Mission Improbable

I was talking about the upcoming wholesale trade show with Susie at Kollage Yarns earlier this week...
Susie: We just got a new yarn in to bring to the show. Of course, its too late to get any designs to go with it.
Me: Tell me about it.
Susie: I'ts a single ply bulky wool in pretty heathered colors.
Me: Put some in the mail to me. We've got two weeks. That's plenty of time to do a couple of accessory pieces. I'll come up with something.

So. I'm expecting a package in today's mail with 2 skeins each of 4 different colors of this yet-to-be-named yarn. I'll need to apply my needles and my skills to turn out three or four samples that can be displayed at the show starting 2 weeks from tomorrow.

Here's the thing - I live in California. We have no more than a couple of days each winter when bulky wool accessories are a good idea.  I don't even own a winter coat. And it's June. We're expecting temperatures in the 90's this weekend.

This is the perpetual designer's dilemma. We are always working out of season. Winter designs are knit in early summer; spring pieces are due in December.

I've decided to try some crowdsourcing.  I need fresh ideas for accessories made from bulky wool.  Other than a hat, what sorts of patterns would you like to see in this yarn?

Will you help? Please leave a comment here on the blog with your ideas. And to show my appreciation, here's what I'll do.  I'll use the random number generator to pick one of the comments. The winner will get this...

4 skeins (700 yds total) of Simply Socks Yarn Company's Simply Sock Yarn in a lovely handpainted semi-solid pale blue called Icicle. Be sure to include your e-mail address with the comment so I can let you know if you win. I won't use it for anything else - knitter's honor. You have until midnight Monday to get into the drawing for the prize, but if you are reading this entry after that time, it's not too late to add your ideas.

Watch for pictures of the final results. And thanks!