Teaching myself how to use DPNs, or Rowan Big Wool Red Hat

I started the hat on April 1st, 2009, making me an April Fool I guess.  It took a few tries to get the hang of DPNs.  I was working with Rowan Big Wool for the first time, trying to teach myself how to use double pointed needles (DPNs).  I started out using Size 17 DPNs, thinking bigger was better.  I'd already learned the lesson that I can not accurately do a bottom-up hat (my gauging never quite works out somehow), so I started my hat with six cast on stitches, split them between two sticks to knit in the round, and gradually added a stick as the stitches I had on started to slip off the ends.  It worked, more or less - I bound off way too tightly, so while the beanie-like hat fits, it's a little tight across the brow.  When I figured out what I was doing (how many to cast on, when to increase), I redid it on a US 15 circular.

There's a little bit of a pattern here, it's not just stocking net all the way.  See below.  The color is a little washed out here, though.