A marvelous treat for cat lovers!
What's New Pussycat by Jem Arrowsmith, is a beaded glory that is a song to our favorite feline friends!
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Get the pattern directly from the designer on her Ravelry page here. What we offer are your choice of two kits -- yarn plus the beads you need for knitting this beauty!
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The Design
Here is what Jem writes:
Calling all cat lovers! Be sure to turn heads with this adorable crescent shaped shawl designed in honour of our little furry friends.
Knit in 2 sections and joined together at the end, the shawl is made up of a simple garter stitch body which is joined to the lace section.
The border lace section and the cat motif section are worked as one piece from the bottom up with single decreases made at the beginning and end of every RS row.
You will need 2 contrasting colours for the shawl, I would recommend making the cat motif section in a lighter, solid shade. The beads for the cat eyes are placed using a crochet hook and these are placed on WS rows. You can use different colour beads for each pair of eyes or keep them all the same. The stitches for the cat motif are written in purple throughout the pattern to help you keep track.
Yarn and Colorways
We do not have the exact yarns nor colors that Jem used for her original. Here are the kits we have put together (you can see them in the inset photos on the top picture on this page and again below that):
Kit A:
1. Madrona from Hi Koo (30% Baby Alpaca + 30% Merino Wool + 20% Bamboo Viscose+ 20% Nylon; 402 yards/ 100g cake) in Rocky Beach, a solid sandy grey-brown. One cake per kit -- this will be enough for the top section and the cats.
2. Laines du Nord's Eco Baby (100% GOTS certified organic wool, with 191 yards/50g ball) in the colour # 24, named Forest (to my eye it is a deep rich olive). Two balls per kit for knitting the bottom lace border plus the middle stripe.
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Kit B:
1. Madrona in Powder Snow, a pure white. One cake per kit for the top section and cats.
2. On Line's Alpacana (65% Extrafine Merino Wool + 25% Nylon +10% Alpaca, with 219 yards/ 50g ball) in the colorway #03, a beautiful rich fuchsia. Two balls for the border and middle stripe.
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Beads
What is needed are size 6/0 beads, 10 in a pink color for the cat's noses and 2 x 10 = 20 for the eyes.
Jem suggests green, blue, and gold for the eyes. You will notice that her original shawl uses one color for one cat, another color for another cat, and so on.
Unless you tell me otherwise, I will include in your kit a mix of beads representing different eye colors for cats as well as the pink beads for noses. This will give you a look similar to Jem's original.
