Next, a haunting

So I have decided to tackle a project I have had waiting around for about 3 years. It is Cindy Taylor's pattern Over the Knee socks from the book Handknit Holidays: Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice. I am using Sandes Garn Peer Gynt in a ivory/natural. I would really like to be working on both of them at one time, but do not have two sets of US#3 dpns. And I'm not really in on the whole magic loop concept or the two circular needles thing. Call me old fashion....I'll wait..... When it came to the ribbing I used an elastic thread as a knit along. Hopefully this will help keep the socks up and not give me the wrinkly ankle thing. Nothin' worse than having one's thigh highs end up being one's ankle lows. Funny thing is I'm not sure what I'm going to wear these with after I get them finished. I'm sure I'll come up with something , just ab fab. Lord know's I'll have plenty of time to figure it out.
I seem to be going really slowly on these and the reason why is this pattern: the Gwen Slouch hat. I am being haunted and tormented by it. I am having a heck of a time finding the yarn to do it in . I think I have narrowed it down to Sanguine Gryphon's Campine. It's a sport weight yarn and I'm hoping that 285 yards will be enough for a hat that has good slouchyness to it. It's hell when a pattern haunts you like this one is doing to me. It taunts me during the day when I am chasing the Wee Ones. It calls to me late at night when I am trying to concentrate on the socks. I have even been tempted to go to the stash, close my eyes and just pull out a yarn to knit a "sample" out of. I mean this is gettin' bad. But for some reason I hesitate to order the yarn. My dh has even weighed in, giving his opinion on which yarn to use. He doesn't know what pattern it's for, other than it's a hat for me. I do know I want a yarn that has some color variation. Nothing bright and loud, just something that will go with most of my wardrobe and my black, brown and navy jackets. Oh sure, you know, just 'thee perfect yarn'. Hopefully thee perfect yarn will find me. If for nothing other than to have this little bugga boo of a cool pattern to stop chasing me around. Maybe I need to take some silver circular needles, skewer them with garlic and then wear them around my neck. Wait garlic is for vampires. Oh heck!!