Stages of Development (not)

Remember before, when I said I couldn't figure out why the blue hat was taking so long?  Well, I'm not actually Nancy Drew, Miss Marple, or Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote.

But I am pretty darn perceptive when it comes to knitting.  It didn't take me long (okay it did) to figure out that the hat was getting bigger and bigger, when it should have been getting smaller and smaller (see previous post).  Hmmmm. Verrrrry interesting. To cast on 72 stitches and find 20 or so rows later that I've got an astounding 252 stitches on the needles, has to qualify me for the "FAIL" of the year award.  How could I not see it?? Wow. 

Hat off the needles reveals that it was about to become a shawl!

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The Case of the Enlarged Hat - by Brendamyfrienda

Act One Scene One
     The hat seems to be getting larger and larger, by the row. What could be the problem?  Too many stitches? YES!  Case solved. The End 
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So I ripped out the whole thing and started over.  I took it with me on my trip to see my niece graduate from college (or University to all you Canadians and UK folks).
 I knitted it and knitted it. I knitted in the car and I knitted on my couch.  I switched to decrease rows and still have not used up the first ball of yarn.  Now that's what's supposed to happen!  (Just call me Sherlock!)

The hat is in full decrease mode on bamboo DPNs and I feel sure it will be the first picture in the next post.
I hate when I get something so, so wrong.  But that's life.  Full of mistakes and blunders.  But I won't give up.  I love to knit, and part of knitting is ripping out and starting over.  And so I did.
By the way, this is what the hat is supposed to look like: