Hat revisited

Surely not as wonderful a title -- or story -- as Evelyn Waugh's great classic.

I've been revisiting the hat for re-submission to TKGA.  Lots of items to consider from their critique.

• Smaller needles for ribbing (I absolutely spaced on this when reading their pattern!)
• Brighter and lighter colors, so they can see the stitches.
• Better transitions when changing colors.

It's bright, you can't argue with that!

The ribbing is knit using US5 dpn's and the hat is knit with US7 dpn's.  To minimize the possibility of a ladder between needles, I'm knitting an extra 2-3 stitches from the next full needle before I consider the right needle full.  In this way, I'm 'knitting around' (my term) and the transition stitches between each of the 4 needles changes every row.

Challenges with the color transition?  Yup, I've read it at least 6 times.  "When you get to the end of the first row of the new color, pick up the right side of the stitch in the row below (in the old color) and k2tog with the old color and the new."  Seems to work, when it's done correctly.

The tip of the white/gray needle points to the first
color change.  Without this new-to-me method, the
color change would look like a stair step when the
orange is joined.  This only happens when knitting in the round
as in with dpn's or circulars.

So I'm carefully and studiously knitting the hat.  Still have a pile of paperwork to resubmit so will have to set aside an afternoon or evening to plow thru that, including the pattern for the cable swatch.

And like life -- which I am wont to remind readers -- knitting often demands closer inspection, more careful navigation, and a revisit of mistakes big and small.  I think we enter such re-examinations, such re-visits, with the hope that we won't repeat the silliness, the foolishness, or the mis-reading of a knitting pattern.

Makes for better knitting, no matter the outcome from TKGA.