I need a decoy project!

So I'm almost finished the first pair of Regia socks. These are the ones for Sophie... that Helen has seen, and tried on (they fit perfectly!) and thinks are samples for the shop. They've been going pretty smoothly, until I walked in on Lucy chewing the yarn the other day. My bad - I left my project out on the coffee table, and a long strand of the Regia Softy was hanging down in front of Lucy's favorite sleeping spot. Not like it was moving around or anything, it was just hanging, very still, minding its own business. But any yarn is tempting to a cat, and a bright cherry color and a fuzzy texture were apparently JUST too difficult for Lucy to resist.

I thought I caught her soon enough, but later when I was knitting, I came to a break in the yarn. I realized she had chewed through it. Oh well, I thought, not a big deal. Then before bed last night, I found a 6 inch piece of fuzzy, cherry colored yarn in her regurgitated food in the basement. Better out than in, I say. That could have been a big vet bill. Old habits die hard for this feline. It was just two years ago that she ate my Koigu. Some cats never learn - remember this? Perhaps I need to be more attentive to where I leave my yarn. After all, I am the human, and am more capable of doing the right thing.


But they seem to be so well behaved, don't they?

Anyway, I can't really pull out a ball of blue Regia Softy and start knitting on Helen's sock now... can I? I have tricked her to this point, but if she even sees me knitting with the blue stuff, she'll know for sure what I'm up to. And it's hard to surprise kids with Christmas these days... so I'm in major need of a decoy project.



So, I'm trying to come up with one. But with the holidays so close, I have to do some gift knitting. Marc could use a new hat, and for that matter, so could each of the girls. Marc will never notice what I'm knitting, but he is pretty particular in his hats... he wants stripes, ribs, dk weight, and not too long - more of a beanie style. He's very picky with things that itch. He's wearing something similar to Pure Merino DK right now. If I were to make him another one, that's what I'd use, but the colors may not work for him. Hmmmm.

The girls are all about a soft and warm hat. They are currently wearing this cute hat that's knit with Baby Ull and Velvet Touch. It's getting a little small for them, and the colors might not be "mature" enough for them. Maybe a fun hat knit with Minnow Merino! I was even thinking Dream in Color Classy might be just right for them.

But if I'm gift knitting, it doesn't really work as a decoy, does it? It needs to be something that they will have no interest in... Maybe I'll have to just have some swatches on hand for every time they walk in the room...