Twice a year, colour development gives the staff at Ancient Arts the perfect excuse to have the best time EVER because we have to look at pictures (and lots of live models) of cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies. Our job is SO HARD isn’t it? But we do this for the good of the people (and pets) because it means we can update the colour line up for our Meow and Woof charity collections. As many of you know, these are two lines of colourways we dye that are based on specific breeds of cats and dogs. A portion of the proceeds from each skein of these yarns is donated to animal rescue and welfare charities in both Canada and the US. We like to keep these collections fresh, and to give representation to as many cats and dogs and their owners as we can – and that means adding new colours for the collections twice a year.
One of the things that helps us decide what colours to add is a contest we run twice a year, where our wonderful fans get a chance to participate in the decision-making process. This contest (alongside our careful perusal of super-cute kittens and puppies) can generate some great ideas, and this January was no exception! Here are the results of the process:

For the Meow collection, we are adding two new colours: Orange Tiger Tabby (below, left) and Tickle My Tummy (below, right). Let me tell you a little about them and the cats that inspired them!

Orange Tiger Tabby is for all those cats (and their devoted owners) who are orange tabby coloured but also have white somewhere on their bodies and/or legs. While we have an orange tabby colourway, it doesn’t include these lovely beauties, and we felt it was time to recognize them. One of the models for this colourway is Douglas Fur (aka, Loves to Purr), a giant of an orange tiger tabby who was rescued in Calgary and stayed with me after I fostered and rehabilitated him.

Dougie had a lot of health issues but was the happiest and sweetest cat one could hope to live with. He was my constant companion, and was super helpful (except for the day he pulled off my pants in front of the handsome neighbor man), and did all sorts of things for me like guarding my hat, inspecting catnip harvests, and so on.

Other models include insanely cute foster kittens who were more than happy to crawl all over me for a nice dose of kitten therapy! This colour will pattern in the same way as Calico Cat, Grey Tabby, and Maine Coon Kali, so those who want an orange tabby colour that has more striking patterning will want to choose this colourway.

Tickle My Tummy is a tribute to all those brown tabby cats who have white paws or tummies (or both)! The name and idea comes about thanks to contest entrants who asked for a colourway that would pay tribute to these cuties who have such distinctive markings. And let’s face it, when they show off those tummies who can resist them? The models for the colourway this time are the kittens who were endlessly happy to show me their tummies and beg for some loving.

The Woof collection gets to grow too, with two new colours! For the first new colour, we continued our theme of recognizing dog breeds which are associated with rescue. Dalmatians are an old breed  known for their heroism in accompanying fire trucks. Combine that fantastic reputation with the current fashion trends favoring black and white, and you have a gorgeous colourway!

The second addition to the Woof collection is a colour we are calling Black and Tan. Many canines have this stunning colour combination consisting of a rich cinnamon brown paired with black, and we wanted to have a yarn that recognized these dogs. Included in this grouping are guard dogs like Rottweilers and Doberman Pinchers, but other breeds also include working dogs like Bloodhounds, known for their work in rescue, and companion dogs like Daschunds. Black and Tan is for all of these wonderful dogs and their owners who want to pay tribute to their faithful companions! Black and Tan is dyed in quarters and will self stripe in socks, and it will pool in all sorts of fun ways in other garments.

We hope you enjoy these new additions as much as we did the planning and design!