in a fit of I-don’t-know-what, I pulled out the red toe-up class socks this weekend, switched sock 1 over to two-circs, and put it on my foot. the foot is too long. by a lot. which means sock 2 is probably also too long. the plus side: sock 2 is in the middle of the short row heel, and sock 1 has maybe an inch or so of the cuff pattern started. so frogging back shouldn’t be too painful.

the CTH glitz socks I’ve been working on. they’re against me too. did a bit of ‘fake’ measuring on the bus - when the foot was as long as the cuff, it was time to pause and try them on. seeing as someone was sitting next to me and there was plenty of time left on the busride, I pulled out the ruler (it’s a 7″-er from a SP - great for socks). Determined that I was indeed at the 7″ mark, and the pattern recommended that I start the toe 2″ from total foot length. (that would be 8″. assuming I measured my foot correctly). so I measure a pattern repeat and determine that 1 repeat is less than 1″. by the time we got to the park & ride lot, I was one row short of a repeat. ok, no biggie. so as soon as I get home, I whip out the sock and put it on my foot. if I start my toe decreases now, it’ll be too big. *sigh* ah, well. at least I figured it out before finishing it. I started sock 2 this morning (I didn’t feel like frogging last night), should be done with the ribbing by the time I get home.

oh, and in other news - Dulaan hat #1 is done.

ok, normally cuteoverload drives me a bit nuts. the pics are cute, but the text drives me up a wall. (sorry, but the ‘tocks and such just drives me nuts.) but I had to link this one, cuz it’s really cute. here. unfortunately, I haven’t seen any of them across the street yet. seen a few adults though. and lots of ducks and geese.

oh, and happy birthday to Lilin. birthday gift (sans card) went in the mail yesterday. no birthday knits this year. partly cuz it’s not her turn. ;) (though I’m not really sure who’s turn it is)

I spent most of Sunday afternoon/evening and last night dyeing up a skein of yarn for the dyed yarn swap. I’m not sure if I like it. well, parts of it I like, but other parts… I’m not sure if I can make it ‘better’, or if I’ll do more damage than good.

I did learn some good lessons though:
* winding giant skeins goes a lot easier with help
* don’t wander away from the steaming pot. I don’t know what happened last night, but it didn’t smell good. (I let it go a few minutes longer than the timer. It smelled very vinegar-y when I came back down. when I took the lid off, the yarn kind of deflated.)
* when attempting to do the fair-isle-like dashes, follow the book’s advice and don’t do them at the same time - you can a very run-together mess.
* when doing long stretches of color, there has got to be a better way than ‘hand painting’ the entire thing.

the yarn was still a bit damp when I left for work this morning. if anyone has suggestions for getting it from giant skein to normal sized skein, I’m all ears.

yes, I took pics. (while waiting for dh to return from the store with saran wrap, I had a ‘duh, I should be blogging this’ moment.)

well, almost. I ran out of time to weave in the cast on edge before the bus pulled in. but otherwise the Broken Cable Hat (aka Dulaan Hat #3) is done.

the test-knit socks are on hold for a bit. I’m going to work on the CTH glitz socks on the way home tonight.

plans for this weekend: dyeing my skein for the swap. I’m trying to decide if I want to do attempt stripes or a more ‘mottled’ look. and what colors to use and in what order. *sigh* and I thought this would be easy!

in other news, I’ve discovered the joy that is Google Reader. I am attempting to transfer my bloglines subscriptions over (this will be a slow process, I fear). Sorry to those who like to track their subscribers.

just got notice that the Lucy Neatby Knitting Essentials DVDs I put a hold on are in! (they’re at Hennepin County libraries, for others interested and in the area.) woohoo!

now, if only I hadn’t left the book that needs returning to that library at home and there wasn’t yet another snowy mess to drive through… maybe I’ll wait til tomorrow.

Here’s hoping they take my suggestion and get the Sock DVDs and any of the new ones coming out. (They have a form for requesting things.) It looks like they are getting some of the Elizabeth Zimmerman DVDs in soon - you’ll have to get in ‘line’ behind me and 10-25 other people for those though.

in knitting thoughts - the test knit sock is nearing completion. I started the cuff design last night and am anticipating finishing it in the next day or so. I’ve also got the rest of the hat pattern, and am getting close to the decreases on that (if all goes well, that should also be done by the weekend). Next up - I’m not sure. A toss up between a contest sock for me, dh’s socks, and/or one of the bags for the UFO challenge. I’m also itching to start Wicked and the tank that I wanted to make last spring.