Not quite what I expected

I finished my first every crocheted hat last night, part of my ongoing project to learn to make more than square things and follow patterns.

I was making one of the hats out of the Happy Hooker book and despite checking the tension/guage or whatever you call it first, the end result was huge! It looks like a hat alright, but for someone with a significantly bigger head than either myself or Dave. This could just be that we both have small heads of course, but it does highlight one critism of the book, i.e. that I didn't see any instructions for sizing up or down patterns.

After laughing at the result of a week's labour, I was both disappointed and pleased. Disappointed because the hat seems to be mishaped along the join seam between rows and is obvious far too big. Pleased, because I did finish it, it was recognisable for what it was and I had followed a pattern.

The mishapen bit may have worked out if I blocked it, but a wooly hat is never something I've really considered as suitable for blocking. Or it could be one of those things which would pull into shape once put around someone's head, if either of us had a head big enough to fit it. Alternatively, maybe the yarn was wrong; being an American book it calls for 'worsted' weight which I think equates to Aran in the UK... But I didn't have any, so opted for good old DK instead.

One to put down to a learning experience I think and it will be passed along to a charity shop in the new year. :)

At the moment, I'm also thinking about small crochet projects I could take with me down to Cornwall. I'm also intending to pack a pair of knitting needles, since I really do need to give it a go again. Either would mean I have something to do while listening to Dave and his sister frothing about Maelstrom, which I expect them to do at length.