Cat fur yarn

As I was finishing up my Skinny Cat sweater, I found a little glassine bag of some old slicker-brushed fur of Skinny’s that I had saved from back before I started using the Furminator (which gets too much of the coarse top coat). I only had around a third of an ounce, so I blended it with a bit more than half Malt Balls, which to my delight was almost the exact color.Wish I had plied a little tighter for a slightly thicker yarn–this was a little thinner than the Vera Videnovich 2-ply sport I’m using–but the cat down gave it a halo that kind of filled in the gaps & the knitted yarn gave a pretty consistent gauge. The color was also incredibly close to the original silver corriedale I used for the sweater’s pattern, but much more soft & bouncy (Malt Balls was a RamouilletX). I got a tiny ball, just enough to knit “Beloved Friend” just above the cuff and to add a little pattern just above the hem. Kind of corny, but he was my beloved friend, so there. I have some undercoat fur from Kiki (my now-gone canine companion of 15 years) that I think will find its way into a memorial sweater, too. Herman’s (other past cherished doggie) fur was too scratchy for yarn (more like quills, really), but I can work her into it, maybe, by making it black (Herman) and coppery red (Kiki).

The finished Skinny Cat sweater is drying now. I’m afraid the sleeves might’ve grown a bit too much in the wash. I’d made them a little long in the cozy sweater way, but I hope I didn’t make orangutan sleeves for my tyrannosaurus arms. We’ll see in the morning.