I made this over a month ago, but I am just getting around to blogging it because for some reason, pictures weren’t happening.
There was a break in the clouds, and now pictures are here.

Pattern: Rachel’s Hot Water Bottle Cozy, found here.
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted, in Purple Mystery
Needle: US 8
Time to knit: 7 days, although I think I set it aside for a few days.
Mods: None really…except I didn’t do the top ribbing for as long as the pattern specified. I was getting really bored, so I knit just enough the cover the spout on top.
New skills learned: Cabling, except not. I had done cables before with Fetching, but I only finished one glove.
Overall thoughts: Well, it’s a cozy. I don’t really need it, but my water bottle does tend to get warm for direct skin to bottle contact. Before I made the cozy, I was wrapping it in an ugly towel. I guess it’s aesthetically pleasing. I’ve started this same cozy before in other yarns, but got bored. The Mal had enough visual interest to keep me going. And I must admit the stripes are really cool. The bottom is the only thing that frustrates me. See, I’d be cool with a sewn bottom, except I think I would like to remove the bottle from the bottom, not the top. I’ve seen similar patterns to this with a button flap, and I should have used that, except I didn’t think about it until recently. So I am leaving it open for the time being. If it bugs me, I’ll machine-sew it closed in the future.