And here's something pleasant for a change

I am really just thrilled to death with this awesome pattern called the Cuddle Bed, designed by the also awesome CrochetKitten as part of her wonderful Cuddles for Kitties project. Bob is too, from the looks of it. Bob is that handsome fellow reclining to the right. He is my parents' cat and unlike the Mad Crocheter, he is never mad about anything. (Speaking in the third person. I get 50 Pretentious Points! Woooo!) When I gifted Bob with this bed, he promptly attacked it, but my mother has since sent this picture to assure me that Bob has figured out what it's for.

The Cuddle Bed is really an excellent charity pattern. It's fast and simple -- it uses three strands of yarn so it grows fast, and it would be great practice crocheting in rounds for a beginning crocheter. And it's gotta be acrylic for easy washing, so it's a great way to use up your scrap yarn (or as I call mine "crap yarn"). I guess you could do it in wool if you really wanted to, though I'd recommend washable unless you want a tiny little felted kitten bed. (Which would be wicked cute, come to think of it.) My knitting friends liked the nice structure crochet gives this. And Tabitha the office cat at Furkids (the cat shelter where I volunteer when I'm not crocheting or wreaking havoc on teh intarwubz) is giving it two paws up, when she's awake that is.

So if you have a couple free hours and some acrylic you need to get rid of, consider whipping one of these up for your cat or local animal shelter or better yet both. Because cats are so cute in them, and one thing the world definitely needs is more pictures of cats being cute.