Hobbes Loves Cotton or The Cotton Kitten

Last May, when I got Hobbes, my cat, I was pretty much through with my summer knitting and starting on things for fall and winter. Hobbes was odd. I'd dangle bits of scrap wool in front of him and he'd yawn. I'd leave alpaca blends out in the open, and they'd remain untouched. I thought I'd found the one cat in the world who had absolutely no interest in yarn. This had its benefits. I could knit and have a cat in my lap at the same time.

As it turns out, I was just using the wrong fibers. Here are the remains of some pima melange that Hobbes got his paws on.

I found it scattered through the hall and wrapped around my bed a couple of times. Thankfully, I was finished with the yarn, and I'm glad it had use as a Hobbes toy, since it was probably just going to sit in the back of my stash for who knows how long.

To test my theory, I tried to get Hobbes to play with some other types of yarn. He ignored them, but here he is protectively clutching a skein of cotton.

He also seems to have cotton sixth sense. When I recently received a shipment of cotton yarn I had ordered for a new top. He grabbed a skein of yarn as soon as I opened the package and carried it out to the hall before I could stop him.

Why the obsession with cotton? Maybe he's just trying to tell me that other summer fibers have better drape. He's comletely ignored the hemp that's been laying around for months. He showed some initial interest in bamboo but has pretty much ignored that. Even the pima/tencel blend I had went unmolested. Hmmm.