The Lines Sweater - Swatching

January 10, 2021

For my next project, I'm going to knit the Lines Sweater by Rust Knitwear. This is a super bulky weight sweater knit with the Hope yarn from Wooladdicts. Hope is made from 100% Corriedale Wool sourced from Italy and is a single-ply yarn. I bought 7 balls of this yarn in the colorway Ice to knit a size small. The pattern said to swatch using the size US 11 needle, which I did but found that I was getting 9 stitches per 4 inches instead of 13, so today I'm going to use a US 10 needle and swatch again.

My two different swatches, the top one is the one knit on US 10 needles.

After doing a second swatch with US 10 needles, I got 12 stitches per 4 inches, which is close enough for me to feel comfortable starting the project. I cast on the correct number of stitches and began knitting the ribbed collar. I got to the end of the collar and this is where the Raglan increases start, as well as the cross stitches. I got through a few rows of the cross stitches (after watching a youtube tutorial about how to do them) but I wasn't able to see the lines pattern that shows up so clearly in the pattern pictures. I got frustrated and frogged my stitches back up to the collar.

I wish I could say I'm in a better headspace now, but honestly, I'm just not. I took my needles out and set the project aside in one of my yarn baskets and I haven't picked it up today to try it again. I know I'll figure it out eventually, but sometimes I just get in my head when I can't do something exactly right the first time. Obviously, most people can't do something new perfectly on the first try, but that doesn't stop me from putting those high expectations on myself and my work. Sometimes it's hard to be on Instagram and see all these amazing knitwear designers, creating unique pieces of gorgeous clothing, and then to look back at me and only see the struggle.

In an attempt to free myself from the pit that is self-deprecation, I'm going to cast on a smaller project. I think I'm going to knit the Ponyfish hat pattern from Echoview Fiber Mill with some of my leftover yarn from the Ursa Sweater. Ponyfish is a free pattern, so if you want an easy, cute beanie I expect it'll be a quick knit.

Right now, I'm sitting on the couch in my apartment, still admiring the large amount of snow we got in Asheville over the weekend and drinking some hot chai. It's nice to have such a peaceful place to reflect, even when I'm not in the mental headspace to be creating. It helps me remember that I don't always need to be productive and I don't always need to be making something new. Sometimes, we just need to make space for simplicity.