We took the kitties to the vet the day before yesterday. Judy had leukemia so now we only have one kitty. And I have had a very sad few days.

But Betty is doing fine. Well, I said that and then I went to take her picture, and she has gone down the hole in the fireplace where you are supposed to scrape the ashes – I thought is was full and there was no room for her to go down! We have determined that she is in the bottom of the chimney and (as near as we can tell) there are only two ways out: the way she got in and a little door where you are supposed to get the ashes out. Serves me right for letting her out of the bathroom. So there is now tuna all over the fireplace and I am waiting for her to come out. Do you think catnip would help? I’ve printed the mousie pattern from Wendy’s mouse-a-long to make her a treat. I’ll keep you updated.

As far as knitting goes, I worked on M’s socks while waiting to get my hair cut this morning. I am such a slack knitter – but I am a slack knitter with a darn cute haircut!

I’ve been so busy lately, the only knitblogger I’ve been keeping up with regularly is Laurin who is having a terrible time with the Tyrolean Cardigan. Not the pattern so much as the remembering that she wanted to make it longer. I’ll get around to the whole blogroll eventually – possibly on this long long afternoon while I am waiting for Betty to come out of the hole.

So much has happened since we last spoke! I have been painting book cases.

This is actually knitting content: see the little red hat thing I’m wearing? I made that. It is out of leftover red sweater for Mom (Cotton Fleece) and Great Gran made the crochet ties for me. Just so you know, Satin Hands gets paint off my fingers like a champ (YMMV). My hands are soft and ready to knit to boot.

“Knit what?” you say. Why the front of the fluffy sweater, of course! I finished the back last night (Monday night is almost the weekend) and cast on about half of the stitiches for the front. I was tempted to reward myself with a tiny little MustHave swatch, but exerted my will-power and ate three cookies instead.

Other events of note:

My books came (joy!). Weekend Knitting in particular is Just Scrumptious! And I love the idea about having a Visiting Knitters basket. I am going to keep my eye out for the perfect container as I unpack all of our junk. They were also addressed to my business name: “Yarn Miracle.” Teehee.

The heater broke downstairs at the Farm last Thursday and it has been FRIGID! The heating guy couldn’t get the part until today, so after we had been chilly for a couple days, he came out and super-glued it together.

We have two kitties! They got here today and are spending the night in the garage (they have an appointment with the vet tomorrow). They are sisters who will be our outdoor kitties here in town. We’ve got a pretty big yard for them to run around in. I’ve named them Betty and Judy – you know, after the sisters in White Christmas. We are spending the night here (in town on the sofa bed) in case they are sad.

I’ve been trucking along on the fluffy sweater.

Get it? Red tape! Waha!

I decided to make it a little bit longer in the body than the pattern called for. I increased the length from the band to the armholes by an inch and a half so that the sweater will be 21.5″ instead of 20″. This is to keep me from baring my midriff at inappropriate times. Inappropriate times like when I raise my arms.

I should be able to finish the back this weekend, but every time I say things like that I end up not working on projects for a week. I hope I haven’t cursed myself ’cause I really want to start on the Must Have Cardigan – and I’m not the only one. As an aside, she’s also got a great detail of the popcorn on the Tyrolean Cardigan! Laurin’s new camera is really turning her into quite the shutterbug! The Must Havers have even begun a support group! You’ll have to become a member of Yahoo to join it, but isn’t that a Hoot?

Actually, I stand corrected. You don’t have to be a member of Yahoo to get in their groups. You only have to know the name of the group and then send an email addressed to: groupname-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and you’re all set! Thanks Jessica!

Y’all remember how I mentioned that I had no idea we had so many books? Well, I just ordered three more.

The lucky winners of Emily’s Barnes & Noble Shop-a-Thon were:

• Weekend Knitting Projects – Knitted chair covers certainly seem like a good idea to me!
• Vogue Knitting Quick Reference – My other reference books are Very Very Big. I have been hesitating on this one because a spiral binding seems like a Bad Idea when shoved in a bag full of yarn. I’ll let you know if there are any ill effects.
• The New Knitting Stitch Library – I am buying this one sight unseen because it’s charts! No translating for socks!

Aren’t gift cards great things? Fathers-in-law aren’t bad either. And free shipping! And there is $1.02 left on the gift card. AND they shipped today. I’ll be the one waiting by the mailbox.

While I am waiting, I think I will be Knitting Along on the Must-Have Cardigan. After I finish my fluffy sweater (I’m almost to the back armholes). I must not let the temptation to swatch get the better of me. Must…..not……..swatch.

So the New Year’s Knitting didn’t go the way it was supposed to. I have about an inch on the back of the fluffy sweater. All I want to do is unpack my boxes and see all of my things again! I worked on books today. Who knew we owned so many books?

The Yarn Fairy came the other day! Gotta love that little truck he drives. They must drive on the wrong side of the road in Yarn Fairy Land.

It looks more like butternut squash to me than gold.

Can you guess what this is for? That’s right! The Must-Have Cardigan by Patons. Like so many others, I have coveted that sweater since I saw it in my catalogs. Now, at last, it will be mine! Well, after the fluffy sweater, of course. I have a Rule that states: Only One Large Knitting Project is allowed at a time. But I can have as many little projects as I want, so I think I might cast-on for the ladder scarf any minute now! I can’t unpack more books until I get the rest of the bookcases painted anyway.