Knitting Trials and Tribulations

After I finished Baby Sophisticate, I thought I should make a matching hat.  I settled for Earflap Hats from Knitscene (that's a Rav link).  I've had the pattern in my 3-ring binder for ages (I downloaded it a while ago when I first discovered free knitting patterns online--I lurve the internets).

The pattern is meant to be top-down in the round.  Do ya think I could do it?  Even if my life depended on it, I could not get the hat started in the round.  I kept twisting the stitches or messing up the needle order.  Ugh!!  Soooo frustrating!!  It's not as if I've never worked in the round: I've made plenty of socks on tiny fiddly needles; I've made gloves and mittens and even a sweater in the round.

Determined not to give up, I modified the pattern to knit flat (I know, I know . . . I'm still hanging my head in shame).  I just added an extra stitch to each end for a seam allowance.  So you'd think I was all set, but no.  The knitting gods threw another wrench my way (and really I've only myself to blame because (a) I didn't swatch, (b) I didn't research the pattern yarn for a proper substitution and (c) I didn't research baby hats).
    

Initially I used size 5mm and the hat looked too small.  Even my kids wondered if I was making a hat for one of their teddy bears.  So, I frogged and switched to 6.5mm.  Unfortunately the thing now looks too big--more of a toddler or child hat rather than a baby hat.  **sigh**

On the plus side, I did finally learn to make I-cords.  I have never used I-cord before and quite frankly, I was a little intimated by it.  Sure I'd read the directions in my how-to books, but it just seemed "wrong" (No turning?  Really?  How does that work?).   Lo and behold, the whole process was really quite easy--super-duper easy.  Go figure!

Happy knitting! :)