Snakey…

This is the story of Snakey, The Catnip Snake.  If you’ve read other posts, you know I crochet (and knit) and I garden.  My cats love catnip, so I grow it to make catnip toys for them.  Anyone who does crafts, bakes or makes things, will be able to relate to the journey I had to take to finally come up with Snakey. 

First, I tried an ornament for Christmas. I obviously didn’t have the right color yarn, but it was a flop regardless of the color.  Next I tried a bird.  My daughter says it’s a seal because it obviously doesn’t look like a bird.  While it’s filled with catnip, Ginny and Oliver almost never play with it. 

Then came the mice.  Felting yarn was all of the rage when I knitted these two mice.  They looked too bulky, and they were too complicated to make. 

Making prototypes always helps me focus in on a project.  The toy needed to be a simple crochet pattern in a shape the cats would like.  There was a stuffed snake in their overly-filled toy basket.  That seemed like the perfect shape for the cats.

I found a snake pattern by Jackie at Amidorable Crochet.  Check out her blog for really cute crochet patterns.  There were some modifications to Jackie’s pattern.  I used sock yarn, made the snake smaller, embroidered the eyes and stuffed it with lots of homegrown catnip.  The first “Snakey” (because we use baby talk and add “Ys” when conversing with our pets) was a huge hit with the cats.

After about four years, the original Snakey is still in the toy basket.  As you can see, the head is separated from the body, and there is no catnip left.  Oliver killed the poor thing.  It was the Snakey I made with an acrylic yarn.  The wool blend sock yarn I use now holds up much better.

Our cats have another beloved Snakey, and I’ve made several as gifts.  I’m writing about Snakey in celebration of his return to Etsy.  I stopped selling on Etsy about three years ago when I took a full-time retail job.  Check out his listing at CiasGarden.