FAIL! Using the Wrong Needles

Twinkle Aspen Hat - to be frogged...

Well, I've been knitting a lot lately and experimenting a lot as well so it's no surprise that I've got a bunch of life-lesson FAILS to report. It's all part of the learning curve. Fortunately this is another quick knit so not a lot of time lost on this "experiment". I've had this Twinkle Soft Chunky yarn for quite a while now, having scored a hank on sale for half price. It's super soft and I absolutely love the color. I've been wanting to make this Twinkle Aspen Hat but didn't have any needles anywhere near the correct size - 19! I have the Knit Picks options set so I finally ordered their size 17 needle hoping that would work. Unfortunately, that's the biggest size they have. At first it seemed as if I was getting gauge but as I worked my way to the tippy top of this hat and tried it on I could see it was way too small. No matter how much I stretched and tugged, it just didn't want to cover my ears and if a hat doesn't cover your ears, well then what's the point? So I need to save up to buy some size 19 needles and do this one properly.