Biiiig Girls Dooooon't Cry....

Like hell they don't.

Soooo I've been paging through my Big Girl Knits and I decided to poke around online to see how much the yarn would cost to make one of these beautiful sweaters. After I recovered from the mini-stroke I thought I would rant a bit.

Here's the thing: I know that the yarn they used for the pictures is not the ONLY yarn in the whole world that you can use and get the same results. The problem is that I have only been knitting for a very little while and have only recently started using yarns that weren't Red Heart or Lions Brand (not that there's anything wrong with that). I have only in the last few months begun to branch out into socks and lace and I have never made anything that required more than 4 skeins of yarn.

The Sexy Ribs Pullover - which is purple (yummy) and good for all three B's (oh just read the book) and the yarn they used times the number of balls I need is, like, $180 for me to make. (Remember the part about how I've never made a sweater before?!?) That's a frickin LOT of money to spend on something that MIGHT not come out right and MIGHT look like crap on me. So I moved on to the "Lift and Separate" wrap, which is a nice, soft green (yummy) and is ALSO good for all three B's (seriously, if you're a fat girl, read this book). They used yarn from Elann - which I know has nicely priced yarns. Sure enough, the yarn I want is about $3.50 a ball. Ready? I need 18 balls. Again, with the "whole lot of money" thing.

I finally have a real motivation for losing weight - cheaper sweaters!!

I really really really want to start the fall with a handknit sweater. I want to be able to say "Oh this? I made it. Oh, you think it looks great on me? You're so kind! Can I make one for you? Well, what if I just teach you to knit instead? It's really relaxing!"
I'm not going to feel very fucking relaxed if I have to live in my car because I've gone bankrupt buying yarn. I'm sure the divorce my husband would seek if I spent every cent we had on yarn wouldn't relax me either.

On the bright side, when I told him about the cost of the yarn he said "Maybe an Alpaca would make a nice addition to our backyard. How much space do you need to spin?" Hmmmmmmmm.

I don't know how to substitute yarn and I'm not adventurous at all considering the time and cost. This is what skinny knitters don't get. I could make my mother or my daughter a sweater with something like 5 balls of yarn. No problem. Even if the yarn is $10 a ball. A $50 sweater is not that much of a stretch. But for this Target-shopping Nap Lover, a $200 sweater is just fucking nuts.

I'm going to close the Big Girl Knits book, open another window and find a pattern for a sweater for Bean. She's small. Then I'm going to knit my (size 8) mother a sweater. Then I'm going to buy some lottery tickets and hope for the best. You'll know if I win because I'll be working on a sweater for myself.