The Final Mousedown

Five years ago when I first met Karen of NYC Rescued Kitties, my life was quite a bit different: I was still a freelance stage manager, I was still living in a studio apartment, my father was still alive, I had not opened my Etsy store, I had not yet met Chris, I was not yet writing in this blog, and I had not started kickboxing.

I answered an ad on the Freecycle Cafe looking for people who liked to sew and liked cats. I remember that I met Karen at the Olive Tree because it was around the corner from the Minetta Lane where I was working on a show. She gave me some supplies and asked me to commit to making an average of 12 catnip mice a week.

Over the years I have dabbled in other items for Karen to sell to raise funds for the cause: catnip birds, cat beds, other sized mice, an ill-fated attempt at a fish. The original 2 catnip mice were always the same. I changed the pattern slightly to make them easier and eventually even printed up directions in the hopes that we'd find others to help make mice. No one ever stuck with it.

As my life has changed I've had less and less time to sew, and even less time to commit to this mouse project. Today, not without some sadness, I shipped off the remaining supplies and the final bundle of mice to Karen. After 5 years, my time as "chief mouse-maker" is over.