It's all about the process, right?

The forlorn object in the picture is my aran swatch-cap. I knitted the ribbed cables according to pattern, but reworked the 'fishtraps' after row 14 to make them taper to a point. I also simplified the pattern somewhat, making the travelling stitches within each section twist the same way. My mistake was in thinking that I could figure out the shaping on the fly, by intuition, late last night while watching Harry Potter (PoA) with Mr. DK , the kids, and the cats. Robin, poor dear, needed to hide his face in my lap whenever the dementors appeared, and Maisie, the very fat and rather stupid tabby, kept kneading my yarn, so my concentration would have been off even if I hadn't been exhausted. Then I dropped a few stitches, then I noticed a mistake which meant dropping several stitches several rows. Knitting repair is tedious in any stitch pattern, but with cables and travelling stitches every which where, it's a nightmare. I'm beyond the beginner stage, but not very far, and this sort of thing discourages me. I'm not altogether certain that I won't finish this hat, but it doesn't look good. I do like the ribbed cable however, so much so that I plan to use it in something else very soon. I also learned a bit about various ways to work the right and left twist, and noticed how similar they are to the k2tog and ssk, respectively. I've swatched some mercerized cotton for a MinnowKnits romper that I'm going to knit for Finch. I had to go up a needle size to get the gauge, which means I'll have to use my bamboos (too slow!) or buy another set of Addi Turbos (I'll always associate these with the lightsaber sound, thanks to Brenda Dayne). The fingerless mitts still stagnate, Wren's hat remains but a good intention, and February and the knitting olympics are sneaking up on me, but I'm glad I took these two small detours. I learned a lot from the swatch cap, and since I never managed to knit anything from Minnowknits for the other two, I'm pleased that I remembered it in time to do so for this last little creature. On the domestic front, Mr. DK got busy with weatherstripping and foam insulation and I don't know what else, with the result that the house is noticeably less draughty. Wren knows all about 1066, and very firmly sides with William Godwinson; Robin can write his name and knows 5 letter sounds; and I made a very nice lemon curd. On the othe hand, I still haven't made cream puffs this year. Baking season will be over before I know it, so cream puffs (or 'green pups' as Wren used to call them) are going on my to-do list for February: bakery cream puffs simply can't compare to homemade ones, freshly filled with pastry cream and chocolate chantilly, and drizzled with caramel. Yum!!

Dinner tonight: Papa John's disgusting pizza for the mister and the kids, leftover chili for me