Two what?  Why, two knitting projects of course.  Lately, I have been a fairly monogamous knitter – knitting away on one project until it’s done and then starting another.  Except for August when I was on holiday and working simultaneously on two cardigans (Killybegs and Ravi), I was pretty much monogamous all last year.  Well, the fact of the matter is that being faithful to a single knitting project is no fun.  It’s also not a productive way to knit (I know this seems counter-intuitive but stick with me.)

Sometimes I knit all by myself in a quiet spot with no interruptions and good lighting.  I can spend that time doing things that take a fair bit of attention – doing intricate colourwork, picking up stitches, knitting lace or finishing work.  Sometimes, I knit while holding a conversation, or watching a movie, or standing in line, or reading a book (yes, I can knit while reading a book).  Sometimes, I knit in very poorly lit places where I have to rely on my fingers and not my eyes to know what I’m doing.  Obviously, if I have two (or more) projects on the go, then I can tailor the project I pick up to the environment I’m knitting in.

But it doesn’t stop there.  Often, I want to grab a project to knit on the run, but the project I’m working on is big and awkward and bulky.  Some projects are more inherently mobile than others.  Also, sometimes I feel like knitting lace on tiny needles and sometimes I feel like knitting miles of stockinette.  Then again, sometimes a girl needs just the right project to knit in the snow!

Yes, It’s snowing like mad in England today!  School is cancelled, work is cancelled, I’ve done the grocery shopping, I have knitting to hand, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!  (By the way, these photos were taken early in the day when it hadn’t been snowing for long.  Right now it is a winter wonderland outside and shows no sign of stopping.)

I have been working on Emma’s Venetian Audrey pullover, but for all the reasons above, I needed another project.  Audrey is knit in DK weight yarn and has a lot of shaping details to pay attention to; furthermore I am now working on the sleeves which means endlessly knitting round and round (in rib) on DPNs.  I wanted a second project that was psychologically quite different.  Because of the cold and the snow, I wanted to knit something warm and cozy.  And because I have had very long days at work the past two weeks, I needed some mindless knitting.    What I settled on in this:

This is the February scarf, designed by Beth Weaver for Quince & Co Osprey.  It is a giant scarf that you can wrap around your neck multiple times.  It is knit in Quince & Co. Osprey, which is unbelievably lofty and squishy.  Osprey is a chameleon – it looks completely ordinary in the skein, but when it’s knit up it transforms into something lovely and soft and airy.

I must be completely honest however and admit that part of the reason why I picked this particular project is penny-pinching.  With Emma at university and Leah about to start, I really have to watch my budget.  And it just so happens that I had 5 skeins of Osprey in Winesap, a nice solid red, just sitting in a box in my study.  I bought it a few years ago with the idea of making a pullover, which I then decided I didn’t like.  I have looked and looked over the past year for another sweater to make with it, but all the sweaters that I like take at least 6 skeins.  (I should point out that the February scarf calls for 6 skeins as well, but, hey, it’s a scarf.)  It’s pretty in red, as you can see, but really must be felt to be appreciated:

The best part is that it adheres to Kelly’s creative accounting formula:  The yarn is already in my stash; therefore, I can knit this for free.