DIR Knitting?

I didn't immediately inquire about the hat when I picked up DB at the airport. It had started to weather, as his plane landed, and I was happy to see him. So hat inquiries waited until last night. I settled down to finish the hot water bottle cosy and at some point asked. He laughed....not in a mean way, in a kind of "I didn't want to say anything" way. Definitely too small. He said it felt like a vice, and that it was slowly creeping up his head. That kind of too small. I tried it on. Yup. Too small.

Oh, the importance of gauge! Every knitting book, help forum and most experienced knitters say: Check your gauge. Me, I assumed I didn't have to for some reason. Not that I was "too good" for gauge, but that my knitting wasn't on the level of a sweater or something really complex, so it must not matter. Right? Right???? Also, I'm not much of a book learner, when it comes with anything that can actually be hands on. I need to do things and figure things out for myself by doing them and making mistakes. That's how I learned how to knit/purl backward to correct errors in a row or round, by making mistakes and figuring it out on my own. I never ran across a project where gauge was crucial, so it never seemed important. Now that this has happened, I get it. I'm not thrilled about it, because I always just want to dive in to a project.

Now I'm faced with leaving the hat as is and hoping boyfriend's head will get smaller. (I'm a head shrinker, right?) Or, frogging it and knitting it again, with bigger needles and possible a few more stitches. Not thrilled about the last option, but I'm equally unhappy about essentially wasting gorgeous yarn. So what's Japanese for "to be frogged and re-knit"? This won't happen for a while because I am not looking forward to it and it wasn't the most interesting of projects. But it's on the list. At the bottom, for now.

Last night, I finished the hot water bottle cosy. I have to say, I have typically been more pleased with the items I've made for myself, than those I've made for others. Maybe this is related to the idea of Scroogenomics? Either way, it encourages me to keep up the selfish knitting!

The changes I made to the pattern were starting from the top down, with 10 repeats of the rib, then the eyelet rows, then starting the cable pattern backward from row 12. It wasn't quite long enough for my taste, so I continued the rib for I think 4 or 5 more rounds before using a three needle bind off to complete it, no seaming required! I love this cable pattern. Cabling has been such a rewarding knitting technique. Love love love!

Currently the HWB, cosy and all, is under my covers, warming up my bed before I climb in for a little reading before sleep. I've always had cold feet, poor circulation maybe, and I wish I had a hot water bottle years ago. I found one - in a fuzzy, pink acrylic cover, complete with pompoms - at Christmas Tree Shops a year ago. I loved that thing - perfect for keeping warm, but also for stomachaches, cramps and other aches. Recently the metal fitting came off and though I tried to fix it, it leaks. The new one is fine, but not as nicely made since it doesn't have ribs on both sides of the bottle, just one.

I've been leaving it on the couch for the cat on the days she's home alone. I think she likes it too, being a snuggly cat. (Currently she is being a bad cat. She jumped on the kitchen counter and dragged the little microwave bag for the curry we had tonight off the counter and down the hall. Obviously someone needs some attention.)

I'm not entirely sure what I will do next. I want to do a pair of mitts for a coworker who really wants a pair. I'm trying to decide between doing the pair I did for myself, doing the Cafe au Lait mitts or Fetching. Maybe I'll do the last two and save the other for a gift. I think I will probably do the Cafe au Lait mitts because it's a beautiful pattern and something different. I've really been needing variety lately, and those would work for me I think.

I've been thinking about an afghan, too, plotting one out in my head. I've got a lot of ideas, but nothing final yet. Basically I've planned something that will have four 8"x8" motif squares in the corners, and then long strips on each side of a pretty design, like a vine. Finally, the center. So I would produce it in pieces and seam. I know. My favorite. Why would I do that to myself? I think because doing a big afghan in pieces like that would be more manageable for my attention span than doing the whole thing all in one. Also, I can't figure how I could possibly do that with all the different stitches all over the place. Yeah. I feel like I'm integrating DIR into knitting for myself....considering my attention span, learning style, strengths, weaknesses, knitting skill level....not so much the relationship piece. But the development and individual differences part at least. As you can see, I am fully back into work!

Off to read. Currently on the nightstand: The Thirteenth Tale. I'm enjoying it a lot, and all the more so with toasty feet and my hot water bottle!