Bedrest Yarn Challenge

Bedrest will do some crazy things to a normally sane person...which I'm not really claiming to be. I have in the past decided to do semi-irrational or bizarre things with my crafting projects. And being confined to one's house for more than 6 weeks will certainly fuel such behavior.

So the background on this challenge is this: Last April or so, I started the Jo Jo Basic Crew Sweater from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms as a shower gift for my boss who was pregnant at the time. I picked up 4 hanks of Bernat Soy Natural Blends (two Flax, one Seasalt and one Celery) at our local Michaels. The idea being that I would knit the sweater from the Flax and Seasalt (she was having a boy) and then knit booties or something else with the Celery. I picked out this yarn because it was 'non-knitter-friendly' (i.e. washable and soft to the touch). It was also on clearance for $2 a ball (i.e. a bonus). The problem was that I ended up hating the yarn. It was crazy slippery as well as had the occasional knot or strange over-spun bit that I couldn't splice together like wool. I had to start new strands each time I came across one of these blemishes. It was a pain. Around this time, I also started having major problems with my hands. So I decided to sew her gifts instead and retire this sweater.

I previously mentioned that since I'd been home, I was busy finishing up stalled out projects. I looked at the 3/4 finished Jo Jo Sweater...realized I was also having a boy...and decided to finish it up.

Pattern: Jo Jo Basic Crew Sweater from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms
Needles: 4 and 5
Yarn: Bernat Soy Natural Blends in Flax (1.5 balls) and Seasalt (.75 balls)

But then I realized I had a full ball of Celery left as well as some decent leftovers in the Flax and Seasalt. Now, normally, (given my *love* for this yarn), I would have just donated the rest of it. However, I needed something to preoccupy myself so...I decided a hat for our boy was was in order. I flipped through my books until I found this lovely three-color option, which I made 'newborn' smaller using my smaller gauge:

Pattern: Bobbled Topper from Boho Baby Knits by Kat Coyle (by the way...this was the first time I knit out of my lovely signed copy of this book and I can't wait to knit more! Thanks Kat for a great book and thanks Nonnahs for getting it signed and giving it to me!!)
Needles: 4 and 5
Yarn: Bernat Soy Natural Blends in Flax (.3 balls), Seasalt (.25 balls), and Celery (.2 balls)

Now obviously this didn't use up all the Celery, but it did get most of the Flax and Seasalt out of the way...but not as much as I'd hoped! So back to Natural Knits and I knit up a modified stripe beanie hat like so:

Pattern: "Modified" Boy Beanie Hat from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms
Needles: 4 and 6
Yarn: Bernat Soy Natural Blends in Flax (.2 balls), Seasalt (.04 balls), and Celery (.4 balls)

This used up the Seasalt and was left with a couple yards of Flax and about .4 balls of Celery. The bootie pattern from this book is cute and I thought I would have just enough Celery for the booties and could use the rest of the Flax for the contrasting tie, so again, I cast on...

Pattern: Boy's Booties from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms
Needles: 5
Yarn: Bernat Soy Natural Blends in Flax (1.3 yards) and Celery (.25 balls)

But gosh darn it! I still ended up with Celery leftovers!! ARG!! The next pattern in the book was for mittens. Now (and B will most certainly agree with me on this point) this is really where I started to loose touch...just a bit. We live in San Diego. The idea that this baby of ours will ever need mittens...while not on a snowboarding trip...is practically nill. But, I was on a mission! So, I knit a mitten and then got through the ribbing on the second one and ran out of yarn! Dude. I was so close! B was like, well, I think your project is over...and I did very nearly toss the mitten and a half in the garbage...but well, I'm somewhat of a conservationist...and the idea of throwing out a whole mitten did not sit well. So, believe it or not, I ripped out what I did down to the ribbing section on both mitts. Since the ribbing was meant to fold over, I shortened the ribbing section so there was no fold and thus saved that yarn...which was enough for me to make the two mittens:

Pattern: Mittens from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms
Needles: 3 and 4
Yarn: Bernat Soy Natural Blends in Celery (.15 balls)

And that left me with this:


Trash. And if you were paying attention, that also meant that I made a sweater, two hats, a pair of booties and a pair of mittens for $8! Plus, it kept me (in)sane while I was cooped up in our place for the last couple weeks. All in all, a fun and productive little game. The best part being...I don't ever have to knit with that yarn again! Ha!