Have sewn several cats for Bazzaar , but am tempted to embroider one completely

How big are these cats Mirjam? Are these little pocket cats? Or pillow cats?

I've got a large one cut out in one of my sewing baskets which has been sitting there for several years now. An aquaintance had the intention of making one for her sister, and was going to sew it on my sewing machine. She never finished it and has since left the country, so I have all of the parts cut out except for the front, which she took, intending to embroider eyes and some whiskers. The fabric is an expensive dark brown fake suede, so I have doubts about matching it exactly. After reading your post, I started thinking about finishing it for myself. Dora

Dora , my cats are a little bigger than a foot I used the form of my foot as pattern , enlarging the EARS parts and the tail , i make them with front and back ,,, they are easily held by a child ...A toy cat can have 2 different sides ,, i make mine from leftovers of cotton , i stuff them with cut up nylon stockings... mirjam

Another use for nylon stockings. 8) I thought of doing it as a crazy quilt piece on the front, but I'll look around for fabric first. Or take a trip to the LNS for some linen.

I assume the Cat Bazaar is fund raising for homeless cats? Dora

Dora why don`t you use any old un needed piece of cloth you have in the house ? Yes the cat Bazaar is a mooving stall that goes around where ever there are people and they try to sell items to keep the CAT shelter ...... mirjam

Oh, I might yet. I have lots of cloth scraps which I've kept for crazy quilting. I just want to review my options.

I've got lots of projects around to do so it might take me a while to get to this one. Your post made me conscious of it is all.

By the way, rather than go half way across the city to buy a cheap pair, I bought an addi Turbo circular knitting needle the other day. Expensive, but oh my. Lovely to use.

Dora

Is it metal or bamboo ? What is special about it ? Just wondering.

It's very slippery and supposedly easier to use. I don't find it particularly special, but I guess that's why they have so many different kinds of needles for sale.

Lucille

I love my short bamboo needles for socks, so that's why I wondered what these were. You're right though, we don't all find the same things great.

They're metal. Lucille's probably so fast she wouldn't notice, but I need all the help I can get. Today's score - a sewing basket out of the dumpster in perfectly good order (well, once I washed off the legs). My former neighbor has gone into a nursing home, and her nephew is cleaning out her house so I assume that is where it came from. Dora

Since I've been knitting for about (ahem, hard for me to say it) 63 years that's most probably the reason. In fact, I have some plastic needles that belonged to my mother, or maybe her mother, that are probably even older than that. I'm sure they are dry and fragile, and why I keep them I don't know, but I can't seem to just dump them.

What a lovely present you found for yourself. Good sewing baskets have gotten obscenely expensive now.

Lucille

I have knitting needles and crochet hooks I'll keep just because they belonged to my grandmother.

And Dora - keep looking and see what else the nephew trashes. Or better, go ask to look through the craft stuff....

C

Well, Lucille, I thought so.

Cheryl, she wasn't really a crafter. I've been in her house. Very ... efficient. I suspect she had the basket because she picked it up in a yard sale or something although she wasn't the type to hold on to things she wasn't using. Definitely not my problem. Her nephew is probably having an easier job than he would with my place. Dora

Good thing, I bet she would be happy to know it found a home that will love it.

If they're that old, they may be made from bone, not plastic. My mother has some bone knitting needles. Bone needles won't burn/ melt...the plastic ones will.

Joan

I think you're probably right and they are bone. I'm sure some of them are pre-war (World War II) and I'm not sure plastic was being used for needles that long ago. I ccouldn't use them now because most of them are size 1 or

2 and are bent out of shape but I guess if they were plastic they would be dried out and crackly by now.

Lucille

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Lucille if they are THAT old and you want to keep them !!!! why not incorporate them into a Fiberwork of sorts? mirjam

They could be used as the ends for a bell-pull type project.

I like the way you think. I'm going to file away this idea for future use. As a matter of fact, I have something in mind that would be perfect for using the needles.

L

My sister inherited the wooden needles Grandpa hand-carved so that Mom could learn how to knit. She knitted a swatch with them, stopped halfway through a row, and hung them on the wall among old photographs.

Joy Beeson