I looked online for some help, but the suggestions I found didn’t work so well. Thinking I had nothing to lose by experimenting, I worked on the fleece with a higher temperature, and steam. Both can melt fleece, which is synthetic, and so, if anyone tries this, be sure to test first for the right temperature on a scrap you don’t need. This is prewashed and air-dried, anti-pill fleece. I would suggest prewashing the fleece to remove any sizing or chemicals. I wanted the fabric to be damp, not wet. I used an atomizer filled with water to dampen the surface. I let the water sink in. I rubbed the water with my hand into the surface, and smoothed the fabric as much as I could.

It is necessary to use a press cloth to iron fleece. Direct contact from the iron will leave marks, or melt the fleece. I used a cotton washcloth, the one that came with my iron-cleaning kit. It is fairly thin. I put the nubbiest side facing the fleece and smoothed the washcloth over the fabric.

I set my iron on the cotton setting with heavy steam, and pressed on top of the washcloth, being careful to avoid directly touching the iron to the fleece. Be sure to test this out first, because too much heat can leave you with a melted area.

Removing the wrinkles takes patience. I lifted the washcloth several times over each area, in between pressing, to rub the surface of the fleece in different directions, to coax the creases out. You can use the washcloth to rub the surface too. Whether you use your hand, or the washcloth to work on the surface, be careful. The steam combined with the damp fabric can make the area very hot.

The whole process took a while, but with perseverance, almost all of the wrinkles disappeared. I was very glad this worked, because I have several fabrics I thought I would be unable to use. I haven’t yet tried this on the sharp creases that I find sometimes at the end of a bolt of fleece. I suspect those are permanent. And I have only tried this on the anti-pill fleece so far. The brushed fleece may flatten a little more, but I’ve had success pressing brushed fleece (the kind with the smoother surface) at lower temperatures before. I would be sure to test a piece first, if you plan to try it.

I had no idea how many catnip knots I had. I rolled and cut some more yesterday, to use up the pile of fleece strips I had sitting next to me. The bag was looking rather large. I had some cello sleeves I had ordered in a size I wasn’t using, and the knots fit nicely inside. I put five in each pack, and ended up with sixty-five packs! I closed the top edges with some Scotch tape, to keep the catnip fresh and to keep the smell inside. They were getting pungent!

I made a header to fit the bags, and printed pages of them on card stock. I cut them out, folded each in half, and taped them onto the cello sleeves with double-faced carpet tape. Luckily, I had picked up a small pair of nonstick Fiskars scissors at Michaels. Cutting carpet tape with regular scissors was very difficult. It is so sticky. Getting the paper backing off was a bit tricky too, but all in all, they turned out really well, I think.

I still had a big box of peanuts in the back seat of the car, recycled from a drop trap shipment to Marie, and so we recycled that box without even having to take it out of the car. My mom helped out and scooped the peanuts into a bag, while I finished packaging the knots. We filled the box with the knots, and off we went to drop them off at Tia’s, on our way to run some errands. A pretty good day’s work.

Update: Here they are at Peak Fest with more great toys made by Tia and Jill, purr pads made by a nice lady in PA, and a pretty little tortie girl named Lucy Lui for adoption.

Feral Cheryl the sock kitten was on hand too, to demonstrate how to trap a feral cat. She’s been working hard at the Alley Cats and Angels TNR workshops in our area.

I cut out fleece in two sizes. I think I have plenty now.

I also got Daisy the Dachshund’s web page up today. Daisy is one of Max Bailey’s original, one-of-a-kind art doll figurines. To me, her eyes look very soulful, just like a real Dachshund’s eyes. There is a little Dachshund who lives near us who likes me to rub her belly. She looks just like Daisy, only she doesn’t wear dresses, which is good because she would look very undignified rolling on her back with her paws up in the air, while wearing a dress.

I got to pet some kittens last weekend too. Marie’s camera has a broken part, and so I went over with mine. It’s easier for me to get a clear photo, the more light I have, and so we tried stepping out the back door for some. These are indoor-only kittens, as are all the cats and kittens available for adoption from Alley Cats and Angels. Sunny didn’t care for the great outdoors at all. We couldn’t blame her, since she had had a bad head wound from an animal bite. It has healed up amazingly well with all the care she has gotten through the rescue group. She is one lucky girl.

Once we went back inside, she was happy again, and got right back to playing.

This is Frosty (Update: Frosty is now our very own Josephine!), Sunny’s little sister, from another litter with the same Shoeshoe father. She’d only had human contact for a few days, but you’d never know it. She was very cuddly and sweet. I sat and held her for a long time. Her blue eyes are so sad and beautiful.

Windy, Sunny’s sister, below, was the only one of our subjects who actually enjoyed the sun on her face. She turned into a purring puddle o’ Windy. Frosty started to doze off a bit too. Maybe it was the fuzzy blanket.

We got them back in the house as soon as we could, and they all got Trader Joe’s Bench & Field Holistic Feline Treats. I’d never seen these before, and they all went cuckoo for them, chasing them across the floor, and hunting them down. I picked some up later, and our kitties went crazy for them too. Windy and her other sister, Cloudy, stopped to play with a stray litter pellet while hunting for cat treats. Marie says those are their favorite toys, even though they have bunches of cat toys.

They must have thought I was a giant cat toy. They all checked out my sneakers, very thoroughly. Sunny also inspected my camera. I kept getting “camera shake” only to discover her swinging from my lens cap. She is definitely going to be a helper cat.

Stormy, from the same litter as Sunny, Windy, and Cloudy, was very timid, but she still came out for treats and toys. She wanted to select one of her own from the toy bag. All the girls were really sweet, and I had a lot of fun visiting. Marie is really nice too. I put more kittens photos up on my Flickr page.

After playing, and petting, and cuddling with kittens, it’s a wonder I didn’t take them all home with me, but we do have a full house here too. My kitties wanted to know where I’d been. My sneakers were probably thoroughly sniffed on my return too.

Although these kittens aren’t ready to be adopted out just yet, the Alley Cats and Angels group has a great many cats and kittens in need of permanent homes, and foster homes. There are still litters of kittens living outdoors, as it is becoming cold and frosty here, and the group is looking for foster homes so they can rescue more of them. They always need donations too. If you are in the Triangle area of North Carolina, they are having adoption events this weekend as well, where you can meet the cats and kittens and talk the volunteers. For more details, please check out the Alley Cats and Angels web site.