A Creative Break

I enjoy knitting socks, most of the time. Now I'm a practical woman, I figure nobody but me, (or you if I made them for you.) will actually see these so I don't spend time making them all fancy, no cables, twisted stitches, (although one day I might make myself a pair of those, just for namesake.) argyles etc. So I make them stockinette, well knitting in the round, it's just knitting and mind numbingly boring! I'm currently working on a pair for Ron when I just had to stop, I could not take one more stitch! I needed to take a break and do something creative and different, like the hats, needle roll or this:
I found this pattern and fell in love with it but wasn't sure my knitting skills were up to the task, after all the pattern said it was for intermediate knitters, and it looked intimidating. I have a couple nieces who are all girl and play with their babies all the time so I figured I could make this in a much smaller size to see if I could knit it or stand doing it and if it worked out give it to one of them for their doll. Turns out it was not nearly as bad as I figured and totally manageable. Now to find a yarn that I love as much as the pattern will be another thing, I'm considering Dakotas wool I've got.... That would be so neat!