You can be a crochet diva, too! Get hooked.

The Staff

We're on equal "pawing"  here at Diva Crochet & Knitting, but Diva rules the roost! Every artist needs their muse, and Diva is very "a-muse-ing"!

Diva, Muse Extraordinaire, deceased April 21, 2009. Much loved, much missed

Diva was a beautiful 16 year old, black, short-hair domestic feline with two white knees. She was my girl to the end. I miss her terribly!

Melanie Mays, Owner

Melanie started Diva Crochet & Knitting in 2001 in NYC. She belongs to AEA, SAG, AFTRA & AGVA as an actress, model, singer, dancer and instrumentalist. You may have seen her on Hallmark Cards, Law & Order, and numerous tours and regional musicals.

Hobo

Hobo (aka Carmel) adopted us last spring. He's around 6years old-we’re not sure. He loves to eat, eat, and eat. He's very affectionate. He was an abandoned kitty, but found us and now gets lots of food and love. Hobo has used up several of his nine lives. Just recently, we learned about his "past". He used to have a tail, and now has to live outside because of his "condition" since we can't talk him into wearing diapers. Naturally, Hobo will sit on your lap for hours, but he knows to wait for the training pads before he jumps up! He's our cinnamon-colored, sweet, slightly smelly, happy-go-lucky boy!

E-mail: info@divacrochet.com

Rascal

Rascal, otherwise know as Rascally Rabbit is about 4 years old. She was found living under the Bait' n Tackle shop next to a busy intersection. After trapping her for 8 hours, she finally agreed to come home with us. Love and food won out. We learned that she has leukemia. So far, she's fine. We'll keep her loved and fed and hopefully, she'll never show symptoms. Once tiny, Rascal is now a very large, long haired, black cat with a star-burst of white on her chest and tummy. She loves to play fetch with her small, furry mice; wrestle with Tuffy; love all the cats to death and tangle any yarn we happen to leave out. She is our clown!

Big Boy Kitty Kitty, an orange and white tabby with white socks on his front feet and long white stockings on his back feet,  showed up at our back door one day. Now, I know that calling him BBKK is the same as him calling me Medium Woman. But it's all he'll answer to. He has AIDS, but at this point, he's in good health. Anyway, he could feel the cat love and decided to stay. BBKK is a gentle soul. He gives love nips, starting at the ankle, gently working his way up and plays very sweetly with the other cats, though he could hurt if he wanted to. BBKK is the elder statesman of the house, around 8 years old.

UPDATE: Apparently, we share stray cats with our neighbors around the corner. Hobo, BBKK and Hal all hail from the same house. However, the boyz left that home, invited each other to live in my backyard and decided to stay. BBKK is really "Charmie". So, after 6 months of living with us, Charmie went back to his home. And then, after about 8 months, he reappeared at my backdoor as if he’d been there all along. His people decided he should live with us full time along with Hobo (aka Carmel) and Hal (aka Flea), probably due to Hobo's smell factor and Hal's ferocity. Plus, Hal really is feral. But we love them all. Which brings us to...

And then came, Hal. Or Howl. Either fits. Hal, because it's short for Halloween Cat. Hal is solid black, lean muscle, with jaws like a pitt bull. He has orange, beady eyes.  Or Howl because he howls for me at the window to come outside  and sit with him. Hal remains an outdoor cat because he hasn't been neutered. I can't pick him up to get him to the vet. He would claw me up one side and down another. Oddly, in his own way, he's very affectionate. But one second he's wanting to be loved and petted. The next, he's biting or grabbing with his knife-like claws and it's quite painful. He doesn't know how to bite affectionately without drawing blood. I was a little afraid of Hal, at first. I really think that Hobo invited BBKK and Hal to our cat herd. Thinking that Hal would eventually wander off, I just fed him because I can't stand to see an animal suffer from hunger. And he was so scarred from all of the fighting. Well, he lives here now, but under the house or on the back porch, or he sits on our roof with his pal, Hobo. Most of his scars have healed. Eventually, I'll get him to the vet if I can trap him. And Hal brought us...

Tuffy! Tuffy is an adorable brown, black and grey tiger. He has polka dots on his tummy, black eye liner, black rings around his neck, and a perfect black "eight" on his right shoulder. One day, I looked outside at Hal's bowl and saw a skinny, tiger kitten, eating the remnants of Hal's breakfast. He was so tiny, he could fit all 4 feet into the bowl. After coaxing him for 2 weeks,  I won him over with food, then finally affection. Tuffy is now part of the inside cat herd. He’s about 1.5 years old now. He runs and plays and leaps and eats everyone's food (and they let him). All of the older cats adore him! Reesi cleans him; Rascal plays and sits on him; BBKK holds him down with one paw; and Hobo is a little wary but will greet him affectionately. We think he’s son to Hal. After I'd feed Hal, Hal  would call under the house and Tuffy would appear to eat. Hal  would greet him, nose to nose, then leave while Tuffy fended for himself, which is how he got his name. Tuffy is sweet. He gives kisses. He's mischievous. He's funny. He loves to watch the YouTube cat play piano. And he keeps us all on our toes. Especially the ones he dearly loves to nibble on at night while we try to sleep.

Big Boy Kitty Kitty

Hal

Tuffy

And, finally, a little tribute to Sylvester. He lived with us for about 6 months and then took off. We think he was ticked off because at that time, I wasn't allowing the strays to come in the house. Diva didn't approve. And apparently, the garage wasn't good enough. So, like everyone who comes to visit for any length of time, I had Sylvester neutered and got him caught up on shots. Sylvester is a beautiful, black & white, tuxedo cat, but his front half doesn't match his back half. The front half is sleek and the back half is really fuzzy. He is silly. He'll lay in your arms like a ragdoll. Sylvester falls off furniture and through cracks. He kept us laughing. I hope someone is loving him. Supposedly, neighbor boy Alex sighted him in the woods down the street. It could be that alpha male Hal keeps him at bay. But, Sylvester has a home if he ever wonders back through this side of the neighborhood...

Sylvester

You may wonder, "Why so many cats?". Well, we live around the corner from Jefferson County Humane Society. And a couple of blocks from the dump. We're also on the edge of town. People consider this area to be "country" and they leave their unwanted animals to fend for themselves. The Jefferson County Humane Society is overpopulated. They've recently had to downsize to one employee. Even with the efforts of the shop Wag the Dog (building donated), which resells gently used, donated items, with all proceeds going to the Jefferson County Humane Society, it's just not enough. Until more money can be raised, I'm sure I'll be feeding any cat that wonders into my backyard. I send the dogs elsewhere, though last year, I rescued three, starving puppies who's mother was thrown away in the dump to die. Someone else took the mother dog. I found loving homes for the puppies. So, please support your local Humane Society.  It is appreciated. Just look in their eyes...To make donations: Jefferson County Humane Society.

The month of June always brings us new cats, kittens, and puppies. This June a beautiful grey, tiger striped cat started living on my front porch. I started feeding her because she was skinny and I could tell she was nursing. I named her June Bug. I took her to the vet for an eye infection and spaying. And then we found her 4 kittens—Lynx and Sassy—grey tiger-striped; and Cole and Eartha Kitten—black. The father was definitely my stray, Hal. And June Bug, looks suspiciously like a sister of Tuffy. The kittens have all found loving homes and will be spayed and neutered at 4 months. June Bug now lives with me and is sweet and loving and playful, but still a little on the wild side. We think she’s around 1 year old.

June Bug and her kittens, Lynx, Cole, Eartha Kitten and Sassy Frassy