I love to knit tiny sweaters.
It's my go to for relaxing. For non-attentive TV time. It's my largest collection of inspiration on Pinterest.
I think about it ALOT.
For a long time I could only dream of knitting. I didn't even know how to crochet and occasionally I'd try tying yarn in knots (we aren't even talking macrame here) just to see if I could fake my way to something "knitty." All the written patterns and diagrams looked like a foreign language to me (also not one of my strengths).
I finally found my yarn gateway - YouTube videos - which allowed me to slow down and rewind and see just where the HECK you put that hook in and how in the world people did this marvelous thing. It took me another 2 years to figure out that I do better holding my yarn opposite of most knitting tutorials I'd seen and BOOM! I was off to knitting dreamland.
Of course, just because I can do a thing doesn't mean I'm exceptionally good at it. While I'm very proud of my progress from whence I first made knots, I am also perpetually dissatisfied with the results. HAPPILY SO.
Why? Because I love to knit and I also love the journey. I love figuring it out. I love seeing how one tiny adjustment I make in a little sweater changes the overall effect. Like adding a ribbed neckline as opposed to a garter stitch neckline. Or making the front edge or sleeve just one stitch wider. Or trying yet another method for adding long sleeves and testing a new color-way. Because every time I make those minor changes and see the results, I'm already excited about doing the next one with yet another little tweak. And even when I think the pattern is "finished" I'll grab a new yarn with a slightly different weight or fiber content and realize I need to change the needle size and start all over!
The truth is, I will probably never make the perfect tiny sweater and I'm ok with that. Because knitting is fun. And the results are imperfectly adorable.
