2012 is an election year and whether you are Red, Blue, Green or Independent, the excitement is ramping up. Re-elect the incumbent or vote for the challenger? Who will fulfill their campaign promises? Is compromise an option?

It's a lot like knitting: Is it better to use a favorite yarn or try something new? If the yarn the pattern calls for isn't available, is there a good or better option? To help you choose your ideal candidates, we sent our delegate, Khristine, to TNNA, the fiber convention. She brought back a slate of candidates that will have you cheering.

INCUMBENTS

Some yarns are too well-loved and dependable to vote out of office. We now have a wide range of Madelinetosh Sock and Tosh Merino Light, with a shipment of Vintage and DK on the way. There are also shipments of Anzula (for the days when you want to feel like the 1%), Malabrigo, Cascade 220 (heavy on the heathers) and Plymouth Encore. The Spud & Chloe Fine, Sweater and Outer are already here, including all the great new colors. Thanks to a straw poll indicating people wanted more soft, self-striping Mini Mochi and Chunky Mochi, we now have more of these Crystal Palace yarns, too.

CHALLENGERS

There are some exciting challengers vying for your support. One serious contender, Shibui, has arrived and staked out its shelves: Heichi, a worsted weight 100% silk tweed, Silk Cloud, a luminous silk/mohair lace, and Sock, saturated, slightly heathered superwash merino fingering weight. With yarns this gorgeous, Shibui more than delivers on all its promises.

We have also added a slate of Plymouth yarns for your consideration, including Baby Alpaca Lace in gemstone solids. And, after a brief hiatus, Plymouth's Dye For Me line is making its comeback. These are undyed, natural fibers you can influence (dye) yourself: fingering weight Happy Feet, superwash merino/nylon Dancing Toes, superwash merino/alpaca/nylon, and Baby Llama DK.

SweetGeorgia, an Independent, is arriving soon. This grassroots candidate--like cronies Madtosh, Anzula, Alisha Goes Around, and Abstract Fibers, to name but few--specializes in vivid hand-dyed natural fibers. We will be offering not only Blue-Faced Leicester Sock and Tough Love Sock, but also CashSilk Lace, the perfect yarn for their Lilac Leaves Shawl, a beautiful semi-circular shawl.

ALSO-RANS

To make room for the new candidates and to expand the platforms of the incumbents, several yarns are dropping out of the race. By the time you receive this, Crystal Palace Kaya, Classic Elite Firefly, and Cascade 128 may be mere memories. (As of this writing, there are still some skeins left.) Keep checking the sale racks: You never know which yarn will be the next to withdraw.

CAMPAIGN PROMISES

What does every yarn promise? To become something useful, lovely, wearable, huggable, dramatic, comfy--whatever it takes to win your vote. Among the crowd pleasers sweeping the Swift, the most popular patterns right now are the Honey Cowl and the Lacy Baktus. The Honey Cowl, a Madtosh pattern, can be worked in a soft dk or light worsted yarn. A majority of our staff and knit group members have cast their votes for this one, using Madtosh, Anzula and Cascade 220. The Lacy Baktus rose to the top of the polls when Alice sat down to finish hers, worked in Persia Malabrigo Sock, during Friday Knit Group. Several people are at work on them now in a variety of gorgeous sock yarns. Both patterns are available on Ravelry.

Several patterns are just starting to take off through word-of-mouth. The Beekeeper's Quilt, a colorful and unusual throw made of hexagonal puffs, is a great way to use up your leftover sock yarns. For those who want to work with a thicker yarn, the Fuse cardigan has made its way onto several ballots. Cleverly constructed and fun to knit (designed by Veronik Avery, no surprise), it has several stitchers in its camp. Then there's the Larch. So far this lovely, classic cardigan, worked in sport weight yarn, has several backers: Debby, Nancy, Georgia, Jane, and Marina. Yes, it's a Larch-along--feel free to join us at any time.

Unlike the primaries, when it comes to these and other projects, you can vote early and often. (Beekeeper's Quilt, Fuse, and Larch are all available on Ravelry.) There will be classes to help people get started on the Honey Cowl, Beekeeper, Larch and Fuse.