At this time of year I often find myself seized with a burst of frantic startitis. The urge to knit all the things is very strong and I survey my stash with a mounting sense of urgency. So many beautiful yarns hoarded away and so little time in which to knit them. This is then usually followed by feelings of guilt that I have managed to amass such a stash in the first place and that all these gorgrous yarns are being hidden away, unable to show themselves to the world.

Also, at this time of year there seem to be KALs without number, my social media feed is awash with a host of fabulous looking KALs, all tempting me to cast on right now.

Fortunately for me however I am approximately 300 miles away from my stash and my knitting is strictly limited to that which I brought with me. I have my Rift pullover for DH, my new brioche project for the Everyday Knitter #briochechallenge, my Foolproof cowl and my emergency sock knitting bag. And, that's it.

No need to agonise over yarn choices, no point in browsing through the Ravelry queue to find potential projects. Just pick up a project I have with me and work on it - now there's a novel idea.

That's all well and good though, but pretties win over a dark grey, plain pullover any day - sorry DH but your sweater may not be ready to wear until next Christmas.