A Blustery Day

Yesterday was Good Friday - Peter had the day off. We had plans for hiking and gardening but instead we were forced inside by the wild, windy weather. It howled outside, the huge trees in our yard danced, shaking out their winter-dead branches. The power blinked on and off. It was a great day for a fire in the wood stove, french onion soup and homemade bread - and breaking into my secret chocolate stash.


I spent the day sorting newly washed dog hair, spinning and knitting. Pictures of the knitting to come.......


Tumbleweed enjoying the day.

A Challenge

A few weeks ago, to promote my dog and cat knits, I had a draw for a pet Spirit Basket. The woman who won emailed me to let me know she thought the baskets were "awesome". Needless to say I was thrilled.
Her dog Arran, is a yellow lab. Labs are not noted for their plush, woolly coats. I didn't think it would be possible to spin the hair of a lab, but Marian assured me that she did get fluff when Arran was brushed.
I picked up a big bag of Arran's fluff earlier this week. The fibres were about 1/4 of an inch long. After struggling for an hour or so I got the hang of working with it and to my amazement Arran's hair spun into quite a beautiful and fuzzy yarn. I'll knit her basket this weekend and write more about this special dog.

Arran's yarn drying in the Garden

Why Cat and Dog Hair?

For the most part our animal friends are furry. As a knitter with a weakness for soft fibre, I consider dog and cat hair an unrecognized treasure. It can be turned into an exquisite, luxury yarn. Once knit, pet hair blooms or develops a gorgeous, fuzzy halo surrounding it. Each animals hair is unique.


Cecil - soft and furry.


His rabbit-like fur, knits into this!

Cecil

Cecil this morning. As you can see Cecil has a lot of hair. He was my inspiration - surely there must be something I can do with all this soft, luxurious fibre.

Pet Spirit Baskets

I use pet hair to make a variety of small, handspun and handknit containers - baskets and bags.
It has been said that an object made from a natural material holds the energy or spirit of that material.
I like to think that these soft baskets hold the spirit of the animal who provided the fibre. They are my tribute to the dogs and cats I love deeply - both the pets I have the privilege of taking care of and those who share my life.
Cecil is one of my kitties - a 14 year old, Ragdoll. This is his Spirit Basket.

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog.This will be my place to showcase the items I make with dog and cat hair and tell you a bit about the animals who provide the fibre. I'm just setting up, so please check back soon.