To distract me from my tank-top bad feelings, I swatched for Ron's Animal Cracker hat.
A couple of things:
1. I know I knit it up on WAY too large needles. US10. Even though I knit tight, it was very loose. So, I will try it on US8s (which is the recommended needle size) and see how it looks then. I stopped by a not-so-LYS and picked up some Addi US8s.
2. I need to pick up an issue of Interweave Knits Fall 2003, to read the article on seamless intarsia knitting (in the round, I think). I am unhappy with the placement and size of holes between the color changes, which are very frequent and, seemingly, unavoidable because of the purl/knit nature.
3. When I do a color change, I don't like how the colors mix together with the purl ribs. I have no idea how I can avoid this, but it makes me a bit unhappy. Thankfully, one doesn't see them too clearly.
4. It still doesn't seem right. The pattern, I mean. I need to watch it again. Or get more stills. Many more stills of the hat, as seen from many different angles.
So, I'm soliciting for any suggestions on how I could improve the pattern. Perhaps it will look better once I reswatch it. I have the feeling that the decreases happen pretty soon, which gives the white diamonds a smaller appearance in the stills I've seen.
I want it to really look perfect. Hmmmm.
