Just to make things interesting

I'm spending this week working on some baby wear for the soon-to-be-open alpaca shop (i.e. alpaca yarn, alpaca clothing, alpaca fiber ... alpaca, alpaca, alpaca!) in Lavonia, GA.  I'm having difficulty getting enough knitting time between--and let's be honest, the husband is out of town so I'm just doing the minimum--household chores, putting in the first garden of the year, and running a business, and battling my newly arrived seasonal allergies (damn you neighbors' Bradford Pear trees!).  I have, however, worked up these two REALLY cute hats (pattern is Little Scallops by Maria Carlander) and have started on a third hat, which just might have a run-in with a book of matches turn out to be really cute, too.

Enter the DPNS.  If you've ever read my posts before, you know that these tools of Satan knitting needles are not my friends and that I am a circular needle gal all the way.  However, I decided that wouldn't it be cute if I worked up a couple brioche baby hats and reminded myself that knitting brioche in the round is much less taxing on the ol' brain and hands than knitting brioche flat.  And then there was the join.

Before today, I would have said that I am a master magician at the invisible join.  Before today, I had probably worked a bazillion invisible joins.  But today, no matter what I did or how many times I started again--and a girl can only start again so many times before she loses her marbles--I could not work up anything but a gigantic holy ladder.  So, not to be outdone by two strands of yarn, I went to the cabinet and unearthed a set of US 5 DPNs (Harmony by Knit Picks--I love Harmony needles!) and I began again.  Frick wouldn't you know it if it didn't work like a charm on the first go-around?!  So, I worked a few more rounds, and I was about to switch it all over to a circular needle when that little devil on my shoulder said "I double dog dare you to knit that entire hat with DPNS, just for kicks."  Double dog, folks.  So I'm thinking it over.  Meanwhile, I noticed that I just keep working in circles with those damned pretty DPNS.

Until I got to about 1.25 inches, and then I started to notice that I was having to pick up and re-work several dropped stitches.  Some sections looked a little wonky and there were places where I hadn't worked a strand at all.

So off the DPNs this hat came and onto a circular needle.  One hour and about 27 fixed mistakes later (just kidding, it was only 9), I am an inch further and completely back on track.

I guess the moral of this story is that DPNs are good for starting brioche in the round, but this girl just needs her circs.  The end.