Ode to Bailey Kitty (via crochet)

The day before Thanksgiving our family cat, Bailey, passed away. Though it wasn't totally unexpected (he was 14years old and really started to slow down the last few years), it was still a great loss. He's the last of our family pets. He was a dear, sweet friend and I miss him incredibly. 

Isn't he cute?  Such a sweetie





So what do I do to work through my grief? Why crochet, of course.  Actually, right before he passed, I started on a stuffed Bailey kitty as a gift for Jasmine (my granddaughter). She loved him very much and every time I talk to her, she asked about Bailey (she lives 8 hours away from me).  I wanted to give her a Bailey that she could take home with her.  Because Bailey was always a big fan of the nap, I made her a sleeping kitty.

While this one is cute, it was waaaaayyyyy too skinny to represent Bailey.  So I made another.

This one does represent the fat cat that was Bailey, I still think it's still missing some of the essence of what made Bailey, Bailey.

They do look cute together though, don't they?  I'll let Jasmine decide which she feels represents our man Bailey the best. 

(Sorry, I don't know what patterns I used for these).