Neighborly

PATTERN: Neighborly by Jennifer Casa
SIZE: 12 months
YARN: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in color #606 Frost Gray

Thank you for all of the sweet bunny comments! I had soooo much fun making them. Both bunnerses were made from the same pattern by the incredibly talented and wonderful Barbara Prime — she designs the most adorable animals. Her sweet bunnies have been my Favorites folder forever; I'm on an animal kick now. It's always so fun to make animals because they all really have their own characters, and their expressions seem to just come out all on their own. As with everything else I knit (or crochet), just click on the links (the words in red :-) for further information (yarn, pattern, needles, etc.) on my Ravelry page.

I have finished several other projects from December and January recently, and that is always such a good feeling. I was actually hoping to get all of the WIPs finished by the end of January, and I almost did, but not quite. I cast on for my Neighborly the night I got home from my birthday vacation. Since almost everything else I was knitting at the time was in the bag that got left at Timberline, I was happy that this yarn and pattern were waiting for me. I honestly can't say enough about either this gorgeous yarn or this gorgeous pattern. I've made a lot of things, but this is one of my very favorites. I wish you could feel how soft this is! Bunny soft. I have not used Malabrigo yarn very much, but I'd heard people talking about it a lot (as you do, you know, when you hang around people who talk about yarn). So, yeah — I get it now. Totally get it. It's awesome. I wish the camera could pick up the pinkish-purple undertone in the yarn that is obvious — but not too obvious — in real life. I just love this color. It's like twilight alpenglow. Neighborly, by the lovely Jennifer Casa, is a very popular pattern on Ravelry and I can completely see why. Total pleasure to knit in every way. I left the ribbing off of the sleeves. I used this video to help me sew up the hem and it worked so well. (The adorable wooden button is from here. The little dress is, again, a version of this one. The fabric is Farmhouse #23403 by Windham.)

 
Anyway. Some projects just make you happy from start to finish. The more I knit the more I realize that it's important (to one's general happiness with something) to match the right yarn to the right pattern. That's subjective, yes. But if you're going to knit something you'll be spending a lot lot of time with that yarn (and that pattern) so it's really nice if you love it. It can be hard to tell if it's working well until you're into it a bit; that's the tricky part. Yarn can be so different in the finished item from what they seemed to be in the skein. At least to me. I still don't have great intuition, or maybe it's radar, or maybe it's experience, for this. But that's why they often include knitted swatches of yarn at the yarn shop. Sometimes it's totally amazing how differently the yarn knits up from what I would expect.

But anyway. Er, have a great day!

Comments

[greenrabbitdesigns]

And yet more gorgeous knitting! :)
Vivienne x

[Sonya]

Lovely! That is so beautiful. Looking forward to see more knits and crochets.

Have a lovely day.

Sonya

[Suzanne]

Smashing!!!

[hannah]

this pattern is in my ravelry favorites - now i'll have to knit it up right away!

[Jennifer]

Do you have The Knitter's Book of Wool and The Knitter's Book of Yarn? Those are my most favorite knitting books because they talk about so many microscopic factors that influence the finished project. Love!

[michele (maryland)]

OMG, that is all I can say, again.

[Kelly]

Awwwwww! This is BEAUTIFUL, Alicia! You and Andy will have THE best dressed little girl in the WHOLE wide world!

[Seanna Lea]

Exactly! I spend a lot of time trying to convince my friends and relatives that it is not worth it for me to use a yarn that doesn't make my hands happy. If it doesn't feel good, then I'm not going to enjoy knitting it at all!

[bouillesdecoton]

Oh this is so cute!!!
I'm french and I've discovered you on Ravelry...

[amanda makes]

Absolutely gorgeous! xxxx

[Amanda]

Each outfit is more beautiful than the last! So pretty. I love little girls wearing darker, non-pink colors.

[Nancy Cook]

It looks very pretty in the Malabrigo.
I knit one up for Scarlet last year and she loves wearing it which is the best part.

[Missy K]

Ahhh-- the button! The cuteness! What a perfect, perfect thing!

[kristin]

Alicia-

So perfectly cute! I'm expecting a little girl this summer and every time I look at your blog I find another thing I need to knit!

Thanks!
Kristin

[jennifer]

I wish this came in grown up sizes. I would totally wear that.

[Bethany Hissong]

I love that unique neck line and the subtleness of the stitch texture...and the color. Yes you are intuitively wonderful!

[Marguerite]

Alicia, your work is beautiful as always. That's sooo cute. Who is the little girl you knit for ?
She's lucky... really lucky!

[Heather]

I knit a neighborly for my daughter for her birthday last year. Unfortunately I did not chose my yarn wisely. She wouldn't wear it - too scratchy. Malabrigo is so yummy soft (just watch it does pill).

[kelly]

Loverly!

(I my little circle where we talk about yarn, we call it mmmmmmalabrigo. :)

[Rachel]

I love your print and yarn combos. So pretty. We've got a blizzard coming our way. We'll see how much knitting or crocheting I can do with all the kids home from school! Maybe I'll just keep looking at your little works of art instead. ;)

[Jodi Anderson]

You may call it Neighborly. I shall call it Smitten, as I am purely smitten with it.

[priest's wife]

so gorgeous! Who is this lucky 12 month old?

[soili]

You are right about matching the right yarn with a right pattern. I'm trying to learn that. I also think part of the joy of knitting is feeling the softness of the yarn through your fingers. There is nothing worse than itchy yarn. Thank you for sharing your work!

[Katie W]

You have such a beautiful sense of color, and of balance with colors. I can't wait until there's a little body inside all these dresses and cozy sweaters! You are going to have the best dressed, warmest baby in the Pacific Northwest!

[Barbara]

I think I might still be blushing! Thank you for the lovely mention here.

Also, super cute vest and dress, yet again! I've been knitting plenty of tiny things too, but cardigans and socks for boys just aren't the same level of sweet that you manage.