. I couldn't find a set of coloured ones on Ebay, so I bought these from KCG Trading Limited, the trading company of the Knitting & Crochet Guild in the UK. These Susan Bates Silvalume Crochet Hooks were nearly £10 (including postage) and excellent quality. I'm really thrilled with them; indeed both sets, and am now a fan of the Susan Bates hooks! I've only used one acrylic hook and two aluminium ones so far - but give me time...!!

Cornflower

Two bright blue cats: the first arrived in March, 2008...

..and the second (5 inches high), in July 2008

A vivid blue cornflower

Rosie

One of my very first crocheted cats from way back in February, 2008. 5 inches high, so quite small (as you can see where she is sitting in my hand); embroidered eyes and a collar with a 'bell' instead of the later ribbon and bow which I now prefer. The legs were quite 'bendy' but now I like to make them rather stiff. I do lots of things differently now of course, like adding claws and filling in ears, and bringing the tail to a point. Also, I don't use this silver thread for whiskers any more because they frayed, despite coating the ends with varnish.

Rosie left home to live in Scotland in May 2008!

Iris

Just one Iris so far from May 2008, and with the round 'teddy bear' eyes - I still have so many of them to use up! She's 7 inches high...

...and here she is in her new home in Tamerton Foliot, in the South West of England, with gorgeous Marmite to look after her! August 27th 2008.

Iris flower

Fuzzy

Two experiments in May 2008 using very spiky yarn! 5 inches high with glass eyes and embroidered mouths. Green-eyed Fuzzy went to a happy life in Edinburgh in May. I couldn't think of a suitable flower's name although I have seen pictures of spiky white flowers since then, but I don't know what they are called. I'll find out before I make another spiky feline!

Jasmine

Only one Jasmine so far, from May 2008, another of the thin, early cats, (5 and a 1/2 inches high) and the first one to be named after one of the wonderful 'real' cats I used to share my life with (though she wasn't yellow!) All the early cats had embroidered eyes, which used to take absolutely ages to do. I like the effect, though intend to stick to the glass and plastic eyes from now on.

She was to have gone to live in Edinburgh but, sadly, I noticed a slightly grubby mark on her back which I couldn't remove, so Speedwell went in her place.

Close-up

Jasmine flowers

Poppy

Nearly 6 inches high with a crocheted nose, Poppy came into being in May 2008 and went to a loving home in Edinburgh soon afterwards!

Poppy 2; 6 inches high also with a crocheted nose as with all my more recent cats, July 2008

Poppy flowers

Ivy

Another of my 'early' cats (April 2008) which were all thin with rather spindly legs and felt, embroidered, eyes and a felt nose and embroidered mouth. This one is 5 inches high.

Close - up

Ivy 2, much chunkier, with a crocheted nose and round eyes, June 2008

Speedwell

Speedwell 1; created in May 2008 and 5 inches high; embroidered, felt, eyes, which all my early cats had. Went to a very good home in Edinburgh on the 5th June 2008!

Close-up - looking a much deeper blue for some reason

Speedwell 2; 6 inches high, July 2008. Started life as a standing cat but changed into a sitting one! As with Buttercup, I think I should change the name to that of a blue and yellow flower, or use cream for the contrasting colour, more like actual Speedwell flowers. Of course, sometimes the colours are just an approximation, but I like to get as close as possible! There aren't that many true blue flowers around - most seem to be closer to shades of violet.

Speedwell flowers

Buttercup

My first standing cat (at least, the first one which worked out properly!); 5 inches high, created in July 2008. I think the next cats this colour will be named either Tansy or Marigold as a buttercup is a paler yellow - somewhat paler than I'd remembered! I can't really change this one's name though because she has already appeared on one or two other websites!

Buttercup flower

Clover

Clover arrived in May 2008; nearly 7 inches tall and quite slender. My later cats are much chunkier!

Clover kitten, also May 2008 - just 3 and a half inches tall. She has grown pink claws since this photo was taken!

A clover flower

Fuchsia

Just under 6 inches high, Fuchsia came into being in June 2008. I would prefer to use the proper 'cats' eyes' for all my cats (like the cats in my previous two blogs) but I have such a lot of round 'teddy bear' eyes to use up that I can't really waste them all. Anyway, a friend told me that the round eyes look fine so I feel better about them now!

Fuchsia flowers

Lucky

I've made two black cats called Lucky so far. This is the first one created in May 2008; 6 inches high; the first one of my cats to have a crocheted nose rather than a felt or an embroidered one. Since then I have made them all with crocheted noses as they seem to look better!

'Lucky 2'; 6 inches high; created in July 2008. I am beginning to make many of my cats with this 'wistful' mouth as I think it looks a lot better than the 'smiling' one. ('Lucky 2' has now gone to live happily in Edinburgh, along with Rosie, Poppy, Fuzzy and Speedwell!)

Felicia

I'll start off this new blog with a photo of Felicia who is nearly 6 inches tall, with glass eyes (I think these were some of the ones I bought on Ebay and which came from America). She was created in May, 2008.

I couldn't find a flower which was blue and cream, but I liked the name 'Felicia' and the colour seemed to match both the blue and the orange eyes, so that has stuck.

Felicia flowers

Maybe next time I'll make the contrasting colour orange rather than cream, to fit the flower shades a bit better!
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