Catnip Sushi

I promised photos of my latest knitting finished object but I’ll bet you weren't expecting knitted California Roll! *Nobody* expects the Knitted california Roll!

This is actually a catnip toy for Leroy the Buttertheif, a member of my little sister Jule's household... He's a frisky young man and will to try new and exotic catnip playthings (when he's not knocking family heirlooms off the mantelpiece)!



If you want to make one for your buttertheif, I used size 5 needles and DK and sport weight yarn scraps, both wool and cotton. The entire thing is done in garter stitch. The white rice is cotton because I thought that would have a more rice-like texture.

Pattern

Cast on 10 stitches in shrimp pink yarn and knit a few rows (maybe 5 - 7) then join a green yarn that is the distinctive green colour of wasabi - this green takes some thought because its a unique shade, but not too hard to find. If you can't find wasabi green, go for celery or cucumber green. Knit this for only four rows. Then switch to the white yarn and knit for approx 25 rows or enough to wind around the pink/green 3 times LOOSELY (roll your sushi up from the pink end toward the needle to try it out). Now change to a very deep green - the Nori seaweed sheet. If you don't have dark green, you can use black. This is the tricky part because you only want the green to wrap around the roll once so you have to keep checking it out by rolling it up from the pink end until its long enough. Its length will depend on how long you've made the inside parts and how tightly or loosely you're rolling your sushi. Change to white yarn again and do the same thing - just one roll of white.

Bind off, and now its time to put the secret catnip roll inside. Cut a narrow length of cheesecloth or cotton woven fabric and lay it flat. sprinkle about a teaspoon of dried catnip herb along the length of the fabric. Fold the ends over and roll up the sides so the catnip is inside. Lay the fabric roll along the inside of the knitted roll. Now start rolling up your sushi starting from the pink end and sew the bound off end to the roll.

This is Important - to make your sushi play-safe for your cat, you need to take your tapestry needle and yarn and make several stitches around the bottom of the roll and through the top but do this so it doesn't show and doesn't distort the shape of the sushi roll. This prevents the yarn ends or the fabric from coming out and being swallowed while your cat plays.

Using a light brown yarn, embroider several sesame seeds on the outside of your California Roll. Serve to Kitty!

Life has been stressful lately, but my housemates make me laugh. Here they are for a laugh to start your weekend.... Catherine slyly invaded Sausage's space in front of the air conditioner cool air flow last night... He's a gentleman and would never chase her off, but look at the expression on his face and how he moved waaaayyyyyyy over to the edge!