Cats are meant to be spoiled, which is why I love making things for them. A soft, comfortable cotton blanket is a great present for both cat and cat owner. You can place it in your cat's bed or on his or her favorite napping spot - it'll also help keep cat hair off the furniture!

I first created this design several years ago as a "destash" piece to use up leftover worsted weight cotton yarns. The idea hit me to start from a central patch, then pick up stitches on each side and knit the other patches onto it - and I wound up with a very pretty new design that was a lot of fun to make. This pattern is very versatile; once you get the technique down, you can make a blanket any size you want with as many colors as you want. For simplicity, I've kept this one small and in two colors only.