So, who is that hat for again?

I have really been enjoying knitting Whistler.  I've put about 5 hours in, the hat is looking great, and is a good third of the way along.

Unfortunately, instead of fitting a slightly large man's head, it fits my one-year-old quite nicely.  I'm tempted to keep going with this one for my daughter and do another for my brother, but I really don't have time for that before Christmas, and my daughter already has a handknit hat.

Sure, I swatched twice, and both swatches ended small.  Yes, it was my mistake for not swatching a third time and just trusting that moving up yet another needle size would work just fine.  Still, I don't think I should be getting a tighter gauge as I go up in needle sizes.  I really don't think I could have expected to go from 7 sts/inch with both 3.00 and 3.25 mm needles to 8sts/inch with a 3.75 mm needle.  I think I'll go swatch with a 4.5 mm needle, but only after a day or so of working on my other projects instead, which, if nothing else, is good news for my husband's socks.