<snip>

I used to, but haven't had time in some years. Knitting and crocheting
are also fun to share with cats, and if you sew your own clothes, the
patterns crinkle in a most attractive manner requiring them to be held
down by an assortment of claws and solid furry bodies.

I think (well, aside from the cutting out pattern pieces) the most
annoying (but kind of clever, really) thing they did was when they figured
out how to get into my sewing box, and found the ideal lightweight cat
toys - skeins of pure wool tapestry yarn that I'd had to order in for a
special project at a ridiculous cost because it wasn't available locally.

I was not amused, but they had a lot of fun.

No, but one of my mother's psychiatrist colleague commissioned a work
for the wall of his personal library at home.  Over the years, it has
been a sometimes reassuring mantra: "The Paranoids are Out to Get Me".

I do cross stitch a *lot*, among other things.  Some of my projects can be
seen here http://community.webshots.com/album/276748541NMAGzf.  I simply try
to keep the floss from being dangly and attractive to the cats, so they're
not that interested in it. Most of my projects are kits, so the floss is
already cut, but I have a few that are charts where you get to choose the
fabric, and have to buy the little 'skeins' of floss, and I use a winder to
make the putting-them-on-the-bobbin go quicker (second one down on this page
http://www.dmc-usa.com/majic/pageServer/0v010000ke/en_US/DMC_Bobbins.html),
as it's during this that I find several wiggly butts aimed in my direction.

My fear is the ends that I cut off - I cross stitch on the sofa, and keep an
old (but clean) ashtray on the arm of the sofa where I put the cut ends that
are too short to be useable.  I empty it every couple of hours, but
sometimes I forget, and when I do, and I'm away from the area for something
else (potty-break, laundry, taking the dog out, whatever) I fear that one of
the cats will try to 'taste' them - not good for kitty digestive system!

My problem is all the cat-hair!  I have to keep a lint roller (I found a
package of 8, four normal sized and four 'mini' sized - the mini ones are
great for this), nearby and go over the project several times a day.
Getting a black cat-hair caught up in a light colored area makes it darker,
and a white cat-hair in a dark area makes it lighter - plus, having a
'fuzzy' project when finished is not that attractive, especially when the
project is a gift for someone else!  Maybe I should just save all the
cat-hair, and do a project made exclusively of it!  Just can't give it to
any of my in-laws, as most of them are highly allergic to cats (which is
kinda good - they don't visit us hardly at all!!!!

No, crocheting.  Pretty similar deal--  when I crochet (same must go
for knitting) the yarn moves continuously up out of the ball or spool,
and this is absolutely mesmerizing to the kitties.    

Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

Make Levees, Not War

(snip nosey kitty story)

Yep. I brought a BIG half-finished kit with me when I came to America,
and another kit waiting to be done... and I soon found out that
cross-stitching and kittens does NOT mix. It got better when they grew
up a bit and I did some at christmas time without disturbance, but the
big kit is still languishing because Tessie's an even bigger
noseyparker than Scouty and Silver were!

My best answer was to get small kits because the threads are shorter
and less tempting to them, and it's easier to pick it up and get it
out of reach. I store the whole kit in a ziplock bag and only take it
out to sew, one thread at a time. Also, when they distract me it's
easier to find my place again! (the other advantage is that the small
kits fit in my handbag and can be carried around with me to sew in
waiting rooms, the car etc. It's a bit hard to lug a whole lap frame!)

Not me but I found a technique that _might_ work to get your cats to keep
their distance while you do your stitching. It works for me when one of my
cats tries to take some of my food while I'm eating so it could possibly
work for discouraging other cat behaviour.

All you need to do is hiss at them. That's right, hiss at them the way they
hiss at each other. I'm convinced that a hiss means "back off!". My cat
immediately retreats when I hiss at him.

I tried this on one of my mother's cats the other day and they suddenly got
more cautious about what he was doing but didn't back off entirely so it may
not work with your cats either.

--
Rhino

I cross-stitch all the time. Lily generally leaves the thread and pattern
alone. Maybe she just hasn't noticed?
Lily & her mama

You remind me of the Thanksgiving I took my crocheting to
the home where I was having dinner.  (I was crocheting
sweaters and shawls for Christmas gifts, and time was
running short.)

My own cats were pretty well trained not to mess with me
when I was crocheting, by my friend had a large (20 lb)
marmalade tomcat, unused to needlework.  When I expressed
concern about his reactions, she told me "Oh, Billy won't
notice it - I do things like that all the time, and he never
pays any attention".

So there I sat, absorbed in my crocheting, but the yarn
seemed to be getting harder and harder to pull off of the
skein.  Then I looked down, and there was Billy, one paw
keeping tension on the yarn as it traveled to my hook!  He
really didn't do anything else, but my friend had been so
sure he wouldn't bother it. It just proved you can NEVER
predict with any certainly how a cat will behave in a given
situation!

Mine aren't too interested in cross-stitching, except when I'm trying
to separate the strands.
What they really love is the quilting frame. They will *not* stay off
of it.
What they *really really* love is when I was making "purr pads" for the
shelter, and filling them with catnip-laced batting. It's darn near
impossible to sew with catnip with 5 cats in the house.
My biggest problem is the cat hair. I spend a lot of time, and use a
lot of lint rollers to get the cat hair off when I'm done.
Sherry

My projects are sewing and needlepoint rather than cross stitch, but
don't you know the rules? Any creative project involving dangling yarn
or thread, perforce, MUST include feline participation!  Even Pan in
his last years couldn't resist whacking a long dangler with his paw.
=o)

Melissa

Around here cross stitching is an exercise fraught with peril.  Huey
steals my thread cutter on a chain.  Huey steals any chains he can get
his hot little paws on.  He had my USB drive for a couple of weeks.  I'm
still l looking for the one I bought to replace it.

Sonya loves thread.  It doesn't have to be embroidery thread.  Sewing
thread and the yarn I use in needle point and plastic canvas are also
very fun.  Qui Gun isn't as fanatic as Sonya, but he also has fun making
his grandmeow squeal with joy.  Huey likes threads, but chains are more
fun.  Then there is Tanada, who will come out of hiding for a chance to
lay on the project in development.  QC insists that all finished
projects have to have a minimum of five of her hairs in it.  This is
also followed, now by all the cats.  It's a miracle that I get any of my
patterns done, and I don't have any, currently, in the works that are as
complicated as what you describe.

Good luck and keep us informed on how you are doing.

Pam S.