Knitting frustrations

I know this has nothing to do with knitting, but I just am so in love with this little Maltese bead. My friends who own a bead store gave her to me for Christmas. Its hand made by a woman in Alabama that if you send a photo of your dog, she can make a glass bead to look just like them (or at least something with shared markings). I have a teeny tiny maltese named Gidget. Anyway, I put the bead into a bracelet this weekend.

I'm knitting some, but accomplishing nothing. The last two days, I've worked more on Madli's shawl....I actually feel like lace knitting....maybe because there isn't any creative thought process going on. I can just follow the pattern rhythm.

All my other knitting is plagued with thoughts of, "its not coming together." There are things that I should be knitting: I have a sweater design being published and the person in charge needs to have the pattern finalized this month and the sweater soon there after. Its a cardigan type (see Dec 6 posting) with a chevron motif. The front and back are knit together at the same time. I'm up to the armpits and now need to catch the sleeves up with the rest of the sweater, because from here on, it all is knit in one continuous line (the upper third of the sweater along with the sleeves). When I'm designing, its a whole different type of knitting that uses so much more of the brain, and right now, with this whole marriage turmoil, I just can't get myself going.

Other knitting I should be doing: My friends (with the bead store) are going to let me sell some knitted flower pins (cashmere roses, alpaca poppies with beaded centers, springy coneflowers in vibrant handpainted yarns). It should be fun, but I keep casting on and then pulling them apart. I haven't written my patterns out....its more "sculpt as you go." I don't have any photos at this point because I'm just too darn lethargic over it all. If there is any interest in me writing the patterns, let me know....it does involve some crochet though.