i just finished hooking this maneki neko (japanese for "beckoning cat") for a colleague, who is leaving my company to set up a company of her own. to make this, i combined 2 patterns together: maneki neko by Mountain Weaver and jiji the cat by a gamer's wife.
i made it a red cat because red symbolizes 'luck' in chinese. i also gave her a golden salmon tucked under her arms, gold symbolizing 'wealth' or 'fortune'.
somehow, my maneki neko looks less 'beckoning', and more like saying "yeah! i found
a golden fish!" and the large eyes made her look like she's wearing a pair of spectacles!
instead of jiji the cat's long tail, i gave her a bob-tail instead... i find bob-tails
so much cuter than long swishy tails, but that's just my own weird preference! :P
so much cuter than long swishy tails, but that's just my own weird preference! :P
i'm not quite satisfied with her facial expression, but because i ran out of time (it's my colleague's last day today!), i had to make do with it. given more time, i think i'll remove the big white eyes and just weave in a pair of chinky eyes to show her beaming happily and also a rounded 'w' shaped nose. ah well, there's always next time...
