Blahhhh to Gauge

So, I decided I wanted to finally cast on for Thermal. I did the responsible thing and made a guage swatch. It's almost completely dry (yes, I washed it too!) and I am getting 30 stitches to 4 inches based on my measurements and nowhere near row guage. That always happens to me and doesn't bother me that much (about the row guage) because patterns are thankfully mostly written in inch measurements, not row measurements. However, the stitch guage does. It has to be perfect or I can't start. Therefore, I need to go on knitpicks and get the size three needle, I want to use the fixed cable needle for this project and not the options just for the convenience of never having to retighten. I love how the waffle stitch looks however and I am thinking I might do waffle stitch socks in the leftover yarn I will have from thermal or the two skeins of Gloss I have Dusk. That would be a good use of my size 2.5 needle if I can make the 24 inch cable work with magic loop. I'll try and post a picture of the guage swatch later with my computer (this is the family one and I can't get pictures to work on it because Windows makes me bonkers). I don't want to wait for the new needle but I must remember that Patience is a Knitter's Virtue, otherwise we would all be making giant fun fur scarves on size 17 needles.

On a side note, I was in the hardware/general store yesterday, searching for dog toys for the family's dog who is vacationing with us at the Chappaquiddick house while my Dad is in Canada climbing mountains at the age of 57 and my stepmother and little sister are horseback riding across Provence and my little brother and his girlfriend are hiking on the Appalachian trail, and I was peeking at the yarn section (all red heart and other acryclic type yarns) when a woman and her daughters started browsing the yarn section. I heard the woman say "remember, the larger needles and the thicker the yarn, the better the scarf." I bit my tongue and didn't say anything, but I wanted to, I wanted to offer to teach her kids about other yarns and varieties of stitches, but if they want to learn about knitting they will do so, it's so easy to find resources online. I guess "better" is subjective. I personally like intricate stitches and thinner yarns, but I guess that is because that is my aesthetic. I did tell them about knitpicks, that if they wanted inexpensive quality yarns they should go there. Maybe that will help, they will learn about knitting through the almost magazine like quality of their catalogs and website. I only hope they check out the site, if only for the yarn they can get! I'm off to that site to order the next larger needle size!