Sarah's Spotlight - Secret Cat Lounge

I don't hide my love for my cat (and all others in the feline family). I recently searched for cat toys to find a store to spotlight, but I couldn't find any that focused exclusively on cat toys. This past week, I came across Secret Cat Lounge and immediately fell in love! This shop owner is a woman after my own heart! She currently specializes in kitty collars but does offer a few cat toys as well.

This shop owner fell in love with cats after rescuing her cat, Keena, several years ago. She was inspired to develop her own line of cat collars and toys after being dissatisfied with store purchased products. Keena seemed much happier to wear collars made for him by his mom, so a new line of cat products was born!

Secret Cat Lounge just opened on Etsy this past April. The shop owner wants to make something special for other cats and their owners. I remember shopping recently at a local pet store for collars I could use to model my pet bandanas and collar cozies. I was disappointed by the selection of cat collars. There were many "fashion" collars, but nothing that I could picture my sweet Pheoda wearing. Secret Cat Lounge offers truly fashionable collars that any cat would feel special to wear.

The shop owner uses 100% organic cotton to line the collars. She says that organic cotton is often used in baby clothing which is designed for sensitive skin. Using organic cotton helps the collar to be more comfortable, and less itchy, on the cat's neck. These collars are also specially designed for active cats. Safety buckles are included to prevent choking. And if you have an outdoor kitty, you can purchase a matching bell to warn birds and other backyard critters of your cat's presence.

The toys in Secret Cat Lounge are filled with catnip and wool and covered by felt fabric which is very safe for cats. The owner states that the felt adheres to the following guidelines:

·treatments free of formaldehyde
·no azo dyes which could release the carcinogenic substances
·no heavy metal combinations used in production
·no dying acceleration / carrier

Be sure to show this new store some love! Your cat will thank you!!

Max at Play!

Kristen purchased her Cabled Catnip Mat for Max and Izzy! Max was quick to pounce right on in and start playing! Izzy wasn't quite in the mood, but she has checked it out a little bit. Kristen sent me some great pictures of Max at play. He is now modeling the mat in my store. Here are some pictures:

What a cutie!! He usually tears apart his catnip toys, and this one is holding up well to his claws!

It's play time for the cats!

Introducing my Catnip Mat! Here are photos of my newest item! 

I love the way it turned out! I admit it was a pain working through all the cabling, but I think this will hold up well to Max and Izzy's claws - at least I'm hoping! If I had all wool yarn in my stash, I would felt one, but I think I'm out right now. That might be a future project.

These catnip mats are made at the time of purchase to keep the catnip super fresh!

Pheoda was happily sleeping until I took out the catnip for this mat. The poor thing drugged herself up, so she wasn't really in the mood for a photo shoot later!

She leaned right over the sniff the mat, but she wasn't quite in the mood to play. I think she got mad at me poking her with the mat to get a good picture! She eventually ran away. I found her later on the ironing board, and she was very close to playing then. She still looks a little dazed in those pictures. Poor girl. I think she might have recovered by now.

Poor Neglected Blog

I realize that I had no spotlight this week after giving 6/14 as a return date from vacation. Sigh... I was so excited to upload, organize, and label my pictures from vacation, that I couldn't seem to get back into this whole blogging thing. But then my sister told me today that I had not posted anything to my blog in quite some time, so my neglect has not gone unnoticed. It's now midnight, my fiance might still be out fishing if he's not on his way back home, I overspent at the outlets today, and I should be in bed. But, here I am!

What's new with Yard By Yard Knits? I posted my Topaz Dog Sweater and Orange and Yellow Baby Hat to my store this past week. I did struggle with the price for my dog sweater. I have the same sweater listed in a smaller size for $25. This sweater is a large, and I can also make it in extra-large. I had already decided to charge a little extra for it, but I wasn't sure how much. I debated between $28 and $30, but decided to go with the more even $30. Is $5 too much of a price increase for the extra time and yarn that the bigger sweater uses? I'm still deciding...

My current knitting project is a small catnip mat. I am making a rectangle to fill with fluff and catnip for my kitty friends. My sister emailed me and said here's a great idea for your shop. I've made some cat toys in the past but nothing for the shop yet. It's on my endless to do list. So I have dropped all other knitting to make sweet Izzy a catnip mat! This one will be long enough for her to hold in her front paws and kick with her back feet, allowing for maximum play and fun! One problem with knit cat toys is that their claws sometimes get stuck in the yarn while playing. I decided to go with a multiple cable pattern to keep the stitches a little tighter with the hopes that claws won't get stuck as easily. It looks great, but working 5 cables every 4th row certainly does slow down my progress! What could be an afternoon project will likely take me a couple days. Oh well, it will look beautiful when it's done!

I'm also looking forward to being featured in an upcoming blog by Audrey's Country Crafts. Her Etsy shop is currently closed while she is working on some home renovations. But she features other Etsy shops on her blog. I will also be participating in my first giveaway through her blog! Yea! I'm pretty excited about this. I've been wanting to do one without being able to organize it in my head. If someone else can do it for me, I won't complain!

It really is time for bed now. I will return with a spotlight this week!