I forgot totally about the fact that I also finished up 4 hats.  These are double toques, which are meant for the very cold weather.   One is small and will go into the gift bin.   One my husband claimed immediately and 2 others I kept for myself.  I wet finished and blocked them both.  The grey one took a weird turn when I got it wet and swished it slightly to even up the knitting.  It stretched out.  I tossed the two, and a shawl I knit over the summer into the washer for a few minutes.  The hand spun blue and white hat was perfect after a few minutes.  The grey shawl was perfect but the grey hat, knit with the leftovers from the grey shawl, was fulled up and required much stretching while pinning.  Totally odd.

However, here is why I dislike blocking knits in the cold weather.

Really kitties, my wet, blocked hats are not there to be convenient resting spots, despite them being set up close to the fire.