sweater daydreams

I hope that everyone is gently easing back into their post-holiday routines. This week has been spent trying to finish up some WIP's left over from last year. My current strategy is to knit on one project at a time until it's finished, then go onto the next. So hopefully there will be a steady parade of FO's in the next few weeks if all goes well.

The temperatures have dropped and now that winter is finally approaching, thoughts of sweater knitting are happily dancing around in my head. But what sweater should it be? We are so lucky as knitters to have a treasure trove of patterns readily available with just a click of the mouse away. But sometimes all of that wealth can be overwhelming. Plus, I would love to choose a sweater project from one of the many books that I own or a downloaded pattern already in my Ravelry library. So after a fun few days of sweater daydreaming, I managed to come up with a list of possible contenders for this year's sweater projects:

Several standouts from Swoon maine, the stunningly beautiful new book by Carrie Bostick Hoge: Shore Cardigan & Lighthouse Pullover. Both of these sweaters would fit seamlessly into my everyday wardrobe.

I would love to use up some of my lettlopi that has been stashed away from when I first started knitting sweaters. These four sweaters from Knitting with Icelandic Wool would make for some dreamy wintertime knitting: Riddari, Kross, Aftur, Dalur.

When I found my way back to knitting after college (pre-Ravelry & before knitting blogs came into existence. In other words, the Prehistoric Knitting Age) my main sources of inspiration were the always gorgeously styled projects from Rowan knitting magazines. I would drool over every page but can you believe, I have never attempted to knit a single Rowan pattern? So it's long overdue. I love the interesting stitch detail that is the highlight of Laide. It also looks less intimidating in the finishing department than other Rowan patterns that I've recently come across.

This next one is a long shot since I am still trying to make heads or tails of the pattern. It's by the prolific Japanese designer Michiyo: Tight Fit Aran Pullover. The name just rolls off the tongue, right?  I might have to bribe my Hubby with some hand knitted socks in order to get his help translating the Japanese kanji. But it would be well worth the effort.

Lastly, I couldn't resist clicking on the buy now button when I saw the Reindeer cardigan designed by the talented Alina from The Gift of Knitting blog. She hit it out of the ballpark with her first sweater design. There is so much to love about this cardigan: beautiful cables, interesting textured stitch details, open & easy fit. I love the longer length and predict that the finished cardigan must feel like being wrapped in a cozy wooly hug when worn. The hardest part is deciding on the color. Kinda crushing on this lovely version.

Whew, sorry for the loooong drawn out post. At least now there's a bit of a plan. Of course, nothing is set in stone and there's always the rogue impulsive mustcastonnow sweater projects that manage to sneak their ways onto the needles. What kinds of projects are you daydreaming about in the new year?

But before I can cast on for any of the above beauties, there's some socks to finish. Here's a little video clip of me knitting away on them. (A bunch of knitters are posting videos on Instagram showing how they knit using hashtag #loop2loop and #howiknit. So much fun to watch if you get a chance!)