Post edited 9:36 am – January 4, 2010 by Angela Butz

My cat Ali helps me with my projects.  She donates her fur as a specialty fiber.

She is a silver tabby.  She tries to eat the floss as I stitch.  She sits on the pattern.

She is such fun.  Ali has been in print twice now in local magazines.  There are photos of her on Petcentric and on my Facebook page.  There are also photos of my cross-stitching on my facebook page.  I have stitched a piece that reads  Cat hair—just another specialty fiber.

What a cutie! Though, I suppose it slows your needlework completion rate. Believe it or not — my medium-haired cat Gulliver seems thoroughly uninterested in my stitching. My two rough collies, Robbie and Oliver, had to be taught not to "assist" with opening my project boxes. Oliver needs reminding now and again, on general principles of youth and curiosity. Robbie complains if my heap of goodies gets too unmanageable, and I must remember to keep the path around my chair free of bits and bobs and boxes. Their main contribution has been, to date, assistance in ensuring that my projects have a special softness … i have at last found someone locally who can spin collie hair. We haven't worked out a price yet. I was at my hairdresser, and there was a woman of maturity with a spinning wheel on her ankle and who told me she had a border collie … didn't take long to establish that she spins pet hair!