Best in Show

My friend Louise visited recently from one of my favorite cities in the world: London.  We hadn't seen each other in (slightly) over four years, the last time being our visit across the pond, and it was lovely to have her stay for a long weekend.  She spoiled Miranda, Xavier, and Mark with British treats (aeros, crunchies) and gifted me a wildly wonderful knitting book.

We both adore our cats (hers are Kitty and Buster, mine are Aurora and Melody).  She blogs about everyday cooking and she reads Project:Stash on occasion so knows my obsession passion for fiber and knitting.  Clever woman that she is, Louise found this most perfect book for me that combines my love for cats and knitting -- but I know I'm not alone among you blogger friends.


I know, from reading many of your blogs, that you have beloved pets and I also know that many of you love to knit toys in the shapes of animals, mermaids, and even fruit, among other adorable creatures.  I've seen your foxes, your tubby kittens, your apple cozies and apples, your bears, and your birdies.  I'm always impressed by the ingenuity that goes into both designing and knitting up these little treasures.

Best in Show is truly inspirational.  Each cat is a gem -- you can choose among long-hairs, short-hairs, exotic, and street.  And as the authors say:  "The knitted feline, like the real thing, will sit around looking beautiful and accept your devotion graciously, but it wont claw the furniture, climb the curtains, or bring in half-dead animals and deposit them at your feet." (Not that any of our cats would do such things!)

I'm not sure I'll have the stamina to knit all the cats in this book, but I already can see that a few will end up being stocking stuffers for the holidays.  But then again, I'm always up for a knitting challenge.