A wonderful, terrible , awful idea

I've been a bit of a grinch this year, overwhelmed by the monstrosity and the loss of my camera. I had (wisely) limited my Knit Gift List to include only Mom (although I had some ideas for others there was no stress to actually finish the gifts). So after finish the monstrosity and spending an evening with no knitting in my hands, watching the hilarious, though vulgar, An Evening with Kevin Smith, I decided to enter a new era in knitting. In my new era (it started this morning), I am knitting what I want, when I want, with no concept of other WIPs, seasons, gifts, deadlines.
As I mull over the New Era (I'm still working on it's official name) in the shower this morning and thinking about Christmas plans, I was overcome with strong desire to knit a hat. Not only that, I want to knit hats for Hub's family Christmas party. At least one per kid under 15. For this Saturday. 7 hats. I read (somewhere) of a knitter that, instead of knitting specific gifts for family/neighbors/coworkers, knits an assortment of one item (slippers, scarves, hats), puts them in a basket and then lets the giftee pick their gift from all available knitwear. I love this idea and it is perfect for a family with a ridiculous amount of people (Hub's mom is one of 10, all of them married with kids). I don't have to worry about specific likes and dislikes (other than to remember that there are 2 boys, 4 girls, 1 newborn).
It may sound like I've already forgotten that I am living in a New Era of my Knitting, but I haven't. I want to knit 7 hats in 5 days. I cannot wait to go home and cast on for hats! Oh, and I blame it all on this post and this Flickr group which opened my eyes to thejoy of knitting 7 adorable hats in 5 days.
I hope to have at least one hat to tell you about tomorrow!
PS. I added a picture to the Crocheted Wire Votive Sleeve Tutorial.