I’m encountering a weird…

I'm encountering a weird knitting/crocheting issue. Here's the thing. I've made a bunch of gifts for other people so far: potholders, market bag, socks, amigurumi, scarves, skirt. I haven't actually made anything for myself, and now that the holidays are over, I think it's time. What I'd really like to make is a cardigan, something that fits me well and is flattering in shape. I found a pattern I like (the February Lady Sweater), and I even have some lovely yarn all ready to go (Rowan Kid Classic, which I *think* is the right weight for it).

But here's the thing -- making a sweater is going to be time-intensive -- it's many hours of work. And I find myself reluctant to put in that much labor on a nicely fitted sweater for myself when deep in my heart, I really think I should be at least a size smaller. I'm still carrying twenty pounds of baby weight, which have stayed stable for several months now, and there's no real reason to expect that to change. Sure, I plan to exercise more, but a) I haven't started yet, and b) that's not going to have an effect big enough to matter for a sweater this winter/spring, certainly. It's just dumb not to go ahead and make that sweater for myself, I'm pretty sure.

And still, I can't seem to start it. :-( Am I just nuts here? Is this a common knitting/crocheting problem?

7 thoughts on “I’m encountering a weird…”

  1. I’m sure this isn’t going to help, but maybe it’ll make you feel better. I’ve got about an extra 20lbs of baby weight left, too, and even though I kinda desperately need a new raincoat (which, as you know, is the winter coat of choice around here), I refuse to buy a nice one until I’m smaller. Gah! So silly, but there you go. I keep thinking I’ll do it this year, and I’m in the same old shapeless green coat from a decade ago…

    I guess what I’m saying here is that I totally understand where you’re coming from 🙂

  2. I keep falling into the same trap. I actually tend to lose weight when I am wearing pretty new things and feel pretty, but I forget that. And I fall into the “I’ll buy new stuff when I go down that last 20 lbs” mentality, which then means that I go down that ladder of nothing to wear…(sorry about the loooong comments these days) and end up feeling bleah. You should do that for you! You should do the pretty fitted sweater! (I guess this is a long way of saying, I know where you are coming from, even though its not baby weight on my end!)

  3. I totally agree with Belinda! You deserve to make something beautiful that you love and feel gorgeous in for the body you have. And you can always make another one later if your weight shifts dramatically.

  4. Mary Anne Mohanraj

    I think I do have this reasonably down for clothes I buy — I buy the clothes that fit me now.

    Unless, of course, they’re very expensive, like a coat, when I get reluctant. It’s the big-expense / big-time items that still trigger this reaction in me. Sigh.

    Kate Harding calls it the ‘Fantasy of Being Thin’. Even when I know it’s a fantasy, it’s very hard to let go.

  5. It is definitely hard to let go of, particularly when being bombarded by messages about being thin. And its not only in magazines/TV. Its also in books too…I remember reading the trashy teen romances about the bookworms who got boyfriends when they became ‘cute’ by being made over…

    I have one book, a collection of short stories, called ‘Such a Pretty Face’, that was supposed to be the opposite of that. Unfortunately a lot of the stories had such anger radiating through them, or were ‘in-your-face’…

    (Sorry for the sidebar)

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