Cats are my favorite creatures. Not only are they soft and cute, they also fascinate with their ever-changing moods: they are at turns sweet, stoic, wild and, above all, weird. Cats are also my favorite creatures to knit. Why? You can knit a form of any shape or size and, as long as you add a couple of triangle ears, it's suddenly a cat. I used to think I would get tired of knitting cats - I made my first ones back in 2008 - but then I realized that I'll never run out of feline personalities to capture with yarn and needles. It helps that I live with two orange tabbies, who provide endless inspiration. Although I've created cats big and small over the years, I find that the tiniest knitted cats allow for the purest feline expression. To me, minimal features and simple body shapes capture the essence of a cat better than a more literally rendered stuffed animal.

Plus, the smaller they are, the quicker you can knit 'em, and the more you can make! These little bundles of delight make excellent charms, ornaments, earrings, home decor, and even cat toys. But my favorite thing to do with tiny knitted cats is simply to have them around to look at - just like their real-life counterparts. I hope the projects in this book bring you many delightful hours of kitty knitting and inspire even more cat projects. Remember, all you need is a pair of triangle ears!.