Enquiring Minds Want to Know…

What Querido got for his birthday.

It began with brushing Querido’s very fuzzy cat Fermi:

Large gray cat asleep on a striped chair
Fermi has been very nonchalant about his role in the Very Awesome Birthday Gift.

And collecting the kitty fuzzies. Then, because washing kitty fuzzies loose in the sink seemed like a good way to get myself a clogged drain, Melba and I got some window screening and used it as a support:

Ginger dog sitting on a girl's lap
Melba is a very helpful dog.

Melba also ensured the fuzzies were properly washed.

Ginger dog smelling gray cat hair drying on towels.
After a thorough rinsing in hot water, the fuzzies were clean enough to pass inspection.

Then, I combed together the kitty fuzzies with some Cheviot wool for structure (and to make the kitty go further). This is the first place where this project was a little haphazard: I know nothing about the properties of Cheviot wool. I just know that I was able to buy it in a very loose batt that looked like it would be easy to card kitty fuzzies into, and, as an added bonus, it came from a ranch in Maricopa, Arizona. The second place where the project was haphazard was the blend. I eyeballed the ratio of kitty to sheepie, aiming for 1/3 to 2/3.

Ginger dog sitting next to a bag of cheviot wool.
Melba, ready to card.
Ginger dog asleep next to rolags.
By the time we had approximately two ounces of fiber carded into rolags, Melba was exhausted.

It was a lot of work.

Then, I spun my two ounces of rolags into singles using my drop spindle. My default is a very tight fingering-weight single, so I tried really, really hard and came up with a soft, slightly thick-and-thin sport-weight single.

Sheep and cat hair yarn on a drop spindle.
Sure, it’s uneven, but I’m rawther proud of it.

Then, in the early morning before work the day before Querido’s birthday, I plied my singles and got fifty yards of a lovely, fuzzy, über-local fiber worsted that immortalizes my Querido’s beloved kitty.

Gray and cream heathered yarn on a patterned background.
I’m calling it purrbaa.

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