Knits for the whole family (except David)

So, I have been secretly fretting over a rocking chair for the nursery for a number of reasons. First, I have heard that some babies do not like to rock or glide, so this purchase may be totally in vain, which brings me to the second worry, which is that comfortable rockers are super expensive (we will not discuss gliders because they are hideous), so I would feel a lot of pressure to use it regardless of the baby’s feelings about rocking, which could lead to many tortured hours of either rocking alone, or rocking with a screaming baby, niether of which are particularly good options. Third, it is hard to find one that will both go with the nursery color scheme (gray and yellow) and physically fit into the smallish space available for it.

So.

I was hoping to solve all of these problems by finding the perfect used rocker, this way, if it doesn’t work out, we can just get rid of it without feeling too guilty about the money. We went to my favorite place to buy used furniture: Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore. I loooove it there, but I was not feeling confident that we would actually find a small, yellow rocker the first time out. But then, there it was! A SMALL YELLOW ROCKER!! So, for $55, we threw it in the back of the Prius (which can hold way more furniture than you might think, by the way), cleaned it up and put it in the nursery. I love it.

Cute, huh?

Anyway, as the title of this post implies, I have been knitting.  I just completed my #1 absolute favorite thing I have made for this little girl and it’s funny because it’s such a plain and simple little top:

Pattern: Seamless Baby Kimono

Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino

Modifications: Used buttons instead of ties and shortened the sleeves

First of all, the pattern was lovely.  Perfect car knitting because I could go for long stretches without referring to the pattern at all.  However, the real star of this pattern is definitely the yarn.  I have never used Malabrigo Silky Merino before and my oh my, the color and the drape and the softness is just a pleasure.  You know I’m biased toward this yarn anyway, but honestly, this was something special for me.

Second knit.  Don’t laugh, but it’s another pair of mitts.  I made this pattern for my sister for Christmas last year and liked them a lot and I had this festive red Malabrigo, so I made a pair FOR MYSELF, you guys!

Pattern: Susie’s Reading Mitts

Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted, Colorway: Vermillion

Modifications: this pattern is perfect as is. 

I love these.  I love that I can use my iPhone and change the radio station in the car (I am currently switching between Christmas music and NPR, so my car time has been sort of manic-depressive lately) and type and find my keys–all while maintaining hand warmth!  I know you know this, but isn’t it weird how uncomfortable frozen, chafed hands can be?  All swollen and numb, but somehow still ultra pain sensitive?  I hope to forget about that sensation over the next few seasons of glove wearing. 

Wish me luck.