Wednesday, January 28, 2009

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.

Jo Jo Basic Crew Sweater

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:

Bobbled Topper Hat

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:

"Modified" Beanie Hat

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...

Boy's Booties

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:

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!

14 comments:

mames said...

you are both hilarious and talented. i love the projects and will never touch the yarn. and you might get use from the mitts in the beginning. our boys would scratch the heck out of their faces and we would just put socks on their hands because all mitts fall of. so, save that last bit and thread it through the ribbing and gently tie them on. tada.

Theresa said...

Something tells me that the only way I'll ever get through yarn like that is bedrest!

Mouse said...

That sweater is super cute.. I think it was worth all of the horrible yarn incidents. I'm always shocked how little yardage baby things take up.. some skeins just keep going and going!
I wasn't on bedrest with a pregnancy but I do end up confined to one spot (bed, couch.. whatever) for about a week at a time when my back flairs up.. it sucks!

Ruinwen Dagorielle said...

You showed that yarn who was boss! lol I love everything you made and it is always nice to be prepared for anything. :)

knitzalot said...

Wow! That's impressive!

Kara said...

I can't imagine being on bedrest. But you have really been able to knit some darling things as a result of having the time.

Anonymous said...

Damn, you kicked ass on this! And they're all so cute!

Anonymous said...

That is crazy and awesome, and all the things you made with it turned out adorable.

Madge said...

You thrifty knitter, you. Congrats on turning lemons into...lemonade...er, super cute baby stuff!

Anonymous said...

Those are awesome! I love using up every bit and having all those matching projects. What a deal! I hope you are well.

Jennifer said...

I'm chuckling here. Hey, it saved your sanity, and used up all the yarn! Good for you.

Anonymous said...

I'm thoroughly impressed! And the best part I'm sure is that it is all gone! ;-)

Anonymous said...

Holy freaking productive batman! Congrats to you for using up all that yarn! Whoohoo! And such adorable lil hats, and sweater. Love the stripes on that sweater btw.

kat coyle said...

wow you really bossed that yarn into submission!
i'm glad you made your baby a bobble hat :)