Just when you think Paula Lishman -- who was probably the first to make and widely market knit fur garments -- can't go any further pushing the limits of the genre, she comes along and takes it a step further. Last year she incorporated cotton into her knit for a fabric/fur blend called Honeycomb, which is lighter weight and washable (truly). Now she has taken a step "backward," as she puts it, to make garments consisting of less fur and more fabric. Called Furry Knit, the new line transports fur beyond outerwear and positions it as a lighter-weight ready-to-wear material. "I'm always trying to take fur out of the strict mindset of outerwear," says the Blackstock, Ontario-based designer and manufacturer. "I'm trying to get people to think differently about it, normalize it and accept it as the luxurious fiber that it is." One way to do that is to design lightweight ready-to-wear that is comfortable and cozy. Lishman is offering 12 spring appropriate pieces (perfect to expand the sales season) like a vest, a few different pullover sweaters (including men's styles), a skirt suit, a short jacket, a brick-patterned cardigan suit, an unconstructed duster coat, a big ruana, a banded blouson and an "Armadillo" light sweater/jacket. Some of the pieces intermingle rows or patterns of knit fur with cotton slub fabric. She introduced her lighter weight collection last fall and says it is gaining acceptance. Coming off a particularly successful year (Lishman's sales to U.S. retailers doubled in 1995), Lishman is already attacking the traditional, non-fur ready-to-wear markets with both a spring and fall collection. The company has presented its innovations to the Japanese market, and it will show at the Canada Mode later this month. From there, it's the non-stop world tour of fairs and showings, including Comispel in Switzerland, the Ski Show in Las Vegas, and then the Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles markets. "We take a different approach than the conventional fur market," says Lishman. "We reach a mix of fur retailers and other specialty boutiques."