In Which I Read, Knit ... And Become Suspicious

Hello all, and Happy Wednesday! This week is moving right along for me, though I am still having a hard time keeping track of what day it is. I'm not sure why I'm having that kind of issue, but why ask why, you know?

Today I'm joining Kat and the others for Unraveled Wednesday. Even when I don't participate, I love seeing what everyone is making and reading.  

I just started this book on Monday:

Not great literature, but I had just finished a few intense books in a row, and needed a palate cleanser. I had read one of the installments of this series - OK, it was a Christmas one, so sue me - a few years ago, and remembered that I enjoyed it. So I thought maybe I'd start at the beginning to see if I wanted to fill in up to the one I'd read. So far, it's just what I was in the mood to read, and having never been to Key West in Florida, I'm enjoying getting a sense of the place through this book.

As far as my knitting goes, I've started on a project that will be a Christmas gift. You may remember that last year I made my niece Liz's husband Greg a Musselburgh hat. (Ravelry link) I had put my niece Amanda and her husband Pat in charge of "explaining" it to Greg when he opened it. When I was showing them how it worked, Pat said, "That is so cool, I would LOVE one of those!" But at the time, it was only about a month before Christmas, and there was no way I was going to make another one in a short time at the holidays.

But I tucked that away for later, and this year, Pat will get his own Musselburgh hat. So far, it looks like I'm knitting a pyramid:

But, having made one last year, I know that it will really and truly turn into a hat. 😀

Now ... you may be saying to yourself, OK, that's what she is reading, and what she is knitting, but why does she mention being suspicious? Well, I started the hat above earlier this week. Then, yesterday at my LYS job, I was assigned my next project for there. As a bit of background, we are assigned projects to work on while we are there, to showcase various yarns carried in the shop. I finished a watch cap on Sunday, during my shift, and so it was time for another project, and I was given the yarn and pattern to make another hat.

Well, here's why I'm suspicious, at least right now. The pattern that is for my "shop project" is from a very well-known designer. And granted, I didn't get very far into it yesterday, but at first read through, it seems suspiciously close to the Musselburgh pattern. It's the same concept when it's finished as well. Now I know that certain designs are kind of universal, and everyone tweaks them to make them their own, but I am just suspicious at this point. Since I'm knitting a Musselburgh at home and this other project two days a week at the shop, it will give me a unique chance to contast and compare, as it were.

I'll keep you posted. I kinda wish I had a deerstalker hat and a pipe, to be honest, LOL.