TGIF or "Gin and Kitty Pis"

That would be a plural of kitty pi in the title, not a shortened version of kitty piss. Pi's just didn't look right at all (not that pis looks quite right, but it is perhaps what one would call the "best choice." Or not).

Anyhoo, it's Friday, Friday, Friday at Chez Cat Barf (to borrow from Crazy Aunt Purl, one of my favorite bloggers), and I am bound and determined to finish knittin' on the kitty pi and felt the blasted thing. I feel like I've been looking at it for months, even though I know it's only been a few weeks. This is some odd attempt to discipline myself in my knitting. One Project At a Time. No New Projects Until Ongoing Project is Completed (Even if Ongoing Project is Making Me Blind). A yep. Knitting Discipline Builds Character (although I am certain I know more than a few people who will attest that I'm already a character).

And what is a kitty pi, one may ask?

It's a cat bed. An oversized, knitted cat bed that you concoct out of 100% wool yarn and then toss blithely in the washing machine with lots of hot water to intentionally turn the wool into a bunch of shrunken, matted wool fiber. Ever put a wool sweater in the wash? What size (and density) was it when all was said and done? That's the general idea. Knit oversized object, put in zippered/knotted pillowcase, and run it through a hot wash/cold rinse cycle to shrink and thicken said knitted object. [I must point out here that the sealed pillow case is very important to this process or else you could clog your washing machine pump thingie with wool, which would be a Bad Thing Indeed.]



I found the kitty pi online, and knew in my heart that it would be an ideal knitting project for me because:

(a) The cats really don't care how much I mess up on my increase and decrease rows, not to mention the utter mess of starting it out on the Double Pointed Needles of Death; and

(b) The felting/blocking process will cover a multitude of sins. I hope.

So, the photo is the kitty pi in its inchoate state. I just did the first decrease row, and figure I've got about an hour or two of knitting left, perhaps 20 more rows. I did this first kitty pi on needles smaller than the pattern calls for, which is Another Bad Thing, because I may have added on too many -- or too few -- additional rows to approximate... oh, whatever. This is a kitty pi on size 8 needles with worsted wool instead of size 11 needles with bulky wool, perhaps too much of a deviation from what I Should Have Done.

Regardless. This is a kitty pi made with Love of Felines in mind, so I will plow ahead and post pictures of my foray into Knitted Cat Items. It may be a resounding success (and then the cats will turn their noses up at it) or it may be a dismal failure (and they will love it anyway).

We shall see.