My phase of serial monogamy seems to have officially ended. It was nice while it lasted, but now instead of completing any knitting projects, I just keep casting on new ones! There are currently five sweaters and two hats on my needles. One sweater and both hats are officially registered with Wool Protective Services as orphans at this point, but that leaves four active sweaters:

1) The black Linen Quill cardigan is the longest I’ve ever taken to complete a simple top-down sweater. In my defense, other sweaters with hard deadlines have pulled me away from it. But this continues to be the sweater I most urgently need. So in Stockinette Situations for the foreseeable future, this is the one I’ll reach for.
Current status: body is complete and one sleeve barely started; needs sleeves, pocket and button band

2) The purple Lettlopi pullover that was the basis of the new Improv pattern and revised tutorial would be the quickest one to finish, and it would be nice to have a photo to post and something to cross off! But it’s the least pressing in terms of being even remotely wearable, much less needed. Motivation will come blowing in around Thanksgiving.
Current status: body nearly complete; needs a second sleeve, another pass at whipstitching the neckband down, and some seams

3) The long-awaited Channel Cardigan in Clever Camel is finally on the needles! This is the one I simply want the most desperately — and I can’t stop fantasizing about somehow having it for my travels in early October — but I know it’s going to be a long road and I’ll have to be patient.
Current status: just half of one sleeve, with a dropped ply in the fisherman’s rib to be dealt with

4) My Top-Down Knitalong sweater in Shibui Pebble is a joy to knit and I know I’ll absolutely love wearing it, but I expect to be working on it for awhile!
Current status: yoke is just past the neck join, long ways to go

On the sewing front, rather than making those 5 things I said I wanted to complete before summer ends, I apparently decided to make 3 of 1 thing! I’ll post those FOs soon, but the other 4 pieces remain in the queue!

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PREVIOUSLY in Queue Check: July 2016

I can’t believe it’s the last day of June already. I don’t have much to show for myself — the black cardigan has just barely advanced beyond where it was when we debated the shaping. (I’m going classic, by the way — thank you for all of your input.) But the slow progress is partly to do with my needing to spend time on another project I can’t tell you about yet! Which I can at least say is coming along beautifully and I’m very excited about it. The only other thing I have to say about the cardigan at this point is how awesome it is to have cast on with two strands of fingering and made it nearly to the ribbing before needing to wind any more yarn.

The poor neglected Channel Cardigan plans, though. Is there still any chance I’ll be wearing it by Fall?

It depends a little on what I decide about this year’s big Fringe and Friends Knitalong. I’m cooking up something I think is going to be tremendously fun, but it will also throw a wrench in my well-planned queue. As will a few recent acquisitions of incredible small-batch yarns. So I have a lot to think about and plot around, and I’ll have more to say about all of that soon! But just as a heads-up for now: I’m thinking of starting the big knitalong in mid-August this year. Make a note!

(Field Bag and brass removable stitch markers from Fringe Supply Co., of course)

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PREVIOUSLY in Queue Check: May 2016

Of the three sweaters I was planning to cast on in last month’s Queue Check, one is finished and one is actually not cast on yet. I hurried up and got the camel yarn for my Channel Cardigan intending to start it on the drive to Florida, but once in the car realized I couldn’t do the actual cast-on as I hadn’t brought any waste yarn and the needles I needed weren’t in my case. I am an undying fan of the tubular cast-on that BT uses in their patterns; I’ve probably said this a hundred times before but it is so much better than any other “tubular” version I’ve encountered. So no way was I going to skip over it for expediency in this particular case. I want every detail of that sweater to be perfect.

With Flex finished and Channel in waiting, that leaves my Linen Quill cardigan (improvised top-down) as the object of my current affection. I cast this one on in the car, wished like hell I’d brought it with me on the boat, and then set it aside to finish Flex — knowing that if I set Flex aside for even a moment, I might not pick it back up again. This one is just a dream to knit. The yarn is so pleasing in my hands and I’ve never done a cardigan top-down before, so I’ve had fun with the yoke calculations and shaping, and just got the sleeves separated over the weekend. Once it’s fully into the boring stockinette body phase, I’ll cast on Channel so I’ll have the two to choose from, according to circumstances.

I also have one little must-knit project for June, which I’m not sure I’m allowed to talk about. So I’ll tell you about that when I can!

On the sewing front, TNNA (the yarn trade show) is coming up in a couple of weeks and I’m hoping to make a new dress before then. Because truly all I want is dresses and sweaters right now.

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PREVIOUSLY in Queue Check: April 2016

In addition to the blue Loopy Mango pullover I knitted since my last Queue Check (which was nowhere on the radar), my black Anna Vest is also now finished, and I can’t wait to show it to you. But I also can’t wait to cast on what’s next! I’ve made some decisions about that whole vacation knitting conundrum and have basically decided to cast on ALL THE THINGS. I’ve been such a good little monogamist lately, mostly, but it does get me into trouble from time to time. So here’s what I’ve decided:

1) I’m officially going with the Clever Camel for my long-debated (to put it mildly) Channel Cardigan — my yarn arrived on Friday! Once I had knitted and blocked this swatch, I knew it was meant to be. I literally have been carrying the swatch around with me, I love it so much. What I’ve been trying to find for this one is a yarn that’s both snuggly and rugged, which is a very tricky (nearly impossible) combo. So in that sense, this wound up being an easy commitment to make. On the other hand, that rare mix of softness and durability comes with a hefty price tag. This will literally be the most expensive garment I’ve ever owned, so I did have to take a few deep breaths before placing the order. But it’s an investment I believe in. This swatch is so insanely beautiful and soft and light and amazing in every way — and the yarn (and its gorgeous halo) looks incredible with Channel’s stitch pattern. But the 100% baby camel fiber is even warmer and more durable than wool, and it doesn’t pill. So for a sweater I expect to spend months knitting and decades wearing, it’s completely worth it. And this yarn is such a joy to have running through my fingers, I know I’ll be blissed out for every minute of the knitting.

[[ SPECIAL NOTE: Jones & Vandermeer has very kindly offered a discount for any of you who might want to give Clever Camel a try. Use discount code FRINGE at checkout and it will deduct 10% off your order of Clever Camel. Good through May 13, 2016. ]]

I’m going to go ahead and cast on for this, but I intend to basically spend the whole summer knitting it. Since there’s no rush and this one won’t be the best thing for social situations, travel situations (other than at the beginning) or the occasional brain-fried-on-the-couch-at-night situations, there will also be stockinette in progress—

2) I’ve decided the black Linen Quill will become the lightweight, 4-season (a/c combat) cardigan I talk about needing at the start of every summer. I’m going to knit it top-down, ultra basic, with inset pockets and a vertical button band — all the traits I believe comprise the perfect timeless cardigan. I’m planning to cast on this one tonight at Knit Picking Night at Craft South. If you’re in Nashville, I hope you’ll come! 5-7, as usual.

3) I am definitely going to do the black Flex in the near term, but I’m leaving it up to fate whether it goes to Florida with me. I’ll be able to get the yarn for this one locally at Nutmeg, so I’m just waiting for news of its arrival.

By the way, I’ve seen it suggested a few different times and places that I’m hosting a Channel knitalong? I have no such plans! At least not in any formal sense. But if anyone else wants to cast on and knit it at the same time as me, the more the merrier!

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PREVIOUSLY in Queue Check: March 2016