Drove up to Nevada City to the Christmas Country crafts show today and on the way home stopped in Auburn at one of the YS’s in/around Sacramento that I’d not visited before. My racing buddy, his two kids, and my husband indulged my request for a stop so well that maybe I should take them on all my trips: THEY put me up to another project!!! We saw a felted cap for a baby/toddler and both the guys pointed out to me that it would be cool for my niece, baby Dakota. Not that I’m not working on her Christmas stocking nad have a line up of other projects in mind, but the shop owner found us the pattern (by Pick Up Sticks), showed me to the exact yarn mentioned in the pattern, only takes one skein. The brim is knitted and felted separately from the hat then sewn together. You should have seen us collecting opinions from my entourage about what color we should make the hat. And my husband did see felted clogs there and I think he drooled a little bit.
Now, the coolest part was that this shop has a winder and wound into balls all the yarn I purchased (got some for a couple other projects, too). I’ve never knitted from center pull balls before; wow, it is a true pleasure. Their balls are square, so the “ball” sits on the floor and doesn’t even move as I pull from it.
What more could one ask for on a rainy day in northern California?
Oh! my six-year-old friend is keeping track of the hat rows for me. I tell her I’ve finished another row and she tells me how many more I have to do. That way, she’s helping even though she’s not knitting. 
We’re just having way too much fun here.
And get going on some FT clogs, while you’re at it…